Screening Deadlines for Gifted & Talented Program

(November 6, 2009) - Beginning in November, parents of Katy ISD students in grades one through 11 can be referred for screening for the 2010-2011 gifted and talented program. Parents who are interested in referring their children for the gifted program also are encouraged to attend a “GT Program Awareness” session starting at 7 p.m., Dec.7, in Room 1200 at the Katy ISD Administration Building located at 6301 S. Stadium Lane.

To initiate a referral to the GT program, parents must complete a GT Parent Checklist, which can be obtained at all elementary, junior high and high school campuses, or from the Katy ISD Web site at http://www.katyisd.org/gt/Pages/default.aspx.  Parents of students in grades one through four must complete the Elementary Parent Checklist, while parents of students in grades five through eleven must complete the Secondary Parent Checklist.  The deadline to return to the elementary school office the grades one through five Parent Checklists is December 16, 2009; the deadline to return to the junior high or high school office the grades six through eleven Parent Checklists is January 15, 2010

These deadlines will be adhered to so that students can be tested on designated testing days. Students whose GT Parent Checklists are not returned by the deadline will not be screened for service for the 2010-2011 school year. 

The State of Texas requires that multiple objective and subjective measures be used to identify students for gifted programs. Screening instruments include the parent checklist, classroom observations, standardized ability and achievement tests. Elementary students may also take an intelligence test. 

The GT program for elementary students consists of a one-day-a-week pullout in the Challenge classroom with a teacher trained in gifted education. The program for secondary students (grades six through 12) is a subject specific aptitude program that targets the language arts, math, social studies and science disciplines.

Secondary students may be referred for screening in one, two, three or all four content areas. After identification, students are served within the Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-AP programs. Secondary students currently identified as GT may request screening for service in additional content areas. Requests must be made to GT Facilitator by January 15, 2010.

Parents may contact campus counselors, elementary Challenge teachers, or secondary GT facilitators if they have additional questions. Students already identified and experiencing success in the GT program do not need to be re-screened.

Transfer students who were screened in fall 2009 must wait one full academic year before they can be re-screened.