We are fortunate at Bill Roberts to have a relatively large population of gifted and talented students – approximately 20% of our students receive GT programming. Apart from magnet schools, Bill Roberts has one of the highest percentages of GT kids in the district.
We provide additional services for these children in many forms and have GT specialists onsite. Much of our GT programming takes place in the students’ own classrooms. Classroom teachers use a variety of strategies to create challenging learning opportunities for gifted students. Some of these GT teaching techniques include:
Pull-out cluster grouping with onsite GT teacher
Gifted students work together to complete a multidisciplinary unit or project.
Advanced content
Providing appropriate content that is above grade-level.
Curriculum enrichment/extensions
High level questioning techniques
Asking students to apply information in new and creative ways.
Independent studies
Gifted and Talented Website Grades 3-8
Gifted and Talented Grades 1-2 Website
Additional Gifted and Talented Programming
Elementary School
At Bill Roberts, we provide pull out instruction for gifted students in 1st-5th grades. During pull out instruction time, small groups of students meet with a GT specialist. The specialist provides activities that help students learn problem-solving skills by thinking creatively and abstractly. Our intent is to push students’ learning and thinking to a deeper level. Pull-out groups are “fluid,” meaning they will be flexible and change throughout the year based on teacher assessments, students’ needs and individual skills.
Middle School
Our school offers enrichment programs for GT students in 6th-8th grades. Our GT teacher teaches two electives for middle school: Creative Thinking and Yearbook. In Creative Thinking, students engage in a variety of learning activities that activate creative thinking, logical thinking, teamwork and an opportunity to pursue a passion project. Creative thinking is different each trimester so students can take it multiple times; it is open to GT identified students, or students seeking an additional challenge. Yearbook is by application only and the team of students works together to build the annual Bill Roberts yearbook.
What is Giftedness?
In the Denver Public Schools, “gifted and talented” means those students whose demonstrated abilities, talents and/or potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs. These students perform, or show the potential of performing, at remarkably high levels in intellectual, specific academic or creative areas when compared with others of their age and experience.
Gifted and talented children are present in all student groups, regardless of gender, disability, English language proficiency, economic status, ethnic or cultural background.
It is a Denver Public Schools’ policy that ALL students be screened for gifted services at the school level. Identification is based on multiple criteria from behavioral, academic, and creative domains.
In addition to the universal screener (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test) administered in Kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades, parents of students in other grades may nominate students to take the CogAT (Cognitive abilities Test) for HGT identification to attend a magnet program. For more information, please visit the DPS GT website.
Identification for the GT or HGT Program
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If not, please email us at billrobertswebsite@gmail.com
