Volume 1 - November 2023

Greenwich Public Schools serves the top achieving students through the Advanced Learning Program in elementary school, Advanced courses in middle school, and Honors and AP courses in high school. The aim is to provide appropriate learning experiences and intellectual challenges that result in continuous academic growth.

The Grade 2 program uses an enrichment model in reading and math. A student's homeroom teacher remains their primary reading and/or math teacher. Students placed in reading and/or math are pulled out of their homerooms for additional curricula experiences or activities on grade level in reading and/or Math.

The Grades 3, 4, and 5 program uses a replacement model in reading, math, and science. The ALP teacher becomes the student's primary reading, math, and/or science teacher. Instruction is both advanced and, where appropriate, accelerated. Advanced is defined as opportunities to study topics in greater depth or breadth. Acceleration is defined as the presentation of curriculum sooner and at a more rapid pace than the regular curriculum.

All students go through the initial screening for the Advanced Learning Program. A combination of subjective and objective data is considered during the ALP screening process.

The referral process in grades 2-5 is broken down into three tiers:

• Tier 1: Students in grades 2-5 are first flagged as potentially needing an advanced program by a review of academic performance on assessments given at a district level.
• Tier 2: Students who are doing well in their classroom on a daily basis are referred for additional testing by their teachers.
• Tier 3: Parents are invited to refer their child based on what they see outside of school. At the beginning of the parent referral window, a form is emailed to all parents and is also available on the district ALP website.

It does not matter at which tier a student is referred, all students are considered equally for placement in the Advanced Learning Program.

Greenwich uses three types of assessments to paint a precise picture of who the student is:

• Aptitude (CoGAT- Cognitive Abilities Test)
• Achievement (NWEA - Northwest Evaluation Association)
• Qualitative (Performance Task)

Aptitude and Qualitative assessments are embedded into the general education program.

Above grade-level achievement is assessed using the NWEA Reading, Math, and/or Science assessments (depending upon referral subject(s)). More information about the NWEA can be found online.

Students' scores on the CogAT and NWEA are analyzed using a “Z-score.” This statistical calculation explains how a student performs in relation to the class, school, and district average. The Z-scores are used to create a score profile for every student.

All score profiles are also reviewed by a group of teachers, administrators, and members of the ALP leadership team at what we call a Building Advisory Committee. The team conducts a comprehensive review of each child’s score profile and performance during the evaluation in order to make final placement decisions. The final decision is based on a combination of objective test data performance and subjective judgment. All selection decisions reflect the best professional judgment of the committee to determine how to meet each child’s needs.

There are multiple Pathways for placement into ALP.

Students are recommended for ALP placement if their average Z-score places within:

• Top 10% of Building Achievement or Top 10% of District Achievement
• Additional considerations including information provided on the parent referral and input form, teacher feedback from embedded performance tasks and assessments, as well as factors that make placement and performance more complex for twice exceptional students

It is important to remember that children develop at different rates and that strengths emerge at different times and points during a student’s school career. For this reason, we provide rigorous on-grade level core content classes designed to foster critical thinking and skills of a range of students, and we offer multiple entry points into accelerated classes over the course of a student’s K-12 learning/academic experience in the Greenwich Public Schools.

Timelines for ALP and Advanced Studies Placement

Our administrator content area curriculum coordinators work alongside ALP facilitator, Bonnie O'Regan, to create a cohesive experience for our students.

Help facilitate this flow of information by using our group email:

advancedlearning@greenwich.k12.ct.us

In doing so, you ensure that when you communicate with one of us,

you communicate with all of us.

We would love to hear from you! Please send us an email, visit our website, or reach out to our Administrative Assistant, Robyn Byron, to schedule a meeting.

Email: advancedlearning@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Website: https://www.greenwichschools.org/teaching-learning/academics/advanced-learning-program-alp
Location: 290 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT, USA
Phone: (203) 625-7462