Gifted Education Program

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Grades Kindergarten thru Third

S.T.A.R.T. is the gifted education program for the primary grades. Students at this level are identified as potentially gifted. This suggests they have a strong potential to achieve in the verbal or quantitative academic area and that they are presenting themselves at the moment as students who are more advanced than their peers and need enrichment. S.T.A.R.T. goals are to challenge students to develop skills in order to clarify learning by thinking critically, creatively and reflectively. In resource classes identified students are offered a variety of educational opportunities that extend and enrich the county curriculm and support the Standards of Learning (SOL's).

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Students In Gifted Need Education Today

Grades Four and Five

The Gifted Education Program provides service to students identified in the categories of general intellectual ability and specific academic aptitude. These students receive additional services during both fourth and fifth grades in a school based program or in a gifted education center.

Cedar Point Gifted Education program's curriculum is designed to incorporate student interests by extending the county curriculum while encouraging exploration.

Emily Smith and Lisa Sill are the Gifted Education Resource Teachers at the Cedar Point Elementary School. The teachers can be reached by telephone (703)365-0963, or by email smither@pwcs.edu and silllm@pwcs.edu.

For more information regarding the gifted education please click on this link, Prince William Education Program.

A Day at the Cedar Point Gifted Education Program

The center day is broken into learning periods, each having its own set of goals:

LEARNING CENTERS: These centers are divided into as many as four levels of difficulty. There are from 30-40 plus different areas of exploration. Students make decisions by choosing individual topics of interest and are guided through independent study with the use of contracts. Center time is a major part of the student’s day. It provides an opportunity for work in a chosen area of interest while experiencing various disciplines.

DAILY REFLECTION: At the conclusion of center work each day, students are asked to reflect on their day at the Cedar Point Gifted Education Center. They are asked to record the work they accomplished, a plan/goal for the next day they attend the center, and offer their insight as to the day they spent at the center.

PROBLEM OF THE DAY (ODYSSEY OF THE MIND PROBLEMS): This is a block of time dedicated to expanding the students’ expertise in problem solving and critical thinking. Small teams work together, at times in competition, on various projects, usually with both time and resource limitations.

T.A.G. (Techniques for Achieving Goals): These are small group sessions leading to a culminating activity at the end of the year. These sessions have been instituted to assure that all students will have common instruction on critical areas before moving on to middle school. Topics have been chosen that are directly applicable to classroom/center expectations and which take into consideration the special needs and interests of gifted students.