Criteria for Eligibility
Eligibility for services as a gifted student is based on evaluation in each of the following component areas:
· Academic Achievement
· Creative Thinking
· Academic Performance
· Cognition/Intelligence

The Referral Process
Anyone, including the parent(s), guardian, or community professional may refer a student for screening and possible evaluation. A screening team of educational professionals considers screening information, previous evaluations, and teacher/parent input to determine if a comprehensive evaluation is needed. The team's decision is based on multiple data sources. An assessment team will determine the types of assessment needed. All procedural safeguards are followed to ensure evaluation procedures are non-discriminatory.

Services for Gifted Students
Special services are often required to meet the unique needs of gifted children. A team of professionals and the child's parent(s) plan the student's educational program based on the assessment information obtained through the evaluation process.

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Although no two gifted students are exactly alike, there are some characteristics which gifted children share (in various combinations). Listed below are a few characteristics gifted students may exhibit:

Achievement
· Large storehouse of information on school or non-school topics
· History of outstanding achievement as evidenced by grades, standardized test scores, etc.
· Evidence of desire to learn

Creative Thinking
· Effective (often innovative) strategies for recognizing and solving problems
· Unusually keen sense of humor (gentle or hostile)
· Frustration with traditional thinking
· Intense (sometimes unusual) interests

Academic Performance
· Questions, experiments, explores, challenges others
· Unusual emotional depth, leadership, and ability to deal with diversity

Cognition/Intelligence
· Highly expressive and effective use of words, numbers, symbols, etc.
· Logical approaches to figuring out solutions.

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• Gifted education and the "gifted' label are "elitist' because schools with gifted programs offer 'special' treatment for smart kids that already have it all.
  Gifted education is, in fact, about meeting the academic and affective needs of students whose abilities and knowledge exceed what is being taught in the regular classroom.
  
• Gifted kids have 'pushy" parents.
  Parents of gifted children are often less inclined to make an issue of their children for fear of drawing attention and harming their child's school experience. Often, parents of gifted children may be reliving their own negative experience in school and simply want their child to be intellectually challenged each day in school.
  
• Gifted kids tend to be physically weak and unhealthy.
  Gifted children actually tend to be stronger, have fewer illnesses, and many are outstanding athletes.
  
• Gifted kids are emotionally unstable and social misfits.
  The opposite is generally true. Many children fail to be identified by teachers because their outward behavior seems so normal. They are often very outgoing and can be outstanding leaders.
  
• Gifted kids are enthusiastic about school and academic work.
  Gifted children will, in fact, opt for "alternative' ways to demonstrate their intelligence and creativity, if not encouraged to do so in a school environment. Gifted students will often choose the easiest path to an "A!' since the "A!' comes so easy to them.
  
• Gifted kids are smart enough to learn by themselves.
  Gifted children require the same professional educational and emotional support as other children, but that support must be appropriate to their needs.
  
• Gifted kids are usually from upper middle class professional families.
  Gifted children are found in all socioeconomic groups in proportionate numbers.
  
• Gifted kids with the same level of intelligence have the same abilities and interests.
  Gifted children, like all children, are unique individuals and differ in their abilities, talents, and personalities.
  
• All children are gifted.
  All individuals have gifts that make them unique, but giftedness refers to extraordinary, exceptional, beyond-the-norm abilities and talents.