MILLSTONE: Gifted and Talented program forming

By Jane Meggitt, Special Writer
   The Millstone Township school district’s gifted and talented program is on its way to becoming a reality.
   Michelle Falanga, the district’s gifted and talented specialist, and Steve Cochrane, the assistant superintendent of curriculum, gave a presentation on the district’s program at the Jan. 28 Board of Education meeting.
   According to the presentation, the program’s goals include providing opportunities for all students to discover and explore new areas of interest, as well as provide them with experiences and strategies promoting increased creativity and problem solving. The gifted and talented program will identify those students demonstrating exceptional ability, providing them with a “range of enriching experiences” inside and beyond the classroom.
   It intends to support gifted learners in understanding themselves, including their unique ways of thinking, interactions with others and areas of strength and challenge.
   Ms. Falanga, who went through the gifted and talented program as a student in the Hamilton school district. noted that the first tier consists of enrichment within the regular classroom, including differentiation for each student’s individual need. This might take the form of “just-right” reading books and other tiered curriculum materials, as well as interested-based selections for books and projects.
   The second tier focuses on enrichment beyond the classroom, including field trips, assemblies, guest speakers, visiting artists and authors, performances and, eventually, middle-school elective choices. It also includes opportunities for students to go beyond the core curriculum, by getting involved in before-, after-school or lunchtime clubs; local, state and national competitions; science fairs; community service and the visual or performing arts.
   The third tier focuses on advancement beyond grade level, including advancing students forward to an appropriate grade level based on “very strict selection criteria,” especially in the area of mathematics. The middle school offers advanced coursework in mathematics and language arts.
   The state Department of Education identifies gifted students as “Those students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability, in one or more content areas, when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who require modification of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.”
   State regulations require that students be compared to their chronological peers in the local school district. There are no state-level criteria such as mandated tests or assessments, grade-point averages, or IQ scores. Instead, local school districts must use multiple measures to identify students, according to the state Department of Education.
   At the Oct. 8 board meeting, Superintendent Scott Feder noted that an affluent district like Millstone has many bright students, but there is a difference between the bright and those who are truly gifted.