Kindergarten and First Grade Services
Kindergarten students and first graders are considered members of the school division's talent pool where the focus on gifted services is on the recognition and development of student potential. Students in kindergarten and grade 1(K-1) are provided gifted curriculum and instruction through whole group and small group lessons by the gifted resource teacher and through differentiated curriculum and instruction developed by the classroom teacher in collaboration with the gifted resource teacher. These lessons are designed to develop student abilities to think critically, creatively, logically, and to reason and problem solve. All gifted resource lessons are based on the Virginia Beach City Public Schools regular education curriculum but are differentiated to increase the level of challenge for students.
While the gifted resource teacher models strategies and conducts lessons, the classroom teacher actively participates by observing students' responses or co-teaching lessons. All kindergarten and first grade teachers are trained in recognizing and recording evidence of gifted behaviors. Ongoing assessment of student performance is used to differentiate the K-1 curriculum in order to appropriately challenge and engage high ability students. The gifted resource teacher supports the kindergarten and first-grade teachers by offering support in the ongoing differentiation of the regular curriculum, by providing resources, and by training teachers in gifted education curriculum models and instructional strategies.
In first grade, all students enrolled in Virginia Beach City Public Schools are screened to ensure consideration for gifted program services. With parent/guardian permission for continued assessment, students who score at the 90% or higher on the screening instrument are referred for additional testing. All students referred for testing are reviewed by the Gifted Identification and Placement Committee. Any student can be referred for continued assessment, regardless of their score on the screening instrument. Parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, or anyone with knowledge of the child's abilities may refer the student for continued assessment and consideration by the Gifted Identification and Placement Committee.
Resource-Cluster Model
See individual schools.
Gifted services are available to elementary school children in their neighborhood schools through the resource-cluster model. Kindergarten and first-grade teachers, along with the gifted resource teacher and the building principal, collaborate to decide the appropriate level of instruction for the students. Instructional involvement may come through staff development services, extension activities, whole group lessons, or various configurations of small groupings of students. Identified students in grades two through five are placed in heterogeneous classrooms, in groups of six to eight, and are taught by a cluster teacher trained in gifted education. A resource teacher, endorsed in gifted education, assists the cluster teacher in delivering instruction at a depth and rate conducive to the intellectual needs of gifted learners. The resource-cluster program is grounded in general education curriculum but is differentiated, modified, and expanded to provide appropriate learning challenges. Students are required to demonstrate mastery of the state-mandated Standards of Learning and their instruction is differentiated to meet their intellectual needs.
Gifted Arts Programs at the Elementary School Level
Gifted Dance Education Program
The Gifted Dance Education Program is a pull-out model for identified students in grades three through eight and is housed at Old Donation Center. Admission into the program is determined through an application process.
Dance students are presented a comprehensive curriculum which emphasizes the areas of concepts and skill development, dance history and appreciation, and creativity.
Additional information about the Gifted Dance Education Program may be found on the Old Donation Center website.
Gifted Visual Arts Program
Identified students in grades three through five may participate in the Gifted Visual Arts Program housed at Old Donation Center. Admission into this one day per week pull-out program is determined through an application process which includes an audition.
Instruction in the program is designed to challenge and meet the educational needs of students identified as gifted in the visual arts. The curriculum integrates art history, criticism, aesthetic perception, creativity, theory, and skill development, as well as components from the core curriculum of knowledge.
Students in sixth through eighth grade identified as gifted in visual arts who wish to participate in the Gifted Visual Arts Program attend Virginia Beach Middle School (VBMS). Students attend VBMS full time and the gifted art instruction is built into their regular school schedule.
Additional information about the Gifted Visual Arts programs may be found on the Old Donation Center website.
ODC is a centralized, full-time, gifted school designed to serve identified students in grades two through five. Parents of children interested in attending this school must complete an application and their children must meet the criteria for gifted identification in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. All applicants are assessed in terms of determining the best educational environment to suit his or her academic needs.
The curriculum encompasses all learning objectives determined by the school district and the Virginia Standards of Learning and expands and extends specifically to meet the needs of the gifted learner. The content of the courses is both compacted and extended so students are not only accelerated, but also are covering material in greater depth. Specialized lessons and units include research and independent study as major components of each subject area.
Old Donation Center offers art, music, physical education, and computer, in addition to English, math, science, and social studies. Extra-curricular activities include options such as Future Problem Solving, yearbook, student newspaper, SCA, and other clubs in which students have special interest.
Students may be considered for gifted programs through referral by parents/guardians, students, teachers, themselves, other persons who may have knowledge or expertise to make such a referral including community members, or by any other appropriate school personnel (e.g. student support teams). In addition, the division screens all first and fifth graders to ensure consideration for gifted services. Parents or guardians will be notified by mail of the screening results. Referral forms are available in all schools from the gifted resource teacher, the guidance department, or gifted program contact and may be submitted at any time during the academic year to the gifted resource teacher at the individual school. A Parent Information Referral Form is also available. Detailed information on the referral process.
Old Donation Center requires a separate application process and is deadline sensitive. Parents of students who are interested in the full-time school in grades 3-5 must be certain that completed applications are received by the first of February each year. Rising grade 2 student applications are due on the first workday in March.
Student eligibility for citywide gifted services is determined through the use of multiple criteria, and students must demonstrate potential for exceptional performance and academic needs that cannot be met through general education curricula. The Virginia Department of Education has established the following categories of giftedness:
- General Intellectual Aptitude: Students with advanced aptitudes as demonstrated by advanced skills and creative expression in general intellectual ability
- Academic Aptitude Specific: Students with specific aptitudes in an academic area: math; the sciences; and/or the humanities as demonstrated by advanced skills and creative expression in those areas
- Technical and Practical Arts Aptitude: Students with specific aptitudes in selected technical or practical arts as demonstrated by advanced skills and creative expression in the technical and practical arts
- Visual and Performing Arts Aptitude: Students with specific aptitudes in selected visual or performing arts as demonstrated by advanced skills and creative expression and who excel consistently in the development of a product or performance in any of the visual and/or performing arts.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools identifies students in the areas of General Intellectual Aptitude and Visual and Performing Arts Aptitude.
Once a student has been tested, data is compiled and forwarded to an identification and placement committee that reviews the data submitted to determine eligibility for gifted services. Criteria for selection include a combination of the following elements:
- academic achievement
- teacher recommendations
- ability test scores
- achievement test scores
- parent checklist of behaviors
- an audition or portfolio of student works for visual and performing arts programs
Referrals for the resource-cluster program and other citywide gifted programs are reviewed periodically throughout the year. Parents or guardians are notified of the committee's decision by letter. Applications for grades 3-5 at the Old Donation Center program are accepted through the first of February of the current year. Rising grade 2 student applications are due on the first workday in March. Parents or guardians are notified of the committee's decisions by letter.
Parents/guardians, teachers, or counselors may initiate the consideration process for a change in program placement. The evaluation committee considers the criteria previously used for program placement and any additional information that may be available such as performance in gifted program activities and classes. After the committee reviews all information, it will recommend one of the following actions:
- continued placement
- change in placement
- initiation of exit procedure
The committee chair notifies parents or guardians at the initiation of the reevaluation process and of the committee's decision.
Parents or guardians may appeal the decision of the Gifted Identification and Placement Committee when there is additional, pertinent information. An appeal form may be obtained from the Gifted Testing Office. All appeal requests must be submitted to the director of the Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum Development by the deadline provided within the letter communicating the decision of the Gifted Identification and Placement Committee. The parents or guardians will be notified by letter of the director’s receipt of the appeal.
At the initial meeting of the appeals committee, all data collected, including additional, pertinent information submitted in the appeal, are reviewed. The committee will decide if additional assessment data are needed or the committee may determine that, based on the data that has been submitted, no additional data are needed. Any additional assessments must be initiated by the committee and administered by Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Assessments not conducted by Virginia Beach City Public Schools will not be considered by the committee.
The committee's decision may include one of the following:
- Uphold the original decision of the identification and placement committee
- Reverse the decision of the identification and placement committee
- Gather additional or updated data
The parents or guardians will be informed of the appeals committee’s decision by letter.
Requests for appeals for admission to Old Donation Center are first addressed by the principal of Old Donation Center.
The Gifted Education Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is appointed by the school board to offer advice regarding gifted services. The CAC is comprised of parents, gifted education teachers, administrators, gifted students, and the business community. The makeup of the committee reflects the various school levels and populations, geographic, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of the community.
Parents have formed an active PTA chapter at Old Donation Center that meets monthly. The PTA is very active in school activities and plays a large part in fund raising efforts and special projects. All parents are encouraged to join.