Gifted Services
Gifted Support
The Indiana Area School District complies with the standards and regulations set forth in Chapter 16 of the PA School Code for identified gifted students by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Gifted support services are provided to mentally gifted students in kindergarten through twelfth grade that is consistent with their individual needs, outstanding abilities, and potential for performing at high levels of achievement.
Defining Giftedness in Pennsylvania:
Mentally gifted is defined as “outstanding intellectual and creative ability the development of which requires specially designed programs or support services, or both, not ordinarily provided in the regular education program.”
The term mentally gifted includes a person who has an IQ of 130 or higher or other factors (listed below) that indicate gifted ability. Gifted ability cannot be based on IQ scores alone. If the IQ score is lower than 130, a child may be admitted to gifted programs when other conditions "strongly" indicate gifted ability.
The other factors to be considered include:
- Achievement test scores that are a year or more above grade level
- Observed or measured acquisition/retention rates that reflect gifted ability (i.e. how quickly your child learns new concepts or information, and how long he or she remembers it)
- Achievement, performance, or expertise in one or more academic areas that demonstrate a high level of accomplishment
- Higher level thinking skills
- Documented evidence that intervening factors are masking gifted ability
The District acknowledges that students who have been identified as mentally gifted are required to receive free, appropriate instructional programs to meet their educational needs.
The programming for identified students includes acceleration through curriculum compacting and advancing levels and/or enrichment in the regular classroom and/or through the approved gifted curriculum.
