Bamberg's RCES Gifted & Talented program, Project Beyond, is for students identified as academically gifted. It is a resource room, pull-out program serving grade 3-6 students meeting the qualifications. Middle School students are served in a self-contained class. Honors classes are offered in grades nine through twelve.
The Mission of gifted education is to maximize the potential of gifted and talented students by providing programs and services that match the unique characteristics and needs of these students.
Gifted and Talented Students: Who are they?
Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishments when compared with others of their age, experience or environment. They exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and and/ or artistic ares, possess an unusual leadership capacity/ or excel in specific academic fields. They require services of activities not ordinarily provided by the schools. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata and in all areas of human endeavor.
Timeline for Services
Students are tested throughout the school year for identification in grades 2-6. Testing is an on-going process for initial identification from year to year. Once a student is identified, they do not have to re-qualify with each grade level promotion. Services for gifted and talented in BSD1 are provided in grades 3-8 in a pull-out program weekly or bi-weekly in grades 7 and 8. Students are removed from the regular classroom for a specified period each week (or every other week) for an accelerated and enriched curriculum.
Interdisciplinary units of study focus on an infusion of technology, research, creativity, and critical thinking skills.
Qualifications
Gifted and talented students may be found within any racial, ethinc, of socioeconomic group; within any nationality; within both genders and within populations with disabilities. Identification is a multi-step process, which consists of referral, screening, and assessment of eligibility by a district evaluation and placement team. The State of South Carolina has established three dimensions of giftedness as criteria for placement in the academically gifted program. In order to qualify for placement in gifted/ talented programs, a student must meet the eligibility criteria in TWO out of the following three dimensions:
Dimension A Reasoning*
Students must score at or above the 93rd national age percentile on a nationally normed aptitude test. Students may be eligible for placement on the basis of aptitude scores alone if they score at or above the 96th national age percentile on the composite score of a nationally normed aptitude test.
Dimension B: Achievement*
Students must score at or above the 94th percentile on approved subtests (reading or math) on a nationally normed achievement test of score at the level established yearly by the SCSDE for reading and or math on the state mandated test. Students are NOT eligible on the basis of achievement scores alone.
Dimension C: Academic Performance*
Academic Performance is only applied if a student has already met Dimension A or B. For placement in grades 3-6, a student must achieve the performance standard on verbal or non-verbal performance tasks. Beginning in grade 6, a 3.75 grade point average in the academic disciplines is used in lieu of the performance tasks.
Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Students
- Learns easily and rapidly.
- Thinks clearly, recognizes implied relationships, and comprehends meanings.
- Reads on the average two years above grade level.
- Retains what he has heard or read without appearing to need too much rote or drill.
- Possesses a large vocabulary.
- Exhibits independence, individualism, self sufficiency.
- Demonstrates a curious and investigative nature.
- Asks penetrating, searching questions.
- Focuses intently on areas of interest.
- Produces original products or ideas.
- Prefers complex ideas.