Elementary

Each elementary campus has a full time GT Specialist who is responsible for the services listed below, while also managing the GT referral, screening, and testing process.

Gifted students in grades 1-5 attend classes weekly with the campus GT Specialist where they participate in activities that promote creative and independent thinking. These small groups focus on interdisciplinary, process-centered learning opportunities that are embedded in a specially designed curriculum that meets the requirements of the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students. 

Kindergarten students in NISD are screened for GT testing during the Fall semester. All NISD Kindergarten teachers have completed 30 hours of training in gifted education and are required to complete a yearly 6 hour update. Identified Kindergarten students begin attending weekly classes in March with the campus GT Specialist. 

MaC-GT is a program offered in 1st-5th grades at select campuses that clusters high achieving math students with GT students in the same general education classroom. Teachers of MaC-GT classrooms receive specialized professional development in order to better meet the needs of advanced learners. Based on the work of Dr. Marcia Gentry, this program is a specific, research-based, total-school application of cluster grouping combined with differentiation, focused on meeting the needs of students identified as gifted while also improving teaching, learning, and achievement of all students. 

MaC-GT offers students the opportunity to receive a differentiated curriculum that facilitates intellectual stimulation and challenge for much of the day. In addition to increased academic rigor, cluster grouping allows gifted students to make social connections and learn with same-aged peers who may think and learn in similar ways.