Local Plan for the Gifted

In 1993, the Virginia Board of Education adopted the current Regulations Governing Educational Services for Gifted Students, which outline the requirements of the local plan for the education of the gifted that school divisions must submit to the Department of Education for approval. Currently, local plans for the gifted are renewed every five years.

Fairfax County Public Schools Local Plan for the Gifted outlines a continuum of gifted services that are offered in grades K - 12.  The plan was updated and revised through the efforts of a committee that consisted of community members, central office staff, and elementary, middle, and high school administrators and teachers.  The major changes to the plan consist of new goals for 2006 - 2011, and language that supports a continuum of gifted services for all students K-12.
The plan consists of two parts: 

Part One includes a Vision/Mission, Philosophy, and Goals Statement.  Goals for the next five years have been outlined in five areas:  identification, delivery of services, curriculum development, professional development, and parent and community involvement.

Part Two outlines the current status of gifted education in Fairfax County Public Schools.  Fairfax County Public Schools Gifted and Talented (GT) Programs provide a continuum of gifted services to K-12 students, who demonstrate advanced academic strengths.  Teachers, administrators, and specialists work together to make decisions that provide the appropriate level of challenge for each learner, allowing students to move to another level as needed. 

Gifted and talented school-based services in the elementary and middle school (Levels I, II, and III) are designed to provide opportunities for all students to develop academic strengths through more rigorous and challenging curriculum and instruction.  Model lessons that extend and enrich the Program of Studies with a focus on higher level thinking skills are provided to all children. 

In addition, many elementary schools with large numbers of students from diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds nurture and develop gifted potential in young learners through the implementation of the Young Scholars model.  This K-8 model is designed to increase the proportion of historically underrepresented students in gifted programs.  The GT Center program (Level IV) for students in grades three through eight offers identified students a full-time highly challenging instructional program that follows the FCPS Program of Studies.  Differentiation in the depth, breadth, and pace of instruction is designed to meet the needs of advanced learners with a strong emphasis on problem solving, independent and group research, investigations, and higher level thinking skills.  The Parallel Curriculum Model is used to design lessons and units that provide ascending levels of intellectual challenge along the continuum of gifted services.

At the high school level, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses are considered levels II - IV depending on the number of courses a student takes.  Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is considered a Level IV service.

The Local Plan for the Gifted is available on our website http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt

Carol V. Horn, Ed.D.
Coordinator, Advanced Academic Programs
Fairfax County Public Schools
Carol.Horn@fcps.edu

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