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Focus on Northshore's Highly Capable Program Offerings
 December 2013 
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As the 2013 year comes to a close, our commitment to Advanced and Disadvantaged learners has illuminated some important changes in programing requirements that are being enacted  in our District, thanks to new legislation.      

Recently, the WA State Legislature determined that "for highly capable students, access to accelerated learning and enhanced instruction is access to a basic education."  2013-14 is a transitional year, but beginning with the 2014-15 school year, all districts will be required to provide highly capable programs and services for students in Grades K-12.
 
This is a big change for our district, requiring that personalized and appropriate programs are developed for the estimated 5-10% of our students who will qualify for these programs; all without additional funding from the state.     

 

For next school year, our District plans a big expansion to support highly capable students in all elementary and junior high schools (K-8) in their subjects of strength, as well as to extend the existing full-time elementary Advanced Program into the middle-school grades. 

 

The Foundation is supporting the District by funding a pilot program request for K-6 math enrichment and acceleration in all elementary schools.  While we were able to grant $6,000 to support the cause, the request was for $50,000. Our year-end funding campaign will be aimed at fully funding that Math program and increasing our support for textbooks for our College in the High School, International Baccalaurete and Advanced Placement students.   

Watch your email for more information about this topic or click here to find our more about Northshore's Hicap Advisory Board. 

Won't you help us provide 100% support to our students who are excelling and help insure that they, too, are supported to reach their potential?

 

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What's the big deal?

Why we invest in programs for highly capable students in our district

Imagine a young resilient student - happy, smiling and breezing through their school experience. Now send that smiling child off to the next academic level. Suddenly, that smiling child's school experience turns to crushing bewilderment as they fail their first test or navigate unsuccessfully through assignments for the first time.   You watch that once-confident child flounder and suffer, frustrated as they struggle to overcome new challenges.
 
This is what happens for 5%-10% of our students each year who are under-challenged in the regular classroom.  In the case of highly capable children, being under challenged meant that they may have never had to learn study skills. They never waded in over their head. They never learned the coping skills needed to persevere through a challenge. (Read more here.)

 

The Northshore Schools Foundation is working to support the District's efforts to provide the curriculum support, training and testing needed to support our advancing students and the new legislation.   

 

The next two emails will contain more information about highly capable students and illuminate why our support of the emerging Hi-Cap math curriculum for 5-6 grade students, and the additional Hi-Cap programs that will emerge in the coming years are important for all students. 

 

 

Make your end-of-the-year donation

in support of highly capable and college affiliated high school programs today and you can help us meet that goal!

 

Or you can 

make a year-end tax-deductible general gift to support the many programs of the Foundation!

   
The Northshore Schools Foundation is an advocate for public education, student success and our community.  We are made up of over 2000 supporters just like you.   Your support makes our mission possible!
  
Thank you.
  
Sincerely,
  


Carmin Dalziel, Executive Director
Northshore Schools Foundation

UnderstandingmoreUnderstanding More About Advanced Learners

Many advanced learners skate through elementary school, arriving at the schoolhouse already armed with skills, vocabulary and aptitudes well above grade level. These kids learn so quickly and effortlessly that they may never need to learn study-skills and don't take advantage of the opportunity. This turns to frustration as academic challenges mount. They have to start again from square one to acquire the true self-confidence that comes from tackling a genuinely tough challenge.

Until challenged by appropriate curriculum, some students never actually learn how to learn. These naturally gifted students might not get the chance to develop the study-skills, emotional coping-skills, or psychological stamina to persevere through rising challenges.   

 

Most alarmingly, the older a student is when they first experience a real challenge, the more likely they are to prematurely give up. Crushing bewilderment sets in and what these students really learn is how to underachieve and how to avoid challenges in the future. Parents watch in frustration as their formerly successful student begins to underachieve  -- perhaps tuning out of school, despite their obvious talents and capabilities. Society suffers as a whole generation of future doctors, inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs are trained to underachieve. They drop out of the challenging majors or out of school completely.    

Before this happens, our advanced students often need to receive an intervention. Advanced students need guidance from well-trained teachers who challenge and support them in order to fully develop their abilities, sometimes starting as early as Kindergarten.  

 

They need access to advanced materials -- not just more of the same grade-level curriculum. They need to be challenged at their ability level, not just given additional tasks beneath their demonstrated skill level. They need extra scaffolding support to successfully persevere through difficult tasks.

 

Top students flourish when given opportunities to work with peers who perform at similar levels. Social reinforcement pays dividends - fostering feelings of belonging and inclusion and creating an safe and supportive, yet challenging and stimulating academic environment.   

 

 

 

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LIGHT A FIRE FOR LEARNING LUNCHEON
 

 

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"She is growing not only academically, but more importantly, personally and emotionally as she develops the skills to stick with tough problems and see them through to the end." - A Northshore parent
"For K-4, my daughter attended a school district where Hi-Cap services were not offered.

When she started attending the Northshore EAP program in 6th grade, she began grappling with issues she'd never faced in the classroom before such as using a variety of resources to solve a hard math problem, or realizing that being "behind" your classmates in no way means you're slow or stupid.

 She is growing not only academically, but more importantly, personally and emotionally as she develops the skills to stick with tough problems and see them through to the end."- A Northshore parent.  


Some alarming facts about advanced students 
 

Myth:

Advanced   Students Don't Need Help; They'll Do Fine On Their Own  

 

 
Truth:
 

 
Would you send a star athlete to train for the Olympics without a coach? Advanced students need guidance from well-trained teachers who challenge and support them in order to fully develop their abilities. Many advanced students may be so far ahead of their same-age peers that they know more than half of the grade-level curriculum before the school year begins. Their resulting boredom and frustration can lead to low achievement, despondency, or unhealthy work habits. The role of the teacher is crucial for spotting  and nurturing talents in school.

  

 

 
Myth:  

 

Teachers Challenge All The Students, So HIghly-Capable Kids Will Be Fine In The Regular Classroom  

   

 

 
Truth:  

 

Although teachers try to challenge all students they are frequently unfamiliar with the needs of highly-capable children and do not know how to best serve them in the classroom. The National Research Center on Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) found that 61% of classroom teachers had no training in teaching highly able students, limiting the challenging educational opportunities offered to advanced learners.

 

A more recent national study conducted by the Fordham Institute found that 58% of teachers have received no professional development focused on teaching academically advanced students in the past few years. Taken together, these reports confirm what many families have known: not all teachers are able to recognize and support highly-capable learners.

 

 

 
Myth: 

 

Highly-Capable   Students Make Everyone Else In The Class Smarter By Providing A Role Model Or A Challenge  

   

 

 
Truth: 

 
In reality, average or below-average students do not look to the advanced students in the class as role models. They are more likely to model their behavior on those who have similar capabilities and are coping well in school. Seeing a student at a similar performance level succeed motivates students because it adds to their own sense of ability. Watching or relying on someone who is expected to succeed does little to increase a struggling student's sense of self-confidence. Similarly, highly-capable   students benefit from classroom interactions with peers at similar performance levels.