Polk County Public Schools
The Superintendent’s 5K Run/Walk for Excellence will be held Saturday, April 5 at the Fort Fraser Trail in Highland City, south of Lakeland just off U.S. Highway 98 South.
Entry fees for the event will be used for programs in the school district’s gifted student education department. There are no entry fees for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Parking on race day is available at the Jim Miles Professional Development Center, 5204 U.S. Highway 98 South, Lakeland.
Contact Pam Sudzina at (863) 534-0934 for information on the school district’s gifted student education programs.
Building 270 Second Street
Bartow Municipal Airport
Bartow, FL 33830
Phone: 534-0930
The mission/philosophy of Polk County School Board’s Gifted Education Program is to ensure that each student achieves his or her potential through the provision of challenging and differentiated learning experiences. In delivering instruction that meets individual needs, endorsed teachers and mentors will consider the unique social, emotional and intellectual needs of the students in the gifted program.
The vision of Polk County School Board’s Gifted Education Program is to provide a collaborative climate where individual needs are recognized and served so that each student may achieve his/her maximum potential.
Gifted education is part of the student’s total educational program, not an add-on program. Gifted Education is the child’s right to receive the most appropriate education for his/her needs. The overall aim of the Gifted Program is to provide educational opportunities that help a student extend his/her learning, develop intellectual potential, enhance achievement and become aware of his/her affective needs.
Based upon the theories of gifted education, the goals for Gifted Education Programming include the provision of:
In order to meet these goals, students may receive specific instruction in the following skills:
Gifted youngsters are indeed exceptional in their thinking and learning behaviors. They are exceptional as a group, and even more so as individual members of that group.
The federal definition describes gifted students as those students who are capable of high performance in any of five areas: general intellectual ability, specific academic ability, creative thinking and production, leadership, and the visual or performing arts. Students who display such characteristics as well as a need for specialized instruction may be considered for eligibility in the Gifted Education Program.
Presently, Polk County’s Gifted Education Program focuses on identifying and serving students who are gifted in the area of general intellectual ability. These are the students who have superior intellectual ability, advanced mental ability and are capable of high performance. Many of the identified students may be gifted in other areas as well. Generally, ability levels of gifted students rank in the top 3-5% of the population.
The Gifted Education Program in Polk County Public Schools is a state mandated program for grades K-12. The school program options extend and enhance the regular education curriculum. There are state guidelines that describe how a student qualifies for the gifted program.
Instructional Delivery Models - In Polk County Schools, the instructional delivery models include academic enrichment, academic subject and consultation services. Differentiated instruction is used to meet the needs of the gifted learners as well as considering interest area, learning style and ability level. Upon entering the gifted program, students are expected to be present for the gifted instruction provided.
Resource Model: Grades K-5 - Teachers endorsed in gifted education provide service to elementary students as often as determined by the school’s administration. In collaboration with the school team, thematic units of study or academic subjects are studied. The thematic units are interdisciplinary and are based on the science, social studies, mathematics and language arts subject areas. Emphasis is also placed on fine arts, vocational awareness and technology. When students are assigned to the gifted program, they are responsible to the teacher of gifted for class work and/or home extension activities; on regular classroom days, they are responsible to the regular education teacher for class work and/or home extension activities. The gifted class is designed to meet the special needs of the gifted student and not “in addition to” the regular education program. Regular education teachers and teachers of gifted plan and coordinate learner’s needs as indicated in the student’s Educational Plan. Parents are encouraged to contact either the classroom teacher or the teacher of gifted if they perceive a problem with student progress or expectations.
Resource Model: Grades 6-8 - Students may receive direct instruction in various content areas from a teacher endorsed in gifted. The middle school teachers differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of the gifted learners and document program differentiation in their lesson plans. Students may also receive gifted service in inclusion where the student remains with the regular education students and the teacher of gifted consults with the student’s academic team to determine progress on the Educational Plan goals. Best practices suggest that when students receive inclusion services, students also receive lab or seminar during the month to address their unique interests and needs.
Consultation Model: Students may elect to take advanced and/or AP courses. Dual enrollment, Collegiate High School and virtual school are available at the high school level. Consultation service is provided for gifted students where the teacher of gifted and the student’s grade level team work together to enhance the student’s academic and affective needs.
The Equity Statement may be found by visiting the Board Policy section.