Talent Development

The mission of Owatonna Public Schools provides the foundation for Talent Development and Advanced Academic programming: “Inspiring Excellence. Every Learner, Every Day.” Central to this mission is our commitment to developing talent, promoting achievement, recognizing and supporting the needs of advanced learners, and fostering a culture to promote social-emotional wellness.

Our Talent Development and Advanced Academic Programming is developed on the beliefs that:

All learners require differentiated instruction, resources, and learning experiences matched to their academic needs and readiness in order to maximize their potential.
Learners who demonstrate advanced academic readiness and/or potential have cognitive and affective needs that should be addressed with targeted and responsive programming and supports.
Talent Development and Advanced Academic programming are an important part of a comprehensive multi-tiered system of supports for all students.
We embrace that our program should reflect the rich ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity of our district.

Our priorities within Talent Development and Advanced Academics include:

Finding and developing the strengths and unique abilities of all students
Providing opportunities for all children to develop critical thinking and advanced learning behaviors
Honoring student experiential knowledge and giving students opportunities to play an active role in their own learning
Increasing the complexity and depth of content to fit students’ learning needs
Identifying advanced learners to provide them appropriately challenging instruction and programming which meets these students’ unique academic and social/emotional needs through enrichments and extensions not offered in core academic programming.

Contact
Wendy Eggermont
Coordinator
(507) 444-8619
weggermont@isd761.org

Identification Process

Advanced learners are students with outstanding abilities and capable of higher performance when compared to others of similar age, experience and environment. Owatonna Public Schools screens and identifies students annually for talent development and academic achievement services.

Our goal is to provide all students with an opportunity to demonstrate advanced learning behaviors. OPS examines data from standardized ability and achievement tests as well as gathers information from teachers about advanced learning behaviors and classroom performance.

All students in grade 2 are screened for advanced academic services through the universal screening process each year in the winter using multiple criteria including:

Ability: CogAT 8 screener (Cognitive Ability Test Form 8 screener)
Achievement: FastBridge achievement data in math and reading
Teacher Rating Scale: Information from teacher rating scales about demonstrated advanced learner characteristics in and out of the classroom (e.g., motivation, leadership, creativity, and learning)

Students identified as advanced learners are placed in Cluster Classrooms with a teacher trained to meet the unique needs of gifted learners in the next school year.

Students do not need to be identified as an advanced learner to participate in enrichment opportunities and to receive differentiated instruction for their advanced learning needs. Advanced Academic services are provided based on formative and ongoing assessment of student needs in the classroom based on the content and standards being presented at that time through enrichments, enhancements and extensions in the classroom.

All students in grade 5 are reviewed for advanced math and enriched English courses as they enter grade 6 to ensure students are appropriately challenged by analyzing FastBridge math and reading data, MCA data and CogAT screener data.

Levels of Service

According to the Council for Exceptional Children’s position paper (2006), MTSS services are “flexible and fluid, based on student need.” When considering the needs of advanced learners, a similar level of flexibility is needed, since advanced learners will not demonstrate high levels of achievement in all areas. A flexible system of continuous and comprehensive services allows schools to meet the needs of advanced learners at varying levels of development. In this way, services are less dependent on a student’s label and more dependent on a student’s need. Our talent development model is structured to nurture academic talent in all children through a continuum of services.

All students are first serviced in level one. Based on demonstrated needs, students may experience multiple levels.

Cluster Classrooms

Cluster classrooms place a small cluster of students that have been identified for advanced academic services in the same classroom with a teacher who has received additional training in teaching high ability learners.

All Owatonna Elementary schools have Talent Development & Advanced Academics cluster classrooms in grades 3 through 5.

Cluster classrooms have the same number of students as other classrooms
Cluster classrooms include students with a broad range of abilities
Cluster classrooms allow high ability students to learn with peers of all abilities while also being able to group together for more challenging lessons

Research shows that clustering students of high ability increases the opportunity for instruction to be delivered at an appropriate pace and level of challenge. When grouped with students of like abilities, advanced learners make more educational gains than when they are separated into different classes.

Talent Development and Advanced Academic Services in Owatonna Public Schools are curriculum based. The curriculum for students in the cluster classroom is based on our district's core curriculum which is differentiated to meet the needs of all learners. Advanced learners may progress at an accelerated rate or at an in-depth level. A primary objective of the cluster classroom is to place greater emphasis on high level cognitive abilities and go more in-depth with the curriculum. All students benefit when teachers focus on expanding, and extending classroom learning opportunities.

Rising Scholars

The Rising Scholars model is an academic program that embraces research-based practices for identifying and nurturing academic potential in students who have been historically underrepresented for gifted services and advanced programming.

The Rising Scholars model is embedded in a continuum of Talent Development services for grades 3-5 to build on students’ abilities and strengths. It is a program for students with high potential, but do not yet qualify for Advanced Academic Clusters.

Short Term Goals: Identify high potential in children from diverse economic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds who may not be considered for advanced academic programming and without opportunity, and are less likely to pursue advanced level academics on their own.

Long Term Goals: To nurture high academic potential at an early age so that students who have historically been underserved in advanced academic programs will be prepared to engage in challenging subjects and rigorous courses through their school years.

Outcomes

Social and Emotional Learning:

Students will apply learned collaboration and cooperation strategies
Students will develop resiliency by facing difficult challenges in their strength area in a small group supportive environment
Students will be given opportunities to see themselves as learners and as academic leaders

Academic Learning:

Students will transfer new social and emotional learning to the regular classroom setting to increase student’s individual achievement
Rising Scholars sessions will incorporate a literacy component to increase high-level academic vocabulary acquisition
Rising Scholars session will incorporate a math component to deepen mathematical reasoning and concepts

Family Resources and Enrichment

KEY RESOURCES FOR PARENTS OF ADVANCED LEARNERS:

National Association of Gifted Children
- NAGC invests all of its resources to train teachers, encourage parents and educate administrators and policymakers on how to develop and support gifted children and what's at stake if high-potential learners are not challenged and encouraged.
- NAGC Parent Resources
- NAGC Parent Tip Sheets
Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented
- The Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented (MCGT) is a support and advocacy organization for parents and educators of gifted children. This website is loaded with valuable local and national resources.
MCGT Resource Library
- In addition to providing parents and educators opportunities to work together in advocacy, MCGT has a fabulous parent resource page to support you in learning more about the unique characteristics of your advanced learner.
Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented
- MEGT cooperates with other organizations and agencies in efforts to promote the education, funding and welfare of gifted and talented students and encourages scholarly research and the dissemination of information pertaining to gifted and talented children in school and society.
Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG)
- SENG provides families and educators resources and programs to support the social and emotional needs of advanced learners.

ENRICHMENT EXPERIENCES BEYOND THE SCHOOL DAY:

Owatonna Community Education Activities
- Owatonna Community Education provides many courses that are designed to extend learning and provide enriching experiences. Creativity and critical thinking are infused into learning activities.
Reach for the Stars Catalog
- More than 100 active programs for grades K-12 in six areas: challenges & competitions; awards & recognition; conference & institutes; classroom enrichment; leadership development, and out-of-school enrichment.
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth
- The Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth offers spring and fall classes for students in grades 1-4 and summer camps for students in grades 4-12. Financial aid is available.
Science Museum of Minnesota
- The Science Museum of Minnesota offers Saturday and summer classes in science and technology.
Star Tribune Summer Camps Guide
- Each spring the Star Tribune publishes a summer camp guide that lists a huge range of opportunities for kids.
Summer Academic Enrichment Program
- Up to $1000 is available to students on free/reduced lunch in grades 3-11 to take one summer enrichment class or camp.
Talent Development Testing
- The Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University offers above-level testing information for kids (e.g. third grader taking the EXPLORE test or 7th grader taking the ACT), as well as online enrichment, honors and AP courses.
University of Minnesota Children's Math Programs
- The U of M offers several math programs for children: UMTYMP as well as Saturday and summer enrichment opportunities.
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering
- STEM summer camps for juniors and seniors through the U of M College of Science and Engineering. Fees are reasonable due to donations, and scholarships available.
St. Thomas University's Science, Technology & Engineering Camps
- The University of St. Thomas offers a FREE day-long summer camp (STEPS – Science Technology & Engineering Preview) for students in grades 6-8 via a random lottery selection (applications open January through mid-March).

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