Gifted & Talented

Philosophy
Gifted and Talented students can be found across all grade levels, cultural, and economic groups. Gifted children require a specific education plan in order to meet their needs and develop their potential.

Further, the North Plainfield School District endorses and supports the definition of gifted learners as established by the U.S. Department of Education:

Purpose
The purpose of the North Plainfield Gifted and Talented Program is to provide dynamic educational experiences for students according to their interests, needs, and abilities. Gifted and Talented offers the students the opportunity to participate in challenging educational experiences that enhance their knowledge, intelligence, and thinking skills.

Program Goals

The goals of the Gifted and Talented program are to provide:

Opportunities to explore learning alternatives that enhance individual interests and advanced areas of study.
A curriculum to develop higher mental processes through exposure and application of critical, creative, logical, complex, and abstract thinking skills.
The opportunity for primary in-depth research incorporating multimedia, multi-level, and interdisciplinary approaches to produce unique and innovative products.
Opportunities for students to gain independence and self-direction in problem-solving and decision-making.

Continuum of Services - G&T Program

North Plainfield offers the following continuum of services:

Enrichment - All students K-6 receive bi-monthly exposure to Gifted and Talented curriculum by our two dedicated G&T staff members. The Enrichment Program provides differentiated inquiry-based challenges to all students helping to increase critical thinking skills. The Enrichment Program helps to make connections to college and career readiness skills such as speaking and listening, creative thinking, and increasing student curiosity.
Inspiration - Identified gifted students partake in the Inspiration pull-out program once a week where they move through a responsive curriculum. The students focus on problem-solving through exposure to student-driven problem-based learning activities. The focus during this two-hour session allows the students to explore the world, identify problems, and generate solutions. The Inspiration Program philosophy is to encourage advocacy and critical thinking skills.
Secondary Services - Students grades 7-12 receive an enriched curriculum within the honors programs offered at the middle and high school levels.

G&T Criteria

Board Policy/Complaint Process

Gifted learners are students with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.