Support for Twice Exceptional Gifted Students in General and

Title I Programs Update

Montgomery County Board of EducationCommittee on Special Populations

February 4, 2020

Our Charge

To provide greater access to curriculum and programs for highly able students, ensuring that institutional barriers to participation are removed and that there are opportunities for all students, regardless of background.

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Primary Talent Development (PTD) Program

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What is it?● An inquiry-based critical and

creative thinking curriculum that integrates gifted education and early childhood theory and practice.

● PTD engages all students in open‐ended, hands‐on, problem solving experiences.

Who does it serve?● 17,803 students in Title I

schools● Targeted for Grades K–2● Demographic make-up

Services Number of Students

Percent of Students

ESOL 9,022 51%

SPED 1,957 11%

FARMS 13,539 76%

GT 1,632 9%

Goals of the Primary Talent Development ProgramAssign 0.5 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Primary Talent Development Coach, who—

• Provides opportunities for all children to develop and demonstrate advanced learning behaviors.

• Builds a profile of student strengths over time (Grade K–2) which may be used to document the need for differentiated instruction and advanced programming.

• Provides models of the Essential Strategies which are transferable to new learning situations.

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Primary Talent Development Cross-Office Support

AEI

• Professional Learning

• Program Development

DTECPS

• Professional Learning

• Funding and Program Monitoring

Equity Unit

• Cultural Proficiency Professional Learning

EIC

• Curriculum Alignment (e.g., standards, grading and reporting)

PTD Coach Support to Teachers

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• Coach teachers and grade-level teams in accessing enrichment and acceleration within the curriculum

• Provide professional development around nurturing potential

• Monitor student performance data

• Implement primary talent development modules with all students (Grade K–2)

• Serve as a teacher leader, equity warrior, and advocate for facilitating increased access to enrichment and choice programs in Title I schools

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GT Identification in Title I Schools

2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020

Number of Title I Schools 25 schools 23 schools 28 schools

Total Number of Students with GT Identification 1208 1164 1636

FARMS 661 683 924

FARMS African American 167 188 268

FARMS Hispanic 403 425 554

Non-FARMS African American 132 110 181

Non-FARMS Hispanic 147 126 199

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Twice Exceptional Services Overview

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Twice Exceptional (2e) describes a student who is identified as gifted and is found eligible for a Section 504 or an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Schools receive support for these students through team consults, the WINGS mentor program and special education services for gifted students with IEPs.

GT/LD Special Education Services● Cognitively Gifted● Unique learning profiles ● Require special education services in order to access enriched courses● Student may be served in a variety of settings according to their Least-

restrictive Environment○ Home School or Hours-Based Model○ GT/LD Special Education Regional Program○ Other special education programs

MCPS Twice Exceptional Snapshot

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Approximately 3,351 students who meet the MCPS Definition of “twice-exceptional.”

MCPS 2e (IEP) Enrichment Snapshot

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GT/LD Elementary Program

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Provides services for twice exceptional students who require a service delivery model that includes self-contained options Grades 3–5, with inclusive opportunities. Special education teachers, paraeducators, and when appropriate general education teachers provide special education services to students as described in the IEP.

Elementary Program Highlights:

● Enriched literacy program for Grades 3–5 ● Social-Emotional Curriculum for Gifted Students● Professional development and curriculum planning

support aligned to gifted research and instructional approaches

Cross-Office Functional Support Team

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Office of Special Education

● Review of IEP meeting Chairperson’s Guide

● Review of IEPs● IEP development Training (data-

driven writing and reporting on progress)

● Programwide HIAT training● Professional Development in UDL● FIle and Record Keeping and

Maintenance● Updates for Prior Written Notice

Office of Curriculum and Instruction

● Direct Teacher Instruction○ Enriched Literacy

Curriculum ○ Social-Emotional Needs

of the Gifted○ Gifted Learner Profile○ Differentiation for

Gifted Learners○ Mindfulness (with RJ

Unit)● Classroom Coaching● COMAR-Aligned

Professional Development

Office of School Support and Improvement

● Leading cross-office collaboration

● Quarterly Program Review Meetings

● Administrative support● Parent/Guardian

Communication● Human Resources support

Communication ⬩Instruction ⬩ IEPs ⬩ Staff Capacity ⬩ Social-Emotional Support

GT/LD Middle School Program

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GT/LD High School Program

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Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Across Grade-Levels

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● Designing a SEL plan which incorporates needs of gifted and 2e learners

● Implementing a social-emotional learning curriculum in Grades 3–5

● Engaging middle schools in adopting programs to support Be Well 365

● Reviewing current practices and resources in high schools

● Mapping out a three-year plan for social-emotional curriculum within the program across all levels (Grades 3–12)○ Plan is based on identified competencies in social-

emotional instruction identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)