Gifted Education

Elementary School Gifted Resource-Cluster Program

Kindergarten and First Grade Services
Prior to gifted identification in the spring of their first-grade year, all kindergarten and first grade students receive gifted instruction through whole group and small group lessons taught by the gifted resource teacher, in collaboration with the classroom teacher. The purpose of these lessons is to provide opportunities for increased rigor and intellectual challenge for students so that the gifted resource teacher (GRT) and classroom teacher are able to identify possible gifted characteristics in students as they work through the lessons.

Emerging Scholars Initiative-ESI

The Emerging Scholars Initiative (ESI) identifies Culturally, Linguistically, Economically, and Diverse (CLED) students with high academic potential in order to nurture potential using a strengths-based approach to prepare students to engage in challenging subject matter and rigorous courses in upper elementary school and beyond. The ESI Model is implemented in VBCPS Title I and former Title I elementary schools and seeks to increase representation in both subgroups (students who are culturally diverse and students in low SES populations), as well as to engage all students in innovative curriculum and instruction.

The Virginia Beach City Public Schools' (VBCPS) Office of K-12 and Gifted Programs partners with the Virginia Beach History Museums (VBHM) and the Chrysler Museum of Art to provide Title I kindergarten students who attend Title I or former Title I schools with a Saturday field trip for the Students and Parents Learning Intellectual Growth Strategies (SAPLINGS) program. These opportunities provide students and parents time to think like historians and architects through their interactions with VBHM and Chrysler Museum of Art staff. Throughout the learning experience, classroom teachers and Gifted Resource Teachers (GRTs) observe students and take anecdotal notes to support identification of gifted characteristics in students.

Resource-Cluster Model
The elementary resource-cluster program provides instruction through the differentiation of curricula responsive to the student’s educational needs, the incorporation of strategies designed to raise the level of learning, and the availability of specialized programs. Curriculum is aligned to the standards of learning and differentiated to provide rigorous learning challenges. Identified gifted students in grades two through five are clustered in heterogeneous classrooms, typically in groups of six to eight, and are taught by a cluster teacher trained in gifted education at the student’s neighborhood school. The GRT, in collaboration with the classroom teacher, differentiates instruction to meet the needs of the gifted learners in their classroom and ensures there is a match between a student’s capabilities and the gifted services delivered.

Middle School Gifted Resource-Cluster Program

Resource-Cluster Program
All VBCPS middle schools offer an inclusive resource-cluster model for students identified as intellectually gifted. Gifted students are grouped with their peers in gifted cluster classes and are offered opportunities for enrichment and differentiation to meet their needs. GRTs at each school work closely with the teachers of these cluster classes to provide coaching, training, and support to maximize the learning opportunities and potential for student success. Students have the opportunity to take advanced classes in English, science, and mathematics, and may begin a foreign language. The pace in the advanced cluster classes is rapid, with students exploring the subjects in greater depth, with additional intensity and through a conceptual lens. Selection of these courses in middle school prepares students to take advanced classes in high school, whether as part of advanced placement curricula or at one of the high school advanced academic or academy programs.

High School Gifted Resource-Cluster Model

The high school gifted program provides educational experiences to students in grades nine through twelve through direct teaching of seminar courses and collaborative work with teachers, administrators, and parents in the school. An on-site gifted resource teacher provides resources, support, guidance, specialized curricula, and instructional strategies, as well as whole group and small group instruction. High school gifted resource teachers coach and collaborate with designated gifted cluster teachers to provide experiences that extend the regular education curriculum to meet the specific learning needs evidenced by gifted students who have demonstrated mastery of skills through pre-assessment activities. For the most recent listing of Gifted Program Credit Courses, please see the Gifted Education section of the current Student Guide for High School Students.

Governor's School for the Arts
Students in grades nine through twelve are eligible to attend the Governor's School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia. Applications are available online at https://www.gsarts.org/admissions. Students must complete the online application and submit all required components by the deadline. The adjudication process takes place in January of each year. Once an audition date and time is assigned, supplemental forms may be required from individual departments. These forms will be emailed with the audition date and time assignment to the student. Students in Virginia Beach City Public Schools are identified as gifted in the visual and performing arts upon acceptance to the Governor's School for the Arts (Visual Arts, Dance, Musical Theatre, Theatre and Film, Instrumental Music, and Vocal Music). Students take their academic classes at their regular high schools in the morning and attend the Governor’s School for the Arts for three hours every day during the regular school year. Students may earn one-and-a-half high school credits for each semester they attend.

Summer Residential Governor's Schools (SRGS)
Summer Residential Governor's Schools provide gifted high school juniors and seniors with intensive educational experiences in agriculture, foreign languages, the humanities, life science and medicine, mathematics, science, and technology or the visual and performing arts. Students also may consider a mentorship experience in engineering or marine science. Any tenth- or eleventh-grade student meeting the requirements may apply for the Summer Residential Governor's Schools beginning in October. Nominations may be made by teachers, guidance counselors, peers, or by the students themselves. A VBCPS selection committee forwards the nominees to a state selection committee. Consideration is given to students' academic records, test scores, extra-curricular activities, honors and awards, creativity, original essays, and teacher recommendations. Students applying for the Visual and Performing Arts Summer Residential Governor's School program must participate in the local audition, usually held late in November, in order to be considered for possible nomination from VBCPS. Nominated students participate in a statewide adjudication in early January. Students join with other Virginia school districts and audition or present portfolios for review before professionals in the specific arts field. Students are notified of their acceptance status for all summer programs in April of each year.

E.E. Brickell Scholarship Program
The Office of K-12 and Gifted Programs, in partnership with the Virginia Beach Rotary Club, sponsors the E.E. Brickell Scholarship Program at all high schools. The Brickell scholarship is awarded to one high school senior for their exceptional academic achievement and school involvement, including exemplary community service. Brickell Scholars participate in four "scholar seminars" centered on various social and civic issues that impact society and their local community. Twenty-four students compete for the prestigious Brickell Scholarship which is typically awarded during the annual Virginia Beach Rotary Club Scholarship dinner. Brickell Scholars are selected from each VBCPS high school during the spring of their junior year. Dr. Deepak Talreja, of Eastern Virginia Medical School, was the first Brickell Scholarship winner from the VBCPS Class of 1990.