Archive
Updated information on DCSD Serendipity
My apologies for this second post, but I just received additional information about the Serendipity program from the DeKalb County gifted office. Most important is that the registration deadline is this Friday, March 24.
Session 1 is actually May 30 to June 2, not May 30 to June 1. This session will be held at Stone Mountain Middle School.
Session 2, June 26-29, will be held at McNair Middle School.
DCSD has confirmed that there will be no registration fee for Serendipity 2023. Additionally, participating students will be provided with breakfast and lunch each day of the program. However, transportation is not provided.
Registration open for DeKalb County’s Serendipty summer program for gifted students
Note: See the updated post to get more detailed and accurate information about Serendipity.
DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has opened registration for its 2023 summer programs, including the Serendipity enrichment program for gifted-identified students.
Serendipity will hold two sessions: May 30 to June 1 (3 days) and June 26 to June 29 (4 days). (Correction: Session 1 is May 30 to June 2.) Topics will range from visual and performing arts to world language and computer technology. Serendipity is open to students currently in grades 1-6 who have been identified as gifted through DCSD’s identification process.
Other DCSD summer camps include Girls Who Code for high-school girls and Aviation Camp for grades 4-6.
To enroll in any DCSD camp, a student must be enrolled in a DCSD school. The camps are provided by the county at no cost.
More information on all DCSD summer camps is online.
DeKalb to offer MAP testing for private- and home-schooled students applying to high achiever magnets
DeKalb County School District will offer MAP Assessment testing in October and November for students not currently enrolled in a county public school who want to apply to one of the county’s high achiever magnet schools for the 2023-24 school year.
Testing is open to students who live in DeKalb County and who currently attend homeschool or a private school. Registration is open now and will close on Sept. 23, 2022.
It’s important to know that not all students who achieve a qualifying MAP test score will be able to enroll in a high achiever magnet school. These schools consistently draw more applicants than they have room for. All applicants who meet the qualifications will be entered into a lottery and available seats at each school will be filled by random selection.
Applications open for Atlanta Virtual Academy
Did your child do better with school when it was all online? Do they prefer to work at their own pace? If so, and if you live in the city of Atlanta, you can register now for virtual school for the 2022-2023 school year.
Atlanta Public Schools offers two programs through its Atlanta Virtual Academy (AVA):
- AVA Flex. Students work independently and have a teacher available to them as needed. Open to grades 6 through 12.
- AVA Direct. Live, daily instruction with a teacher. Open to grades K through 12.
Courses offered through AVA include honors and AP sections.
To attend the AVA program, a student must be registered in an Atlanta Public Schools elementary, middle, or high school.
The application period for AVA will close on April 15, 2022.
How are schools evaluating students for gifted services during remote learning?
This is the time of year when public schools would ordinarily be evaluating children to see if they qualify for gifted services, administering tests that score the students on such characteristics as creativity and motivation. I was curious how metro Atlanta school systems are handling gifted evaluation this year. I had three primary concerns:
- Many kids didn’t take standardized tests like the Milestones exams last spring, and those standardized tests are often used as a screening tool to identify students who should be evaluated for receiving gifted services.
- How were the schools administering the tests used for gifted evaluation if kids aren’t attending school in person?
- Would students already identified as gifted be able to maintain their gifted eligibility if they didn’t take Milestones and similar exams to demonstrate their continued need for gifted services?
I reached out with these questions to the gifted education departments of six metro Atlanta school systems: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, plus Atlanta Public Schools.
Ordinarily, when I get information from school officials, I read through it and write a summary. But some of these answers are so complex and detailed, I wanted to share them in full. In contrast, DeKalb’s answers were brief and vague, and I don’t want to guess at their meaning.
Below are the responses I received from Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton county schools, verbatim. Cobb County and Gwinnett County didn’t reply to two requests. APS responded to say they were waiting on answers from senior leadership, but they haven’t yet sent me any information. If I do hear back from any of these systems, I’ll post an update.
If you have questions about your child’s gifted eligibility, I suggest you reach out to the gifted specialist at your school, and if necessary, to the gifted education department of your school system. (You can find links to the websites of the gifted education departments on each system’s page under the Gifted Ed in Local Schools area of GiftedAtlanta.com.)
Clayton County
My questions are in bold. Their answers are in regular type.
First, is it correct that students who have already qualified for gifted services in a prior school year will not lose their gifted eligibility if they don’t take the usual standardized tests this school year? The gifted students of CCPS will continue with their gifted services whether they took an end of the year summative assessment. Our continued services are based on the child’s performance, passing gifted classes, and teacher/school input. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, gifted services were continued for the 19-20 school year.
Will they be able to continue uninterrupted with their gifted services, not only through the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, but also in the 2021-22 school year? Yes, we will continue with gifted services for students into the next school year of 21-22. CCPS works for the benefit of the student and we understand that our present situation is the best we can make it for our students. We work to make sure that all gifted students receive gifted services and we are continuing our efforts to identify gifted and talented students.
I’d also like information about how students who are not yet qualified for gifted services need to proceed. I’m thinking here mostly of students in the primary and elementary grades. If they don’t take the in-person standardized tests, will they be able to qualify for gifted evaluation? And, additionally, if they do qualify for evaluation, how will those evaluations be conducted this school year? Yes, CCPS has implemented a talent search this fall. We have modified our eligibility process to the virtual format since CCPS has remained virtual since March of 2020. Students are able to take normed referenced tests through an electronic format. CCPS began testing students again in early November. Our elementary schools are back to testing and our secondary schools will hopefully begin testing in late February. The CCPS gifted program wanted to make sure that all teachers were trained for online testing and felt comfortable with the process. We are very lucky to work with so many fantastic educators who want the best for our children.
DeKalb County
I am in receipt of your communication. We appreciate your support of the DeKalb County School District. As it pertains to gifted identified students, they will continue to receive services without interruption. Students seeking gifted eligibility will continue to follow the guidelines as established by the GaDOE and DCSD. Those guidelines can be found in the links below.
https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/gifted/
I sent a subsequent email, asking for more detailed answers to my specific questions about screening and testing while children are not attending school in person, and received this response:
Thank you for reaching out to learn of how the district will begin or continue gifted evaluation during virtual and hybrid learning. Principals have received guidance on gifted services, testing, and evaluation for this year. Please encourage the parents to contact their local principal for more information.
Fulton County
My questions are in bold. Their answers are in regular type.
First, is it correct that students who have already qualified for gifted services in a prior school year will not lose their gifted eligibility if they don’t take the usual standardized tests this school year? Will they be able to continue uninterrupted with their gifted services, not only through the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, but also in the 2021-22 school year? Fulton County Schools adheres to State Board Rule 160-4-2-.38 Education Program for Gifted Students. This indicates that students who have been identified as gifted and receive gifted services shall continue to receive services provided the student demonstrates satisfactory performance in regular and gifted education classes, as described in our local continuation criteria. Therefore, once identified as gifted in the state of Georgia, students do not need to take any additional assessments to maintain their gifted status.
I’d also like information about how students who are not yet qualified for gifted services need to proceed. I’m thinking here mostly of students in the primary and elementary grades. If they don’t take the in-person standardized tests, will they be able to qualify for gifted evaluation? And, additionally, if they do qualify for evaluation, how will those evaluations be conducted this school year? Fulton County screens all students for possible referral for gifted testing. The screening, referral, and identification processes have continued in the 2020-2021 school year for both face-to-face and remote learners. While tests for determining gifted eligibility must be given in a face-to-face setting by a trained administrator, parents of remote learners who have been referred for gifted testing have been given the option to have students attend testing sessions in the school building or delay testing until a future testing cycle.
New, private high school for self-motivated learners
Coming to the Atlanta area this fall: Sora Schools, a private high school catering to students who want to create their own educational path.
Sora Schools is for self-directed students, especially those with a passion that falls outside the bounds of traditional academics. Examples include computer science, writing or film-making.
At Sora Schools, students complete personal projects that utilize their passion and incorporate other academic elements, keeping them engaged while ensuring they’re exposed to a broad education.
School is mostly conducted online, with students meeting in person once a week in the Dunwoody area.
Spaces are available for the 2019-2020 school year.
DeKalb Serendipity summer program for gifted students
Registration is now open for DeKalb County School District’s summer program for gifted students. Serendipity is a four-day enrichment program open to gifted-identified students who are currently in grades 1-6, and who attended a DeKalb County public school in the 2016-17 school year. (If your child qualifies for the program, their school should send a flyer home with them about it, but “should” is the operative word here.)
This year’s Serendipity program will take place June 12-15 at Stone Mountain Middle School, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day. Cost is $200 per student. You can find additional details and a link to the online registration form in the 2017 Serendipity Flyer for Registration (PDF).
Registration closes May 31, 2017.
The LIFE School progressive high school in Atlanta
For kids who are looking for something boldly different from the typical high-school experience, The LIFE School offers a highly personalized, integrated curriculum that is tailored to each student’s passions and life goals.
Located in southwest Atlanta, this progressive, private high school is ideal for a student who is independent and self-reliant. Students learn through a series of self-directed interdisciplinary projects, as well as through required internships.
The Life School is in its first year of operation. The school is pursuing accreditation through SACS/AdvancEd.
Open enrollment for DeKalb magnet and charter schools through Feb. 22
Applications are being accepted for DeKalb County’s magnet and charter schools through Feb. 22, 2017, for the 2017-18 school year.
The school choice program now includes four high schools offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Preparatory Program: Druid Hills, Tucker, and MLK Jr. high schools. These schools join the IB elementary and middle schools in the DeKalb County system: Avondale Elementary School, Fernbank Elementary School, Midvale Elementary School, Druid Hills Middle School, and Tucker Middle School.
Also part of open enrollment are the high achievers magnet programs at Kittredge Elementary School, Wadsworth Elementary School, Chamblee Middle School, Chapel Hill Middle School, Chamblee Charter High School, and Southwest DeKalb High School. In order to apply to these programs, your child must achieve qualifying scores on certain standardized tests. If your child qualifies, you should receive a letter from your school — but we all know that letters sent home with children sometimes don’t make it into our hands, so if you think your child is eligible and you haven’t received an invitation to apply to the high achievers magnets, check with your school.
Now is also the time to apply to DeKalb’s elementary and high schools of the arts. Those schools require an audition packet, in addition to the standard open enrollment application.
The county’s school choice website offers a complete list of the available schools and an online application. Keep in mind that space in each school is limited. Open spaces will be assigned by a random lottery of all qualified applicants, scheduled to take place in May.
Decatur Schools gifted survey
City of Decatur Schools is conducting a survey about its gifted education programs. If you have a student in the Decatur school system who has been identified as gifted and is receiving gifted services, you can complete the anonymous survey here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19DHj8C8pv5ar3Uhh7hM18TXAfPKxIxFyRLCNEvaVLYU/viewform?c=0&w=1
Gifted Atlanta 