So, really working with our schools to really provide collaboration opportunities and alignment for those experiences um to make sure that those the our students are going through um programs that prepare them step by step K12.
Any questions? Are you sure you want to ask that? Yes. I have a lot. Do you want me to to ask now or at the end? This is the end. This is the end. This is wonderful. So, go for it now. All right. Time is here. All right. Wonderful. Well, first congratulations. So, just just amazing. So impressive. Um everything uh that people are doing at the at the school level, at the district level. Uh this is really great uh great stuff that we're offering to the community. Um, and I do think that some of the goals are ambitious. I'm just wondering if some of them are ambitious enough. Um, like if we're if our goal for high school um, accelerate or AP or honor participation is 70%. Then why are we not trying to get at the elementary level that similar level? Why is it 30% at elementary, but then we're expecting another 40% to step up in high school?
Um, so I'm just wondering the thought process behind such a different level of goals at each level. So, let me go back. I'll go back just so you can just what you're referencing there. Um, that's a really great question because it does stand out. 30% elementary, 40% um, junior high and 70% in high school. I think there's a lot of different reasons for that. One is we're starting with identifying where we are right now. And you can see on the high school end, we currently have 63% of our students participating in these programs. So it's a 7% jump there to that 70%. We want to grow. Um what stood out to me looking at that number honestly was that's a big number. That's over twothirds of your students participating in advanced learning. Is that right? Well, you look at where we are. Yeah, we can grow and we can do that.
Um so the first answer to that question is really just basing on where we are currently, right? So taking that baseline and saying if we grow by these percentages where are we going to end up in two years? Um so 63% to 70%. 38% where we are now. Last year where we started the baseline was 35% um getting up to 40%. And then in elementary last year we were at 18 and a half um moving up to 30%. Um, so looking at where we are, what we're doing, what we think is ambitious but reasonable. So that's the first piece really in planning and developing these goals, trying to be ambitious but not unrealistic. The second piece is the options in high school. So in high school, you have a lot more options currently in place that fall in those advanced um learning opportunities. So where you can have students take um an early education class and receive college credit for that class.
So that's an advanced learning setting because there's an opportunity for college level post-secary learning there. Um but you don't have those same opportunities that currently exist in elementary. down the road, I think it's reasonable to talk about those things and say, "How can we extend some of those opportunities that we have in high school and connect those pathways all the way through elementary?" Um, I think taking the steps to get there, um, is where we need to go. It's it's it's really comes down to, um, in education, we talk a lot about backwards design. like we want our kids to end up here um in 12th grade. So 11th grade they need to do this, sixth grade they need to be doing this and kind of going back. So continue to look at that as we move forward with our continuous improvement plan. Mr. Gardner, if I may real quick as well, one of the conversations that has been exciting to me to hear from the work that Mr.
Gardner and his team has been doing also is looking at different ways and he mentioned it of identifying gifted students. Um, typically we've qualified across the board and in elementary that's a challenge, right? So, high school if I'm if I have a strength in mathematics, I can take that one course. Traditionally, when you look at what we've offered in elementary schools, not across the board, but but in many locations has been kind of all or nothing, right? you choose traditional or you qualify for gifted in everything or and so it it it because I think maybe your question being at the elementary why wouldn't we be expecting 60 70% to be accessing that there's some planning going on um with Mr. kindergarter and his team. Um there are a couple elementary schools I know he's working closely with right now um on a model that really could uh provide opportunities for students to gain access in a little bit of a different way.
And so I I think identifying that as a marker and as a as a not a challenge area, but but something that we need to come up with a variety of options is there. And so, um, he has shared, um, some great great planning that's coming up. I think that you'll be excited to learn more about as well. Yeah, that's great. And we can we can talk more, uh, after the meeting um, about some of those things. That would be great. I do think at the elementary school level, too. I think that there's a lot of our students who who may not qualify through the gifted testing that is that are up to it if we challenge them and lift. And so I I think that maybe that is kind of the direction you're going and I'd love to see more of that and and that may be an and that that's really considering that's that's a great thing that we're doing um and have started a couple of years now within the accelerated program where it is more a choice of student and parents to participate in those uh traditional and accelerated programs where you don't have to qualify the same way you do for gifted.
Gifted is really intended to capture 3% of the population. Um we're capturing nearly 10% within our district. Um so it's it we're we're really identifying more potential within those students. Um but within that qualification based on ad um 3% really you don't have a whole lot of growth just um to to a 30% with gifted alone. So that fits very nicely with my question. Um my question is okay we have the traditional model we have accelerated model we have gifted. If we have children and parents who prefer just the conventional typical classroom and but they want um additional opportunities or rigor for their child, what is the pathway for that? So conventional um experiences are all so our traditional campuses um as well as our accelerated campuses and all of our gifted campuses also have conventional classrooms. So, you can choose that if you wanted to participate in the gifted program and your student qualifies.
Um, for the majority of the day, they would participate in a conventional classroom and then receive those gifted services. It's a pull out um enrichment, an acceleration, um, to that learning. So, they'd still participate in the conventional. I'm talking about maybe someone that didn't qualify for gifted, but maybe doesn't want to do an accelerated classroom, but is there in the typical classroom and could use a little more rigor. the pathway is in that classroom with that teacher with rigor. Okay. And so that's where we promote that all the time with our teachers in terms of um not just teaching to the middle uh providing opportunities whether whatever class you're in. I don't care if you're an accelerated, you're still going to challenge those students to the best of your ability. And that's the things that we train our teachers on. All right. Thank you. Any additional questions?
So I think these programs are amazing and um thank you for the presentation. Um my one question is is there I know we're you know kind of encouraging students to get into the accelerated and other programs like that. Are there kids who get into the accelerated but maybe struggle and go back to like kind of the traditional classroom? And is that a large number or There there are definitely in all of these areas there's going to be kids that are going to get in and and struggle. um that is on us as teachers to adapt, differentiate to meet those student needs. Um we work hard um to keep those kids as long as makes sense within those programs. Um because a hurdle now doesn't mean a hurdle always. So working through those challenges but there it does occur but it's it's fairly rare where there's um we get to a point we have and we have a conversation parents teacher um administrators if necessary meet together to say is this the best and appropriate placement um for your child and we follow the same process as we would in any classroom where we might be identifying a student for additional services um including special education or maybe um you know some um intervention resources is um for their needs.
Um just because a student's an accelerated or an advanced setting does not mean they shouldn't have access to intervention. Um they still need that. And Mr. Brainer, there are many times that schools that have accelerated classrooms where um principal, parent, student sit down and um the parent really wants their child to give accelerated a shot. And so, but they may or may not be successful. But what I love in those conversations are the fact that they want to give it a try and um we're not going to let them fail and they may not be successful in an accelerated class elementary but there's always that ability to go to the conventional and um but we want them to try and it's like he said it's those opportunities for those kids and that's the perfect place to to try that at. So great question. I have one more question because you know often I mean if we're um testing for gifted in second grade there are early kids who blossom early and there are later developers.
So um when we have children who maybe um blossom later um I think that is also something we need to take into consideration that they mature and are ready for that at maybe a later you know maybe fourth grade or sixth grade or or eighth grade. Right. Absolutely. So um we know that exposure to academic settings, exposure to reading, exposure to problem solving impacts that score students get on that gifted test. So a a child based on their home environment, based on their experience within any kind of academic setting is going to impact that potential. So currently we have the ability to request two times a year from a parent, from a teacher and many of those are third, fourth, fifth grade students that are now demonstrating some ability that wasn't previously identified. Um but that's another reason why we want to continue to expand those testing opportunities.
Um the other piece is that you pointed out junior high. Well, we need to continue to expand our gifted opportunities throughout junior high. Um but then as we do that testing that more comprehensive testing um and provide those opportunities then we can identify those those late bloomer students and provide them with those services that they need. Ultimately we want kids whatever their potential is to achieve it and we can't do that if we don't know that potential. All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate the presentation. It's been very beneficial. I I do I'm I'm I am limiting myself. They are. I'm very generous limits though. Um, in in high school, so there's I can't remember is there four or five different categories. Are we are we pushing them all across the board? Are there focus on certain areas? I mean, we see some I mean amazing growth across the board, like the smallest dip in honors.
Is that maybe because some of those honors classes are doing more AP versus honors or are we pushing all of them? Are we pushing certain ones? We're really pushing across the board. Um, as we expand our AP options, we'll probably see some dip in honors. Um, because some of those classes will switch over to AP. Um, and what I would focus on is the overall advanced percentage where we are because, um, and at Gilbert where they offer Gilbert High where they offer IB, um, sometimes you're going to have some competition between AP, IB, um, dual enrollment. They sometimes compete with each other. sometimes they overlap or we have a dual enrollment class that's also AP. Um so there is some competition between programs from time to time. Um but we don't want to sacrifice one program or another. I would say honors generally um you have a lot more honors courses offered in 9th and 10th grade that lead into AP.
Um so I look at honors as often times that kind of um that introductory course into that higher rigor class. Um because ultimately my ideal as a parent as well as an educator would be that if a student's working at that level that they're also working towards some kind of college credit with that if possible. Great. Thank you. And I'd be happy afterwards or another date to come and talk more and answer more of your questions. Um the things we're doing are great. Our students are doing phenomenal things. So it's a wonderful position for me to be in to be able to help and support that and be in this community. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, that that is what I'll limit myself to. Exactly. This is so great. I could talk about it all night. The specific dip was um honors pre-calc flipped into AP pre-calc.
Oh, that year. There we go. So, a couple percent switch right there just based on the one course. Sorry, could you just remind me of what Mr. Gardner's title is? He is the coordinator of advanced learning. Okay, that's great to know. Thank you. I've got a couple questions. Yeah. So yeah, I was feeling pressure from Mr. Macintosh over here like when is he going to sit down? You would think he's not assistant superintendent of OTM the but the bouncer. Yeah. Presentation. No, feel don't feel pressure from him. Feel pressure from us. Um I've got I've got a a few questions. They're all related to the elementary school level. Um, and I'm going to try to do them in order that it it it makes I can try to make it make sense. So my first question is is is the classification of gifted is that a state designation?
Because I I've heard that it's a it's a state uh test. So it's a designation by the state as on the based on the results of the state test. So it it's not a state test. So the way gifted work so it is a uh state level designation. So the state identifies a student who achieves a 97 or better on in one of three areas um verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative. So if they're in the top 97th percentile nationally in any one of those three categories or more, then they're gifted as this the state deems it. The state then has approved tests that schools can use that identify that giftedness. We use the KOAP um primarily um which is most common in the state of Arizona uh where it tests in those areas um of verbal, quantitative, non-verbal. Um verbal is essentially what it sounds like, the ability to use language.
Um nonverbal is problem solving, spatial thinking. Um that one I think is the trickiest that a lot of people don't really understand. Um doing things like um folding a piece of paper and dividing that up. And so it's problem solving ability. Um quantitative is working with numbers. So students are in the top so 97 percentile they're in the top 3% nationally within their grade and age um to be able to get that designation. Now the state says you have to identify students that are in the top 3%. But they allow districts discretion if there's a need to um use a different percentile below 97%. you see within our district that although it's the top 3%, we have 10% of our students across the across the district. Um whereas other neighboring districts might only have 1% or 2% of their students qualifying within those regular um parameters.
They do allow for that wiggle room at the state though to be able to do that. My next question is once well that's not the right way to say it. Is there a monetary incentive from the state once a student has been identified as gifted? No. Um there is some gifted funding, but it's it's minimal. Okay. It's it's it's minimal. All right. So then that Okay, that's perfect. So and this is where I'm I might even confuse myself. Um which is pretty easy to do. I think it was Dr. Robersonson who um asked about the kids that might be gifted but just might not meet the state's requirement for gifted based on the test. And then I think uh Mr. Ryan said that we were working on some things to I don't want to say deal with, but working on some things to what's that?
Capture to capture kids that fall into that category. Mhm. And so I guess my my question is is because we don't get any additional funding from the state, what's limiting us from putting programs into place right now that will help capture those those students? I love that question. Um that's what we are actually like actively asking ourselves is how can we capture more of this? We know no matter what assessment you talk about whether it's gifted assessments, state assessments, one assessment does not capture a student's potential or ability across the board. So we need to continually look at areas where we might be gatekeeping and saying we are allowing a test to get in a student's way. Um, and sometimes the answer to that is really that personal touch of that teacher, that parent, that administrator to look at that kid and say, "Yeah, you did not make the technical cut, but you would benefit from these programs.