The ALERT Program

The Jackson R2 ALERT Program is for the identified gifted student. ALERT stands for Advanced Learning and Enrichment using Research and Technology. The program is based upon a commitment to develop the unique potential of each student by providing a differentiated learning environment that offers enrichment opportunities. The district’s program is not designed as an honor, reward or status symbol.

The ALERT Program is an educational intervention that is designed to meet the social, emotional, and cognitive needs of the district’s gifted students. As a result of offering differentiated curriculum and personalized support, gifted students will have the opportunity to achieve district goals at the level commensurate with their abilities.

Students in first through fourth grade participate in a pull-out program of gifted services. The term “pull-out” simply means that students are pulled out of the regular classroom for 180 minute period of time (half-day) each week. These students are bused to East Elementary School to work with the gifted facilitator on individual and group projects designed to match program goals and curriculum.

The ALERT Gifted Program curriculum encourages independent and self-directed learning and is designed to meet the academic and affective needs of students. Using an interdisciplinary and multicultural perspective, learning activities emphasize the higher level cognitive skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Incorporating a variety of approaches from experts in the field of education, the curriculum draws from the following major areas for Gifted Student Learner Outcomes as well as the National Association for Gifted Children Standards:

Complex Reasoning

As gifted learners, students will develop the ability to apply problem-solving and critical thinking skills to create and test purposeful solutions, make decisions, support decisions with facts and logic, and understand how decisions and proposed solutions impact local and global communities.

• Analyze Problem Situations and Identify Key Elements
• Identify Possible Solutions & Success Criteria
• Evaluate Options and Explain Reasoning
• Use Deliberate Processes for Solving Problems
• Test, Analyze, and Iterate
• Reflect on the Impact of Solutions
• Systems Thinking
• Logical Reasoning
• Communicate Ideas, Thoughts, and Messages

Creative Thinking

As gifted learners, students will develop the ability to be open to new topics and thought processes, propose multiple detailed and original ideas, expand upon the thoughts of others, and recommend inventive solutions to new or unfamiliar concepts.

• Risk Taking and Open-Mindedness
• Divergent Thinking
• Innovation Skills
• Self-Expression

Affective Processing

As gifted learners, students will develop self-acceptance and self-awareness while demonstrating responsibility for their personal growth and engagement in their communities while embracing cultural and personal differences.

• Intrapersonal Development
• Interpersonal Interactions and Leadership
• Self-Regulation and Project Manage
• Adaptability

Criteria for Students Entering or Presently in Grades 1 - 4

A. Screening and Referral

1. Academic Ability Test: 90th% on Reading and Math on i-Ready or Advanced Level on ELA and Math MAP (Missouri Assessment Program)
2. Parent/Teacher Referral: Parent/teacher referral with appropriate documentation verifying potential giftedness; 85th% on Reading and Math on i-Ready from teacher referral

B. Individual Evaluation and Selection Procedures

• General Mental Ability: An individualized full-scale, general ability index, or nonverbal index intelligence test score of 124 or above (95th%) on WISC-V
• Academic Ability Test: 95th% or above on i-Ready in ELA and Math (kindergarten - 3rd grade)
• Creativity, Reasoning, or Problem-Solving Ability: 80th% or above on the Creativity Rating Scale
• Documented Evidence of Exceptional Performance: For placement purposes this evidence may include student grades primarily being 3s and 4s; samples of student work; teacher observations/recommendations

Students are required to meet three of the four individual evaluation and selection criteria with the full-scale intelligence test required for placement in the ALERT program.

Students previously eligible for the gifted program will remain in the program unless a decision, as described in the Special Circumstances section, is made for that student not to continue in the ALERT Program.

1. A student, who has been placed in the program at an earlier grade, will remain eligible for the program at the next grade level unless a decision is made to discontinue the student in the program by the ALERT teacher, counselor, and building principal (building team). This ALERT “building team” can recommend discontinuing a student in the program if there is a concern about class grades, student interest or concerning student placement may be appealed to the district’s gifted education Advisory Board.
2. Students new to the Jackson R2 School District will be screened by the building counselor for possible inclusion in the gifted program. If indicated, an intelligence test will be administered to determine that placement criteria.
3. If the number of students screened for the program is greater than the number able to be served, the building team should rank-order the list of students for admittance into the program. This should be based upon scores achieved on placement criteria. Eligible students will be placed on a waiting list and admitted into the ALERT Program as spaces become available.

Students who transfer to a school with a state-assisted gifted program shall be placed in the receiving district’s program if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The student must previously have been placed in the original Missouri school’s state-assisted gifted program.
2. The student meets or exceeds the criteria established by the receiving school for placement in its gifted program.
3. The student and parents agree to such placement.
4. The areas addressed by the two programs are similar, i.e. both are general academic programs; both are fine arts programs; or both are specific academic programs.

The following statements should serve as a guide for the classroom teacher:

1. ALERT students should be held accountable only for tests and new concepts missed on an ALERT day.
2. Each should be allowed two days to make up work deemed necessary for mastery of concept.
3. Whenever possible, classroom teachers should give assignments to ALERT students a day in advance of ALERT day.

While all students share common personal, social, and educational needs, gifted students have certain needs which are intensified by their giftedness. A program for the gifted should attempt to meet these needs.

Personal Development

• Self-understanding, acceptance and appreciation as gifted individuals
• Assurance of understanding, acceptance and esteem from faculty and students not associated with the gifted program
  
• Efficient and productive work habits, e.g. managing time, setting priorities, developing task commitment
  
• Constructive ways to manage stress
  
• Recognition and control of self-defeating behaviors
  

Social Development

• Communication with intellectual peers
• Skill in constructive interaction with people of all ability levels
  
• Confidence and judgment necessary for constructive leadership opportunities for developing leadership ability
  
• Knowledge of ways to express social concerns and explore solutions to actual problems
  

Academic Development

• Development of high-level thinking and problem solving skills
• Exploration of varied fields of interest and areas of learning, new to the student
  
• Discovery and development of special gifts and special interests
  
• Development of creativity
  
• Intellectual stimulation and challenge
  
• Freedom to progress at the rate of which one is capable
  
• Standards of performance commensurate with ability
  

The ALERT Program does not substitute or replace the excellent classroom instruction and enrichment already provided in the district. Instead, it provides additional options compatible with the needs, abilities, and interests of the gifted learners.

Members of the ALERT Advisory Board are listed below along with their role.

Lauren Skelton, Gifted Teacher, East Elementary

Dr. Jessica Maxwell, Associate Superintendent

Erica Weadon, Director of Gifted Program, Elementary Principal

Kristen Gautier, Psychometric Examiner

Samantha Trankler, Elementary Principal

Elizabeth Seaton, Parent

Jackson R2 School District

Email: eweadon@jackson.k12.mo.us
Website: https://www.jacksonr2schools.com/
Location: 455 North Lacey Street, Jackson, MO, USA
Phone: 573-243-5271