It is the goal of the Horizons program to develop higher cognitive processes and evaluation skills, to foster creative thinking, and to encourage intellectual and personal growth. By providing a differentiated educational program and environment, academically talented students have an increased opportunity to interact with their peers and pursue their own interests. In grades 4 and 5, Horizons students receive instruction in math and/or reading once a week.

How Students Are Selected

Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, the pull-out Horizons program will use a new comprehensive entry matrix.  This matrix includes student performance on normed reading and math assessments (above the 90th percentile) and both parent and teacher student inventories as precursors to the final screening tool.  The final screening tool assesses creativity and critical reasoning skills.   Once identified for the Horizons program, a student remains identified as academically gifted in the district, though services and opportunities may vary from year to year.

Additional Enrichment Opportunities, K-5

Also begininng in the 2016-2017 school year and through creative scheduling opportunities, students in grades K-5 will have an opportunity to work with our gifted and talented teacher, Mrs. Havilland, in a variety of projects aligned to their grade level curriculum topics.  The timing of these instructional periods and the focus of the instructional period varies by grade and by school.  Students will be selected each time the focus of a project changes to accommodate different strengths across different subjects. We look forward to expanding the opportunity to reach more students with advanced learning experiences and will monitor and review our progress with this new focus throughout the school year.