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Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: Does Rockwood have a gifted program at the middle school level? View Answer
Answer: Yes. The middle school gifted program is called Academic Stretch. Academic Stretch is offered in conjunction with Compacted Challenge Language Arts. Students must qualify for both the gifted program and Challenge Language Arts in order to enroll in the Compacted Challenge Language Arts/Academic Stretch Block. Q: Do kids have to re-qualify for the gifted program upon entering the middle school? View Answer
Answer:
No. Once a student is identified as gifted, Rockwood provides the option of programming K-12. It is the district’s philosophy that students need the opportunity to work with gifted specialists throughout their stay in Rockwood. Q: If my child did not go to the CCL, can my child take Stretch? View Answer
Answer:
Yes. Attendance at the CCL is not required in order to participate in Academic Stretch. If your child is identified as gifted in the Rockwood School District, he or she may take Academic Stretch. Students’ annual enrollment in Academic Stretch occurs simultaneously with all other course selections. Q: Is it too late to qualify for the gifted program in 6th grade? 7th grade? 8th grade? High School? View Answer
Answer:
No. Students and parents can contact the gifted education department or your school’s counseling office and obtain nomination and testing information. This request can be made at any stage of a student’s Rockwood education. Q: If my child does not take Stretch one year, can he/she take it the following year? View Answer
Answer:
Yes. If your child is identified as gifted in the Rockwood School District, he or she may take Academic Stretch. Students’ annual enrollment in Academic Stretch occurs simultaneously with all other course selections. Students are encouraged to take Stretch all three years but are not required to do so. Q: Can my child drop Stretch in mid-year? View Answer
Answer:
Yes, although it is not recommended. Such a decision should not be taken lightly and should include input from counselors and gifted education specialists. A gifted student in the middle school who is not enrolled in Academic Stretch will not receive direct services from the gifted specialist. Q: Do students get grades in Stretch? View Answer
Answer:
Yes. Grades are given in Stretch, as they are in all other middle school classes. Stretch grades are calculated as part of the student’s grade point average. Q: Why aren’t all gifted kids getting A’s? Why are they still in the program if they are not getting good grades? View Answer
Answer:
Giftedness is not synonymous with high achievement. All students, even those identified as “gifted,” have areas of strength and areas that need to be developed. Gifted middle school students are presented with concepts and skills that are at least two years above grade level. Mastery of these concepts and skills takes practice and time and, when assessment takes place, achievement may vary based on the developmental journey of each student. While grades provide achievement information at one point in time, students are continually working towards the mastery of the necessary study skills, organizational skills, attitudes, and perseverance that influence achievement in positive ways. Q: What do students do in Academic Stretch? What are the curriculum objectives? View Answer
Answer: Academic Stretch is offered every year to qualified students. Students enrolled in this class engage in interdisciplinary units that focus on high interest themes such as change, survival and systems. Within these themes, students are exposed to such topics as forensics, inventions, natural disasters, and the stock market. All topics promote active student engagement in learning and foster skills in research, communication, problem-solving, technology, and time management. Many opportunities to develop personal interests and talents are available through intensive use of technology and such academic learning activities as debates, mock trials, Socratic discussions and research projects. Seventeen process skills within five performance areas are targeted for development across the K-8 gifted curriculum. Those performance areas include Responsibility, Information Processing, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Problem Solving. Q: What are the differences between the grade levels of Stretch? View Answer
Answer:
The curriculum and skills build on previous experiences but are not prerequisites for participation in the program. Program staff are skilled at differentiating instruction and “stretching” students to higher levels of thinking, planning and production. Students achieve these higher levels as they progress through the grade levels. A variety of high interest, real-world topics are explored each year, bringing out students’ innate curiosity, creativity, and drive to understand the world around them. Q: Do all of the Stretch teachers in the same grade level teach the same content? View Answer
Answer:
The skills taught across all units are the same, as are the grade level themes. However, the strengths and interests of teachers and students are considered when topics are chosen to study in classes. Q: How big are Academic Stretch classes? View Answer
Answer: The average Academic Stretch class size is 15.1 students. The majority of Academic Stretch classes range from twelve to eighteen students; however, the Rockwood School District has allowed up to 20 students to enroll in a gifted class. Q: Do students miss another class if they are enrolled in Stretch? View Answer
Answer: No. Students who are enrolled in Academic Stretch take a specially designed Compacted Challenge Language Arts (CCLA) class that meets every other day and covers the same topics and skills taught in Challenge Language Arts. Thus, gifted students do not have to leave a class in the middle of instruction in order to attend their gifted class. Rather, instruction in language arts and Stretch occurs on alternating days. Q: How does Stretch fit into the middle school schedule? Why is it paired with Compacted Challenge Language Arts? View Answer
Answer: Rockwood uses block scheduling at the middle school level. Students have three ninety-minute class blocks per day, plus lunch and elective classes. Students taking Stretch participate in a ninety-minute class every other day. On the alternating day, students participate in Compacted Challenge Language Arts. Language Arts is the only core class offered on a daily basis. All other core classes are offered every other day. Pairing Academic Stretch with any other core class would mean that students only have a core class once a week on alternating weeks. That situation was not considered viable when the middle school gifted program was designed. Pairing Stretch with Language Arts allows students to receive Language Arts two or three times per week. Q: What is the difference between the Challenge Language Arts Block and the Compacted Challenge Language Arts/Academic Stretch Block? View Answer
Answer: The Compacted Challenge Language Arts/Academic Stretch block is only open to students identified as gifted. Any identified gifted student who meets criteria for Challenge Language Arts can enroll in the Compacted Challenge Language Arts block. Students in this combined block cover the regular Challenge Language Arts curriculum at an accelerated pace. The time that is “freed up” through this acceleration provides students the opportunity to participate in Academic Stretch’s high interest interdisciplinary studies. The Compacted Challenge Language Arts and Academic Stretch classes meet every other day for ninety minutes. Q: How can the Challenge Language Arts curriculum be taught in less time when it is combined with Academic Stretch? View Answer
Answer: This is possible for three reasons: pre-testing, increasing the pace of instruction and eliminating duplication of content. Pre-testing identifies skills and topics students already know and therefore do not need to be taught. By identifying these topics early in the year, segments of the curriculum can be eliminated or greatly reduced for many students. The pace can also be altered since gifted students tend to learn new material faster than their grade level peers. Generally, gifted students require less practice, less coaching, and fewer repetitions in order to learn new concepts. This faster learning with fewer repetitions means that more material can be covered in a given period of time. In all cases, skills and books that are most fundamental to the curriculum are prioritized for teaching. Finally, there are many areas in which the language arts and Stretch curriculum overlap. These areas include literature, vocabulary and research skills. The language arts and gifted teachers collaborate to eliminate activities and lessons that do not need to be repeated in both classes, thus freeing up time to pursue other topics in their respective curriculum areas. Q: What if my child isn’t good at language arts? Will my child miss key concepts and skills in language arts because they are in Stretch (and in language arts half the time)? View Answer
Answer:
Many of the skills normally taught in Language Arts are also covered in Academic Stretch, such as note-taking, outlining, preparing and sharing presentations, reading and writing. Grammar, punctuation and other "language arts" skills are also addressed in Stretch. Thus, although the schedule would suggest that gifted students only receive half as much language arts time, they are given the opportunity to learn and apply language arts skills in Academic Stretch while pursuing interdisciplinary units of study. Q: How should we determine whether our child belongs in the Compacted Challenge Language Arts/Academic Stretch Block? View Answer
Answer: Your school counselor will notify you regarding whether your child meets the criteria for this block. If your child qualifies and is willing to engage in challenging work, then we recommend enrollment in the program. The work is manageable and there should not be more homework than is required in the regular Challenge Language Arts class. Most Academic Stretch students are in all Challenge classes and do very well. Help with organizational skills is offered within the program to students who need support in that area. Q: Why can’t Stretch be offered as an Encore? View Answer
Answer:
Encore classes are intended to give students the opportunity to participate in and broaden areas of talent and interest. Encore classes include world languages, band, orchestra, art and theater, as well as family and consumer science. If Stretch were scheduled as an Encore, gifted students would have to choose between the gifted program and receiving instruction in one of their two interest areas. In addition, Encore classes meet daily but are half the length of time. Gifted studies involve immersion in subject matter and problem-solving. That immersion would be significantly impacted with shorter class periods. Q: Why is Academic Stretch important? View Answer
Answer:
The Stretch program provides students with the opportunity to work and interact with their intellectual peers, which is important for overall development during the middle school years. While focusing on curriculum that is both interesting and intellectually challenging, students can share experiences unique to gifted individuals. This combination of academic and social engagement helps build student self-confidence and foster good work habits. It also encourages students to set meaningful academic and social goals for themselves. Q: How do students benefit from participating in Academic Stretch? View Answer
Answer:
Students who enroll in the Academic Stretch course benefit both academically and affectively in a variety of ways:
Academic Benefits
•Students are exposed to advanced skills in such areas as problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication.
•The curriculum focuses on project-based learning and immersion in complex, real-world challenges.
•Students are able to pursue interests and topics in greater depth and breadth than otherwise possible.
•Sophisticated use of technology is a key element of instruction and classroom projects.
Affective Benefits
•Students can share their interests and passion for learning without fear of ridicule.
•Students meet and spend time with students with whom they form lasting friendships.
•Students have a teacher who is certified in gifted education and who also serves as an advocate in meetings with school counselors, principals, special education teachers, core teachers, etc. |
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