About the Rogers Park Highly Gifted Program

  • Qualifying

    The Î÷Ê©Ö±²¥APP School District supports the unique needs of highly gifted students by offering the Highly Gifted (HG) Program at Rogers Park Elementary School. Approximately 170 kindergarten through fifth-grade students, nearly 45% of the school’s total population, share classrooms with their academic peers. Qualifying students must have a reading achievement score at or above the 96th percentile and a verbal ability score at or above the 98th percentile. 

    More detailed information is available at Rogers Park Elementary Highly Gifted Program.

     

    Staff

    HG program staff are trained in gifted education, enabling them to address a variety of gifted-related issues including perfectionism and underachievement. Our program is grounded in challenge, student engagement, differentiated learning, 21st-century performance skills for gifted students, and the social and emotional needs of highly gifted learners. We provide an environment where students consistently interact with same-age peers who are also intellectual peers. Learning is developmentally appropriate while offering acceleration tailored to the particular needs of a given classroom of students. Enriched activities and opportunities to extend beyond standard grade-level skills and concepts are routine. 

    Our staff addresses the Social Emotional Learning Standards and the unique needs of gifted students by working with whole classes, small groups, and individuals. Literature and team-building initiatives are used to address topics such as building social skills, dealing with bullies, working cooperatively, being a dependable friend, and developing Habits of Mind.  

     

    Curriculum

    Our Language Arts program centers on Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) for K-2 with enrichment provided using the Wit & Wisdom. Grades 3-5 core Language Arts curriculum is Wit &Wisdom. The goals of CKLA and Wit & Wisdom are to provide foundational reading skills while offering opportunities for in-depth exploration of literature using depth of knowledge and high rigor. In math, students are grouped by achievement & ability and work through the Ready Mathematics curriculum at a pace that allows for enrichment, depth, and complexity.  Beast Academy also offers enrichment and acceleration opportunities for students. Science kits, experiments, and science fair projects allow students the opportunity to be scientists rather than just read about science. Social studies projects and simulations offer both student involvement and enrichment. Other projects such as Mini-Society, National History Day, and ROPEs provide opportunities for student choice and creativity. HG students also participate in health, P.E., music, and art classes. All Rogers Park students work on skills and projects using available technology.  

     

    Growth Mindset

    Rogers Park HG Program is committed to developing a growth mindset school environment - a place where all students believe that with effort and perseverance, they can develop their intelligence and succeed.  Dr. Carol Dweck, an educational researcher at Stanford University, has developed two belief systems about intelligence (fixed and growth), which have incredible implications for the success of individuals in all aspects of their lives. 

     

    Habits of Mind

    The critical attribute of intelligent humans is to not only have information but also know how to act on it. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallik describe sixteen that help people develop thinking skills and react appropriately in different situations. These habits are:
    • Persisting
    • Thinking interdependently
    • Managing impulsivity
    • Gathering data through all senses
    • Listening with understanding and empathy
    • Applying past knowledge to new situations 
    • Thinking flexibly   
    • Responding with wonderment and awe
    • Thinking about thinking (meta-cognition
    • Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
    • Striving for accuracy
    • Finding humor
    • Questioning and posing problems
    • Taking responsible risks
    • Creating, imagining, innovating
    • Remaining open to continuous learning

  • The HG program has adopted the instruction and use of these sixteen Habits of Mind with its students. When these habits are used, the results produced are more powerful and of higher quality than if these intellectual resources are not drawn upon. These provide a common vocabulary and an emphasis on habits that use the full spectrum of intellectual capabilities. 

     

    Student Progress

    Each year, students will work with their classroom teachers to develop work that shares evidence of growth in selected Habits of Mind. These artifacts include academic, social-emotional, and artistic evidence of student growth. Parents are invited to celebrate this growth at the end of the year and will have the opportunity to meet with the teacher expert to discuss student progress. Students in our program receive a quarterly report card and hold conferences with classroom teachers along with other students.