Academically Talented Program (A/T) and Curiosity Lab

The A/T program is a pull-out program for students who perform at the highest levels academically and need additional challenge within the areas of mathematics or English Language Arts. The program looks different in different places to best meet student needs. It is one day a week for an hour or more, with some additional time expected for homework. Students engage in units that are not taught within the traditional KPS curriculum (such as Chess and Harlem Renaissance) and often complete extensive projects in their areas of interest. Please note that the A/T program has a very limited capacity and is in no way intended to be the only extension/differentiation that students receive. 

We screen ALL students for inclusion in A/T. In order to be most equitable across the district, national percentile rankings on standardized district assessments are used to determine placement in A/T. We use the prior year FastBridge aReading and aMath scores to determine placement for the following school year. Students must have an average national percentile ranking of 90 or above in order to qualify (this is adjusted somewhat to account for factors such as free or reduced lunch status, multilingual learner status, and teacher recommendations). Since staffing and scheduling decisions are made over the summer, we typically are not able to add students into the program mid-year. We attempt to make exceptions for students who are new to the district who have qualifying fall test scores, if there is space in classes. 

No. Deciding to participate should be a family decision. Students may leave the program at any time, however, if they wish to come back we may need to re-evaluate if being in the program is still a good fit. 

First, check in the Google Classroom. Each week's lessons are posted along with homework assignments. Review the slideshow and any instructions from the teacher. If they are still struggling contact the A/T teacher. We are always willing to help!

Did you know that research shows that students will learn more from receiving actionable feedback rather than grades? Students do not receive a grade, just feedback on how they are doing with the A/T critical competencies. This feedback may be different than in previous years, but our hope is that this will expand student thinking. 

Assignments are typically due at the next class meeting after they are assigned. That means your child has as week to complete assignments before the next class. If your child gets significantly behind please talk to the teacher to see what needs to be made up. 

A selected group of about 12 to 15 third graders will gather for about an hour once a week in their buildings (longer when working with visiting artists). A teacher from the Academically Talented Program will work with the students on fun and challenging math and language arts activities. 

You can expect your student to have plenty to talk about after each weekly experience. The first five weeks will focus on each child as a work of art. Students will engage in writing activities, math challenges, games, and art! Together students and teachers will explore and create, notice and wonder. There will not be any assigned homework, but the hope is that your child’s enthusiasm will come home with them when they show off their projects and classwork. 

Curiosity Lab is going to be a great way for students to collaborate and share their ideas with each other and have fun in the process. 

Building teams identify students for participation in Curiosity Lab. 

1. 12-15 students total from 3rd grade.

2. Students should not be at a remedial level in any subject area (you would not want them to miss core curriculum and intervention time).

3. Students who would be a good fit should embody most of the following characteristics:

• Be identified by at least two staff members as a student is a good fit

• Enjoys being challenged

• Gets excited/animated when making connections between ideas (e.g. Can take an object like a chair and come up with five different uses like a boat, a cage for a puppet lion, a partition for a room, a bridge.)

• Demonstrates a love for learning new things

• Shows curiosity about topics unknown to them

• Willing to dig deeper to find answers to their questions

• Interested in hearing other people's ideas 

• Able to interact positively with older and younger students (3-5 graders would be meeting together with an A/T teacher at the same time)

• Show an interest in attending a class knowing they are missing what is happening in their regular classroom

Each week your child can share with you what we did in class. Lessons will be posted in the Google Classroom for your child to show you! There will be no homework that needs to be returned.

We are thrilled to be partnering with Education for the Arts. Your child will interact with actors, visual artists, musicians, and choreographers through this program in Curiosity Lab. We are hoping to be able to provide students with experiences outside of the school building. Stay tuned for more information!