Stay up to date with events and important information regarding all things K-12 GT.

“It’s the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!” — Winnie the Pooh

Happy Fall! 🌰 🍂

Dear GT Families,

We hope this new year is off to a fantastic start for you and your family. As you embark on the exciting journey of advanced learning, we hope this bulletin will serve as a valuable companion. Inside, you'll find a wealth of information designed to support and inspire you.

Discover the incredible work of our dedicated teachers who are passionate about nurturing the unique talents and abilities of our gifted students. Learn about the amazing things happening in our classrooms, from groundbreaking projects to innovative approaches to learning. Explore the exciting opportunities available to advanced learners, including specialized programs and enrichment activities. And gain valuable insights into strategies and resources that can help you support your child's growth and development.

We believe that by providing you with this information, we can empower you to navigate the world of advanced learning with confidence and enthusiasm. Let's embark on this journey together and create a bright future for our gifted students.

Stacy Carroll

Executive Director, Advanced Academics

In the elementary classroom, Advanced learner services are provided through cluster grouping.

What does this mean?

Cluster grouping is a strategy used in classroom to provide a more tailored learning experience for gifted students. In this approach, a small group of gifted students from the same grade level are placed together in a regular classroom. This allows them to engage in more challenging and stimulating activities, as well as collaborate with peers who share similar interests and abilities.

The teacher in a cluster grouping classroom is specially trained to differentiate instruction, meaning they can adjust their teaching methods and materials to meet the unique needs of each student. This can include providing advanced assignments, independent study opportunities, or projects that encourage higher-order thinking.

By grouping gifted students together, schools can ensure that they receive the appropriate level of challenge and support to reach their full potential. Additionally, cluster grouping can foster a sense of community and belonging among gifted students, who may often feel isolated in traditional classroom settings.

While cluster grouping offers extended learning opportunities and individualized instruction, your child's teacher will continue to tailor small group instruction based on each student's specific needs.

Gifted services at the secondary level are designed to provide students with the appropriate level of challenge and support to reach their full potential. Depending on their specific needs, students may receive services in a variety of ways.

For students who require additional support in language arts, GT-only English classes are offered. These classes provide a more rigorous and engaging curriculum that caters to the unique needs of gifted learners. In some cases, depending on campus and teacher availability, gifted students may also have the opportunity to participate in GT-only social studies classes.

Students who excel in mathematics are typically placed in advanced or honors math courses. These courses offer a higher level of difficulty and allow students to explore more complex mathematical concepts.

As students transition to high school, they can access specialized programs like Advanced Placement, UT OnRamps, and Dual Credit Courses to explore their areas of interest and accelerate their learning.

While students have some flexibility in their schedules to ensure they are taking the most appropriate courses, it is important to note that Texas Education Agency (TEA) regulations require that identified gifted students receive gifted services.

We encourage you to discuss your child's individual needs and goals with their teachers and counselors to determine the best course of action. By working together, we can ensure that your child has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.

Middle School Academic UIL will not be offered this year. This was a difficult decision to make, and we did not arrive at it lightly. While we know you are disappointed to hear this news, we are excited to focus our efforts on other enriching opportunities for our middle school students. Destination Imagination and Baylor TIP both offer a variety of programs that can challenge and inspire your child.

We encourage you to continue supporting our Middle School One Act Play in December. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the talents of our up-and-coming theater and tech students.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

The Destination Imagination global community is united by a core belief that when students have the freedom to grow and collaborate without boundaries, their confidence explodes and the world opens up to them in new ways. We enable this transformation by providing challenges rooted in STEAM subjects that inspire unique solutions through the use of the creative process.

The creators believe that every child deserves the opportunity to tell their story, share their unique creations and be celebrated for what they’ve accomplished. Through witnessing this process of creative self-expression and validation, students blossom into more confident and knowledgeable individuals.

Baylor TIP's mission is to identify exceptional talent in STEM and the humanities and provide world-class learning opportunities commensurate with students’ exceptional potential. They aim to provide transformative learning opportunities to pre-collegiate students; identify and recruit diverse students with the ability, interest, and motivation to achieve at exceptional levels; and prepare pre-collegiate students for exceptional achievement by integrating academic excellence and mentorship in a caring environment.

👏👏👏More information will follow as we develop our partnership and build our program.

Imagine the Earth is a spinning top. Sometimes, the top tilts to one side, and sometimes it tilts to the other side. There are two special times of year when the Earth is standing straight up, not tilted to either side.

These special times are called Equinoxes. They happen twice a year. On these days, everyone on Earth gets almost the same amount of daylight and nighttime. The word "equinox" comes from two Latin words: "aequus" (meaning equal) and "nox" (meaning night). So, an equinox is a time when day and night are nearly equal.

At the equator, the sun is right above our heads at noon on an equinox. But even though it looks like day and night are exactly the same length, they're not quite. That's because the sun's light bends a little bit when it goes through our atmosphere, making it look like the sun is higher than it really is.

Also, the days get a little longer as you go farther away from the equator. This is because the sun has to travel a longer path across the sky. So, on an equinox and for a few days before and after, the days will be a little longer near the North and South Poles than they are at the equator.