1996 - 2001 Javits Abstracts

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research

and Improvement, Office of Reform Assistance and
Dissemination, Development and Demonstration Division,
Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 5

1996 Abstracts

Georgia
The New Horizons Project 7
Maryland
Project CCA (Creating a Community of Achievement) 8
Massachusetts
Urban Scholars Programs 9

New York
Project CUE (Creating Urban Excellence) 10
MAP (Major Achievement Program) 11
Project Critical: Advancing Critical Thinking in Gifted Education
Classes 12

Oklahoma
Project Leap (Leadership Excellence Achievement and/or
Performance) 13

Ohio
Ohio Department of Education 14

1997 Abstracts

Arizona
The University of Arizona 15
Yuma School District One 16

California
University of Southern California 17

Connecticut
Yale University 18

North Carolina
University of North Carolina-Charlotte 19

Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma 20

Pennsylvania
School District of Pittsburgh 21
Texas
Region One Education Service Center, Edinburgh 22

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1998 Abstracts

California
Think Like A Disciplinarian 23

Indiana
Project Gate 24

Kentucky
Challenges and Choices 25

Massachusetts
Examination School Bound 26

Massachusetts
Project Challenge 27

South Carolina
Project Breakthrough 28

Virginia
Project Phoenix 29

1999 Abstracts

Illinois
Access Built Through Leadership & Academies: The ABLA
Community Scholars Program 30

New York
BPS #71 G&T Enhancement Program 31
Project IMAGINE 32
Opportunities for Learning in the Art 33

North Carolina
The Early Recognition and Cultivation of Potential 34

Oklahoma
Project SAIL 35

Texas
Speakers of Other Languages Network (SOL NET) 36

Virginia
Identifying Mathematics Potential in Young, Underserved Children 37

Washington
Rural Isolated Elementary School Communities of Washington State 38

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2000 Abstracts

Minnesota
Minneapolis Catalyst 345 39

New Jersey
Newark Collegiate Academies 40

New York
Project CRITICAL: Advancing Critical Thinking and Expanding 41
Diversity in CSD 3’s Gifted Education Program

North Carolina
INSIGHTS 42

Ohio
Statewide Arts Talent (START) 43

Pittsburgh
Next Steps, Project Enterprise, Pittsburgh 44

Virginia
HOTT LINX: High Quality On-line Teacher Training Learning
Instruction Novices to eXperts 45

2001 Abstracts

Colorado

The GATEway Project 46

4
Introduction

The Congress finds and declares that, all students can learn to high standards and must
develop their talents and realize their potential if the United States is to prosper; gifted
and talented students are a national resource vital to the future of the Nation and its
security and well being.

Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students

Education Act of 1994

The Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program was authorized
under The Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, Title X, Part B of Programs of
National Significance. This legislation authorized the U.S. Department of Education to
fund grants, provide leadership, and sponsor a national research center on the education
of gifted and talented students.

Students with talent are found in all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all
areas of human endeavor. This publication describes the grant projects funded by the
Javits Program in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Administered by the Department’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement

(OERI), the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program awards grants to state
and local education agencies, institutions of higher education, and other public and
private agencies and organizations. These grants help talented students in elementary and
secondary schools develop their abilities and reach for high levels of achievement.

Each year that funds are available, the Department publishes an invitation to apply for
Javits grants in the Federal Register or funds down the prior year slate. A peer review
panel evaluates applications and recommends awards. Projects receive priority if they
serve students who are economically disadvantaged, have limited English skills, are
disabled, or are at risk of being unrecognized and underserved.

Between 1989 and 2001 the Javits Program funded 116 grants that supported model
programs and practices for educating talented students nationwide. Depending upon
available funds, grant awards range from $100,000 to $250,000 per year for up to 3 years.

Project objectives must:

• Incorporate high-level content and performance standards in one or more of

the core subject areas;
• Utilize innovative teaching strategies;
• Provide comprehensive ongoing professional development opportunities for
staff;
• Incorporate training for parents in ways to support their children’s educational
progress;

• Include a comprehensive evaluation of projects’ activities, and

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 • Priority is given to projects operating in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise
Communities.

The Javits projects are contributing answers to important questions about how to provide
a rich and challenging education to talented students, especially those who are
economically disadvantaged, or are at risk.

The abstracts in this publication are organized by state and by city of the grantee from
each state. Further information about each project is available from the contact person(s).
The Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program is available from:

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program
555 New Jersey Ave., NW, Room 502
Washington, DC 20208-5645
202-219-2210
http://www.ed.gov/programs/javits/

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The New Horizons Project

PR AWARD #: R206A960038

Grantee: Atlanta Public Schools

210 Pryor Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30335

Contact: Sharon B. Jones

(404) 827-8681

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$198,013 $196,286 $197,000

The New Horizons project will bring gifted education services to the total school
population of three elementary schools located in depressed communities in the city of
Atlanta. The targeted schools are a part of Atlanta’s Empowerment Zone and it’s linkage
communities.

New Horizons will use nontraditional identification methods, multiple criteria,

differentiated instructional strategies, a curriculum based in the students’ history and
cultural, a school-wide focus on in-depth study, projects, productions, talent
development, and mentorships with young adults to nurture students’ dormant gifts and
talents. Instructional staff will be prepared through staff development to pursue gifted
education certification. A series of family workshops will prepare parents to recognize
potential gifts and talents in their children and to participate more fully in their children’s
education.

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Project CCA (Creating a Community of Achievement)

PROJECT AWARD #: R206A960056

Grantee: Maryland State Department of Education

Division of Instruction
200 West Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-2595

Contact: Imogene J. Roane

(410) 767-0173

Kay Birukoff
410-767-0363

Target Grade Level: Middle School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$246,160 $237,368 $223,000

Project CCA: Creating a Community of Achievement will develop a model program to

address the needs of highly able students within the context of ongoing reform efforts.
Maryland State Department of Education project staff will work with six middle schools
in Baltimore City, which has been designated an Empowerment Zone, to pilot a series of
strategies that are responsive to the special needs of these schools.

All project activities are designed to foster a climate of achievement in which at-risk
gifted and talented students can discover and develop their unique interests and abilities.
Activities will center on ongoing professional development, development of
differentiated curriculum, and substantive parental and community involvement. The
project will also have strong product development and dissemination components.

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Urban Scholars Program

PR AWARD #: R206A960032

Grantee: University of Massachusetts/Boston

100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393

Contact: Joan Becker

Chris Hogan
(617) 287-5830

Target Grade Level: Middle School/High School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$256,424 $305,121 $320,417

The Urban Scholars Program has identified and developed the potential of gifted and
talented urban youth for the past fourteen years. It has consistently promoted the use of
strategies that are effective in helping improve the education of all students.

Urban Scholars will: (1) work with students, teachers and families as a laboratory to
develop models for effective talent identification and development, and (2) address the
need to improve the quality of education for all students at target schools.

The project will engage in activities designed to achieve four objectives:

1. Identify and develop the math and science talents of 55 urban middle school
students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.
2. Implement an integrated system of rigorous standards and assessments tied to
curriculum and professional development in the high school component, modeled
on the work underway in the middle school component.
3. Develop and implement a comprehensive program of family and community
involvement in Urban Scholars.
4. Work collaboratively with partner schools to enhance their capacity to develop the
potential of all students.

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PROJECT CUE (Creating Urban Excellence)

PR AWARD #: R206A960088

Grantee: Community School District 9

1377 Jerome Avenue
Bronx, NY 10452

Contact: Josephine Joyce

(718) 583-7366

Target Grade Level: Pre-K through Eight

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$250,000 $245,000 $240,000

Project CUE is a collaborative of Community School District 9, the college of New

Rochelle and staff of the Arts Connection. District 9 is located in New York City’s South
Bronx, which is part of a larger Federal Empowerment Zone and serves approximately
32,000 students who are from underrepresented groups in gifted and talented programs.
Twenty-eight schools in District 9 have become Title 1 School-wide Project schools with
a protocol for shared decision-making, which will enable school-based decisions in the
use of compensatory resources.

Project CUE will expand on past efforts to restructure teaching and learning in schools to
recognize and enhance individual student talents and interests. The project will target
urban minority students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight in both regular and
special education at two schools. It will provide high-level content instruction in
mathematics, science, art, music, dance, theatre and computer technology in classrooms,
school-wide and in the community, so that opportunities to identify and nurture talents in
these areas can be provided. Project CUE will also develop a related protocol for
professional development and will help parents understand and develop their children’s
strength.

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MAP (Major Achievement Program)

PR AWARD #: R206A960011

Grantee: Rochester City School District

Curriculum Development and Support
131 West Broad Street
Rochester, NY 14614-1187

Contact: Patricia Meek

(716) 252-8713

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Secondary School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$78,599 $85,510 $85,891

The Major Achievement Program of the Rochester Public Schools will carry out the
following activities: (1) create a Research and Development Team to design criteria for a
model K-12 Student Assessment Portfolio to screen elementary and secondary students
for participation in the Major Achievement Program; (2) develop an Interdisciplinary
Enrichment Institute to expand experimental learning through museum workshops,
visiting artist performances, and field trips, and develop mentor-assisted enrichment
projects that will be integrated into the instructional plan to assist students in developing
their general intellectual ability and specific aptitudes; and (3) create a Parent Support
Network to encourage parents of gifted and talented students to take an active role in
their children’s education.

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Project CRITICAL (Curriculum Restructuring, In-service Training,
Implementation, Computer-Assisted Instruction and Learning Outcomes)

PR AWARD #: R206A960134

Grantee: Syracuse University

Maxwell School Project Legal
513 Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244-1090

Contact: James J. Carroll

(888) 443-4720

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Secondary School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$212,656 $235,000 $250,068

Project CRITICAL (Curriculum Restructuring, In-service Training, Implementation,

Computer-Assisted Instruction and Learning Outcomes: Advancing Critical Thinking in
Gifted Education Classes) will address the special educational needs of targeted students
living in New York City, mostly in the economically distressed Empowerment Zone in
Harlem and the Bronx.

Project CRITICAL will apply the theories of Renzulli, Gardner, Kolberg and Bloom to
adapt a nationally validated law-related education project for elementary and secondary
American history courses. The overall theme is to make students aware of civic values,
how situations may arise throughout American history (as well as in their community and
their school) in which individual and societal values may conflict, and how our judicial
system exists to resolve such conflicts by balancing the rights of individuals with their
responsibilities toward society.

The director and the 30 teacher participants in Project CRITICAL will develop new
gifted and talented elementary, middle and high school student curriculum materials for
use with gifted and talented students as a result of participating in curriculum
development workshops and field testing and revising materials.

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Project LEAP (Leadership Excellence Achievement and/or Performance)

PR AWARD #: R206A960059

Grantee: The Osage County Interlocal Cooperative

207 East Main Street
Hominy, OK 74035-1511

Contact: Susan Frasier

(918) 885-2667

Target Grade Level: Secondary School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$248,324 $200,410 $183,000

Project LEAP: Leadership Excellence Achievement and/or Performance is a cooperative

effort seeking to identify and meet the special educational needs of gifted and talented
secondary students in four rural districts in northeastern Oklahoma. These project
communities are impoverished, rural and isolated and designated as Empowerment
Zones/Enterprise Communities. Approximately 64% of the 7,000 residents are
documented American Indians; limited English proficient/Native American students
represent 62% of total school enrollment; and 65% are enrolled in the free/reduced lunch
program.

The project will target approximately 116 students in grades 9-12. The participating
districts (Hominy, Shidler, Woodland, and Frontier) are members of the Osage County
Interlocal Cooperative (OCIC). Project LEAP will allow these students the opportunity
to fully develop their intellectual, creative, artistic and/or leadership abilities; provide
individualized instruction and specially developed study units incorporating the child’s
culture. Project LEAP will address six main components: Identification,
Instructional/Curriculum, Parental Awareness/Training, Professional Development,
Dissemination and Evaluation that develop and advance both theory and knowledge in
gifted talented education.

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Ohio Department of Education

PR AWARD #: R206A960121

Grantee: Ohio Department of Education

Division of Special Education
933 High Street
Worthington, OH 43085-4087

Contact: Kristen Kask

(614) 466-2650

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

$274,914 $260,305 $265,624

The Ohio Department of Education intends to facilitate, on a statewide basis, the delivery
of appropriate services to young gifted children who are economically disadvantaged.
This project will replicate a previously funded (1993-1996) Ohio Javits Project and will
expand to three new sites, Columbus City, Cleveland, and Portsmouth area schools that
are designated as Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities. The project will
continue to support the original sites, which included three urban sites (Youngstown,
Akron and Toledo City schools), one urban Appalachian site (Cincinnati City schools),
and one rural/Appalachian site (comprised of Federal Hocking, Nelsonville-York, and
Alexander local schools).

The Ohio Javits Project will target key components of school restructuring at state and
national levels by (1) incorporating high-level content and performance standards in core
subject areas; (2) empowering building level staff and families to play a major role in
instructional decision making; and (3) providing a model that fosters continuous
improvement at the school building and district level. This project will use learning
centers, contracts, acceleration, cross-grade work, enrichment, independent study,
curriculum compacting and extending, flexible grouping, and tiered assignments as
methods for addressing individual learning differences.

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DISCOVER V

PR AWARD #: R206A970005

Grantee: The University of Arizona

Department of Special Education
and Rehabilitation
P.O. Box 210069
Tucson, AZ 85721-0069

Contact: Dr. C. June Maker

(520) 621-8832
(520) 621-3821 (Fax)

Target Grade Level: Pre-K through Eight

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$281,437 $287,708 $294,156

The goals of the DISCOVER V project are to (1) collaborate with Project Partner
community members to identify the varied strength profiles of all learners in their
community; (2) continue the development and validation of DISCOVER assessment
processes for two purposes: identification of students who are gifted and creation of
strength profiles of all learners in project schools; (3) collaboration in the design of
teaching/learning units with a focus on problem-solving, multiple intelligences, cultural
context, and varied activities to enhance student engagement in learning through
developing the strengths of all learners; (4) evaluate the effectiveness of varied levels of
implementation of the DISCOVER curriculum; and (5) disseminate information about the
DISCOVER Assessment processes, the DISCOVER Curriculum Model, and research on
their effectiveness.

Each DISCOVER teaching unit is based on a broad theme (e.g. cycles, discovery,
interdependence, patterns), of key concepts, and generalizations with ideas from many
disciplines integrated into problem content. Although all problems require the use of
more than one intelligence, no problem is created or solved without interaction among
varied intelligences.

Four or five schools will be selected based on (a) a high level of commitment to
implementing the DISCOVER curriculum model in the total school community, (b) an
agreement to contribute local resources and to continue the DISCOVER identification
and curriculum modification projects, (c) location in an EZ/EC or similarly economically
disadvantaged area, (d) a high percentage of minority students or those for whom English
is not a first language, and (e) a commitment to using modifications recommended for
gifted students in all classrooms. One school will be in a rural community on the Navajo
reservation, one in a low income area of Tucson, AZ, that was a pilot school for the
DISCOVER IV preschool project, one in the enterprise community of Phoenix, AZ, and
two other sites yet to be selected.

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PROJECT 2000

PR AWARD #: R206A970004

Grantee: Yuma School District One

Project 2000
450 West Sixth Street
Yuma, AZ 85364-2973

Contact: Susan Erwin

(520) 782-6581 x320
(520) 782-0736 (Fax)

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$156,626 $56,597 $36,555

Project 2000 develops identification models and implements innovative programs, which
benefit students who are economically disadvantaged, limited, English proficient and/or
disabled and often not identified through traditional gifted and talented programs. Project
2000 plans to serve 550+ students during the three-year project with the potential impact
of serving over 2,000 students by the third year.

Yuma School District 1 is composed of 64.5 percent ethnic minorities, consisting of large
numbers of Mexican-Americans and Native Americans. Nine of the fifteen schools
qualify for Title 1 School-wide Project Status. Project 2000 is the first of its kind in this
rural southwest county of Arizona.

The project plans to design and implement:

1. a research identification model to recruit and select students (Discover

Assessment)
2. one or more curriculum and instructional models to serve targeted students that
combine strategies (enrichment, acceleration, peer tutoring, cooperative learning);
3. a professional development plan with an in-service component for teachers and
parents based on pre-assessed needs, relevant research and proven educational
strategies;
4. a parent involvement component with in-service training in content and
leadership;
5. revision and publication of the District Gifted Resource Handbook; and
6. ongoing assessment and final evaluation conducted by an external evaluator.

Project 2000 expands existing programs and offers new program enhancements.

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Project Curriculum TWO (Training Within Classrooms and Online)

PR AWARD #: R206A970006

Grantee: University of Southern California

School of Education
WPH 1002
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0031

Contact: Sandra Kaplan

(213) 740-3291
(213) 366-2228 (Fax)

Target Grade Level:

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$223,638 $222,018 $219,743

Project Curriculum TWO: Training Within Classrooms and Online is a plan to address
the gifted and talented limited English proficient students, an ever-growing group in
California, as well as in the nation as a whole.

TWO proposes to match teachers and classrooms from Enterprise and Empowerment
zones with classroom teachers in other regions of the state who are currently moving
forward in efforts to teach complex content to LEP gifted and talented students. The
project intends to redefine the basics of reading for advanced and gifted learners and to
analyze the strategies needed to attain high levels of performance standards.
Communications among participants in the project will be enhanced by donation of, and
training in, the latest HyperStudio program, which includes a feature that allows users to
collaborate on projects over the Internet.

TWO will provide comprehensive professional development for teachers of the targeted
classrooms culminating in granting the California Association for the Gifted “Certificates
of Completion.” Additionally, the project will define appropriate at-home psychological
and academic support for parents by utilizing the California Association for the Gifted
Parent Council network and its affiliates.

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ELATE (Expert Learning for All Through Teacher Education)

PR AWARD #: R206A970001

Grantee: Yale University

Department of Psychology
Yale University
P.O. Box 208205
New Haven, CT 06520-8205

Contact: Robert J. Sternberg

(203) 432-4633
(203) 432-8317 (Fax)

Elena Grigorenko
(203) 432-4660
URL: yale.edu/rjsternberg

Target Grade Level: Elementary through Five

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$78,750 $82,979 $87,421

The Expert Learning for All through Teacher Education (ELATE) program is based on a
notion of both abilities and achievement as developing expertise. According to this view,
measured abilities are themselves a form of expertise of achievement that can be
developed in all students.

Using nine research-based principles of expertise, ELATE will show teachers three
primary sets of methods to develop these facets of expertise for language arts, in at least
250 New Haven school students in grade 5. It includes more than 50% students from
minority groups and more than 50% below the official U.S. poverty line. Special efforts
will be made to make the program accessible to bilingual and culturally diverse as well as
to learning disabled and physically challenged students. The program will be taught by
teachers, and developed with the collaboration of teachers, administrators, and parents.

ELATE will compare experimental group versus matched control group pretest to posttest
residualized gain scores for both special conventional and performance assessments and
for school achievement as measured by grades and standardized test scores (state and
commercial). The program and results will be widely disseminated and publicized.

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PBLISS (Problem-Based Learning in Social Studies)

PR AWARD #: R206A970003

Grantee: University of North Carolina/Charlotte

Department of Teaching Specialties
9201 University Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Contact: Shelagh Gallagher

(704) 547-2531
(704) 547-2916 (Fax)

Target Grade Level: High School

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$233,241 $231,157 $189,864

The University of North Carolina/Charlotte proposes to create rigorous and relevant

Social Studies curriculum units for economically disadvantaged gifted high school
students. The project will use Problem-Based Learning, with its emphasis on solving
real-world problems, self-directed learning, and significant content as the structure for the
units. The content of the units will be selected to focus on a core Social Studies concept
through immersion in current and historical episodes with particular relevance to target
students.

A cooperative agreement has been established with three North Carolina school districts
with large populations of disadvantaged students to pilot test the units. Charlotte-
Mecklenburg schools and Wilson County schools are both in Enterprise Communities;
and Alamance County schools share many of the same characteristics of urban schools in
Charlotte/Mecklenberg. Through collaborative efforts, all materials that emerge from the
project will be systematically developed, tested, and revised, resulting in usable, useful
products for the field.

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Project LOGIC (Leadership Opportunities for Gifted Indian Children)

PR AWARD #: R206A970007

Grantee: University of Oklahoma

American Indian Institute
555 Constitution Street
Norman, OK 73072

Contact: Anita Chisholm

(405) 325-4127

Sandra Poolaw
(405) 325-4127
(405) 325-7757 (Fax)

Target Grade Level: 9-12

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$164,938 $157,594 $160,267

Project LOGIC: Leadership Opportunities for Gifted Indian Children is a comprehensive

leadership development program using tradition and technology to enhance strengths of
American Indian students and educators. The program seeks to advance theory and
knowledge in the area of gifted and talented education by (1) establishing alternative
identification criteria for gifted and talented American Indians; (2) developing culturally
appropriate experiential activities infused with traditional ideologies and high-level
concepts from core subject areas; (3) designing an experiential educator training
prototype for teachers; and (4) disseminating project materials.

Project LOGIC will conduct a series of summer leadership institutes and weekend
leadership seminars for American Indian youth and educators to provide field-testing and
curriculum development opportunities. Project LOGIC has established an Advisory
Board that will provide diverse voices to counsel the project staff. The project will
represent a comprehensive effort to address all aspects of gifted and talented education
for Indian students and their educators.

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PEP (Project Enterprise: Pittsburgh)

PR AWARD #: R206A970002

Grantee: School District of Pittsburgh

Conroy Education Center
1398 Page Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Contact: Jacqueline Dandridge

(412) 323-3966
(412) 323-3990 (Fax)

Mary Toll
(412) 578-6333

Target Grade Level: Elementary

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$237,790 $243,177 $245,224

Project Enterprise: Pittsburgh (PEP) will address the development of an exemplary Urban
School District and College collaborative with the creation of a Professional and Family
Development Center at Carlow College.

Teachers will receive extensive staff development in differentiated and accelerated

enrichment teaching models that may be used in an inclusive classroom. Demonstration
teaching and peer coaching will extend the professional development activities to the
classroom sites. Project Enterprise teachers will then share teaching strategies/models
with colleagues.

PEP will develop and pilot a series of tasks and rubrics as alternative
screening/identification strategies and implement several demonstration classrooms that
will serve as models for gifted services within an inclusive setting. PEP will also attempt
to raise awareness and enable families and communities to become advocates for
children’s education.

PEP will develop several products that will empower teachers, administrators, families,
and school districts. These products include training manuals for screening/identification
and curriculum differentiation in communications and mathematics; brochures and
information packets to promote family and community education; and videos of actively
engaged diverse learners in action.

21
Region One Education Service Center

PR AWARD #: R206A970008

Grantee: Region One Education Service Center

1900 W. Schunior
Hidalgo County
Edinburgh, TX 78539

Contact: Mary Jean Navarro

(956) 383-5611

Target Grade Level: Pre-K through Twelve

Funding: FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999

$180,322* $161,566 $184,370

*$118,848 was paid from 1997 funds; $61,474 was paid from FY 98 funds.

Region One Education Service Center and three participating school districts, Edcouch-
Elsa Independent School District (ISD), La Ferro ISD, La Villa ISD, propose to establish
and operate a model program for all gifted and talented students. Through a restructuring
process, teachers, counselors, administrators, and parents will collaborate to review,
evaluate, and use traditional and non-traditional assessment and identification processes
among potentially gifted and talented students.

The three participating school districts will work with nationally recognized researchers
and educators to develop and restructure the gifted education curricula and accompanying
materials. An interactive technology component for parents will be available in print and
electronic forms for review via the Internet.

A rigorous professional development program will be upgraded to enhance educator’s

skills through formal and informal training sessions focused on the multiple intelligence
theory and “best practices.” The training will build a cadre of teachers and counselors
who possess an in-depth knowledge base of the prerequisite information and research
critical to make a personal commitment to identify students’ strengths; to structure
learning activities that give learners opportunities to demonstrate potential; to recognize
and reinforce signs of talents; to locate resources to help foster individual talents; and to
share observations of capabilities with parents.

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Think Like A Disciplinarian

PR AWARD #: R206A980055

Grantee: University of Southern California

Waite Phillips Hall, 1004
Los Angeles, CA 90089

Contact: Sandra Kaplan

(213) 740-3291

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$98,111 $98,111 $98,111

The University of Southern California is partnering with the Los Angeles Unified School
District’s Roosevelt cluster, representing 17,000 K-5 Title 1, Spanish-speaking students,
to develop a three-pronged model program:

1. Academic Model Program

This program is designed to accommodate the needs of gifted emergent English language
learners educated in cluster groups in the regular classroom using a Learning Center
Approach to differentiate the curriculum. The curriculum will be based on content and
performance standards and articulate advanced disciplinary content.

2. Professional Development Model Program

This program is designed to educate preservice teachers about gifted education in a state
where credentials and endorsements are not available. It will bring intact classes of
gifted students to the university to be taught by student teachers for whole days on a
bimonthly basis. Veteran teachers will also be able to obtain inservice education
opportunities using a leveled or differentiated staff development plan that allows teachers
to designate their level of participation. Administrators will also be trained to assess
classrooms and teachers regarding differentiated curriculum and instruction appropriate
to challenge gifted students.

3. Parent Education Model

This program is designed to conduct Side-by-Side workshops in which parents and their
child plan individual educational profiles inclusive of goals and “pathways to travel”
collaboratively into reach the goals that further at-home differentiated learning.

23
Project GATE

PR AWARD #: R206A980067

Grantee: Ball State University

2000 University
Muncie, IN 47306

Contact: Cheryll Adams

(765) 285-5390

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Secondary Schools

Funding: FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$202,317 $203,025 $203,769

Project GATE is a partnership between the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent
Development at Ball State University and the Indianapolis Public Schools to address the
need to assess, identify and cultivate the skills and intellectual talents of gifted K-12
students of the underserved population in their geographical area. Five elementary
school sites based on boundary areas have been chosen for year 1. Five middle schools
will be added in year 2 and five high schools in year 3.

During the first year of Project Gate, the building level principal and all faculty will
participate in intensive professional development sessions targeting strategies for
differentiating instruction in the regular classroom. Training will focus on preparing
challenging mathematics and science instruction to benefit the students who have been
identified as gifted as well as other students in the classroom. Teachers will use the
strategies, methods, and techniques learned in professional development workshops to
develop curriculum that is appropriately differentiated to meet the needs of all students in
the mixed ability classroom. Additionally, this in-depth collaboration between an urban
school district and a university center will include a parent dimension as a very important
aspect.

At the end of the three years, project outcomes will include a model curriculum
guide, videotapes that demonstrate strategies developed to differentiate curriculum for
gifted students in particular and all students in general, and project sites for observation
by other interested people.

24
Challenges And Choices

PR AWARD #: R206A980077

Grantee: Fleming County Schools

Simons Middle School
211 West Water Street
Flemingsburg, KY 41041

Contact: Joy Gooding

(606) 845-5851

Target Grade Level: Middle School

Funding: FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$214,997 $215,000 $215,000

Simons Middle School, the only middle school in Fleming County, Kentucky, has a 27-
member staff serving 380 seventh and eighth grades students. Simons staff formed a
consortium with two other rural Eastern Kentucky middle schools (Leslie County and
Pine Knot in McCreary County), the Kentucky Department of Education, and three
Kentucky universities to establish Challenges and Choices, a project designed to identify
and serve disadvantaged gifted students.

Challenges and Choices will increase the percentage of disadvantaged students identified
as gifted, provide services that will reduce their isolation, enrich experiential learning,
and increase achievement. Students will use technology to network with each other and
with online mentors and attend summer institutes on a university campus. Accomplished
professionals in various fields will provide hands-on training.

One strategy planned to improve gifted services and to raise curriculum standards and
expectations for all students is training teachers in the relationship of gender bias and
academic performance. Others are revamping the schedule to allow gifted students to be
grouped with ability peers during enrichment periods and forming Advanced Placement
English and Mathematics Vertical Teams.

Challenges and Choices has four objectives that target students, their parents, and their
teachers: 1) to increase the proportion of disadvantaged students identified as gifted in
the three middle schools by 10% by 2001; 2) to increase the number and quality of gifted
student services that reduce isolation and enrich experiential learning, improve attitude
toward school, and increase achievement; 3) to increase by 10% per year, parent
involvement in activities that foster the cognitive and affective development of their
gifted children; and 4) to increase 80 teacher’s capacity to recognize middle school gifted
students and provide them with appropriate instruction, challenging curriculum, and
affective support.

25
Examination School Bound

PR AWARD #: R206A980028

Grantee: Boston Public Schools

26 Court Street
Boston, MA 02108

Contact: Charlotte Harris

(617) 635-9685

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Middle School

Funding FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$213,223 $208,231 $211,279

Examination School Bound (ESB) is designed to enrich and extend existing gifted and
talented education services for 1,000 elementary and middle school students, with the
goal of increasing the number of Boston Public School students who enter Boston’s three
elite examination and college preparatory schools in grade 7.

ESB is an attempt to strengthen the educational preparation and enrich services offered
through the Advanced Work Class (AWC) program provided students in grades 4-6. The
Advanced Work Class program identifies students, regardless of language, ethnicity,
culture or economic background, who are academically talented and provide them with
an accelerated education program to ensure they achieve their full academic potential.
Activities in the ESB program include developing a curriculum tailored to gifted and
talented students; more advanced materials and summer programs; experimentation with
alternative assessment and multilingual inclusion; and specialized training for teachers.
Additionally, Examination School Bound will create a model of best strategies to identify,
support and develop the work of academically gifted and talented children, particularly in
the context of large, urban school districts who students are predominantly economically
disadvantaged, predominantly minority, and with a significant number of linguistic
minorities.

The strategy for accomplishing the above goals involves five key areas: 1) students, 2)
teachers, 3) classrooms; 4) experimental programs; and 5) parents. The activities in these
areas are designed to address specific weaknesses in the AWC program; provide
additional resources and expertise; and enhance both the educational experience and
performance of all AWC students. In addition, successful curriculum modules, teaching
methods and best practices identified through ESB will be shared with non-AWC
classrooms and teachers throughout the Boston Public Schools system

26
Project Challenge

PR AWARD #: R206A980001

Grantee: Trustees of Boston University

Boston University
881 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Contact: Suzanne Chapin

(617) 353-7105

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$203,774 $208,143 $213,473

Project Challenge is a collaborative effort of faculty and students at Boston University’s

School of Education and administrators, teachers, students, and parents from the Chelsea
Public Schools to develop a model program for economically disadvantaged elementary
and middle school students who are gifted in mathematics.

Project Challenge’s twofold goals are: 1) to significantly increase the number of English
Language Learners, minority students, and economically disadvantaged elementary and
middle school students who are identified as having talent in mathematics and to provide
them with a rich, challenging program; and 2) to design and test a model curriculum for
gifted and talented elementary students in mathematics that especially focuses on
mathematical reasoning and problem solving.

The objectives of Project Challenge will be met through the use of a model which has the
following components: 1) multiple identification criteria; 2) in-school academically
challenging gifted classes in mathematics for students in grades 4, 5, and 6; 3) after-
school and summer enrichment programs for students in grades 4-6; 4) pull -out
enrichment program for students in grades 2 and 3; 5) training for teachers and other
school personnel; and 6) training and support for parents.

Project Challenge will be piloted on students in grades 2, 3, and 4 in Year 1, refined and
expanded to grade 5 students in Year 2, and extended to grade 6 in Year 3.
Approximately 70 teachers and 225 students will be involved during each academic year.

27
Project Breakthrough

PR AWARD #: R206A980044

Grantee: College of Charleston

66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424

Contact: Julie Swanson

(803) 953-5106

Target Grade Level:

Funding: FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$194,906 $192,191 $200,048

The College of Charleston proposes to identify three schools in South Carolina, which
serve fifty percent or more low-income students. The College will work with these
schools, teachers, parents, and students to create gifted and talented schools to improve
student achievement and to identify underrepresented gifted and talented students.

Project Breakthrough will address these questions and others: What effect does the use
of gifted and talented curriculum and strategies have on the achievement levels of high
achieving students? Average achieving students? Low achieving students? What effect,
if any, does the use of rich, challenging curricula have on the identification of
underrepresented students in project schools? Which specific gifted and talented
approaches appear to work best in improving student achievement, and what is the
evidence to support that contention? What professional development activities help
teachers to change their classroom practices to include more gifted and talented
approaches in their teaching of all students? What parent activities successfully impact
student achievement and identification of underrepresented gifted and talented students?

The program’s goals are to expose all students to gifted and talented methods and
curricula; teach teachers how to use gifted and talented methods for all students, and
provide a supportive environment for teachers which institutionalizes these approaches.
Program activities include: 1) identify specific strategies which raise reading, science,
and/or mathematics achievement levels of students at all achievement levels; 2)
determine professional development activities which support teachers; 3) train parents to
accelerate children’s learning; 4) identify students from underrepresented populations;
and 5) disseminate successful practices.

28
Project Phoenix

PR AWARD #: R206A980048

Grantee: College of William & Mary

P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187

Contact: Joyce VanTassel-Baska

(757) 221-2185

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Middle School

Funding: FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000

$214,926 $214,926 $214,926

The College of William & Mary project will demonstrate how the development and
implementation of high powered, interdisciplinary curriculum in social studies can raise
the threshold of performance in the regular classroom as well as effectively respond to
the needs of high ability learners.

The project is designed around four key objectives: 1) curriculum development; 2) staff
development, 3) parent-school-community model development, and 4) project diffusion.
Major outcomes for the project include the development of six curriculum units across 3
grade levels (2, 4, and 7), developed and field-tested in 7 schools with predominantly
low-income and culturally diverse student populations in the Norfolk district, a staff
development model emphasizing constructivist pedagogy and using demonstration
teaching, videotaping, and peer coaching as key elements, a handbook on the
implementation of parent-school-community model that is designed to increase
involvement in the learning process, and at least two research studies on the documented
success of the project to support national dissemination efforts.

There are 6 key elements built into the project to ensure the development of high quality,
state-of-the-art products and services which contribute to the effective integration of
theory and practice in gifted education and provide and important linkage to the general
education reform agenda. They are: 1) the use of a collaborative model involving all
stakeholders, 2) the adaptability of project methods and materials to all learners; 3) the
wide range of staff expertise; 4) emphasis on student learning through pilot and field-
testing processes in an action research context; 5) continuous improvement; and 6)
maximizing opportunities for replication.

29
Access Built Through Leadership & Academics: The ABLA Community Scholars
Program

PR AWARD #: R206A990009

Grantee: University of Illinois at Chicago

College of Education – CUERD
1101 West Taylor Street
Chicago, Il 60667

Contact: Deborah C. Umrani

(312) 996-0979

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Secondary School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$213,452 $213,890 $214,897

Access Built through Leadership & Academics: The ABLA Community

Scholars Program will involve the University of Illinois at Chicago, four near west side
elementary schools, the parents of participants, Whitney Young Magnet High School, and
interested community agencies.

The program will utilize Instrumental Enrichment with Mediated Learning and Problem-
Based Learning strategies in an initiative to (1) early identify gifted and talented students
and significantly improve reading and math scores; (2) increase students’ ability to
compete for spaces at Whitney Young Magnet High School and other gifted and talented
schools; (3) cultivate student leaders who positively impact their schools and community;
(4) positively impact the community through the development of parent leaders; and (5)
expand teachers’ abilities to select the most effective teaching strategy, thereby improving
student achievement.

This three year project is structured to build a community of learners and build capacity
for expanding the model by developing a collaboration between three critical
constituencies of the school community: students, parents, and educators. In this design
the student is at the center of the process with the parents and teachers as supports to
students. Students, teachers, and parents will receive training in Instrumental Enrichment
with Meditated Learning (IE/MLE) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Parents and
teachers will also implement the PBL model as a method to address their respective
group needs.

The services provided by the proposed project will empower people who reside primarily
in public housing where there is high unemployment and, more often than not, problems
of low educational attainment. Three things will happen as a result: (1) the students will
be better prepared for admission to schools with strong college preparatory programs, (2)
the quality of life in the community will be enhanced, and (3) participating parents and
students will feel better about themselves and about their community, because they have
experienced their potential as positive agents for change.
30
BPS #71 G&T Enhancement Program

PR AWARD #: R206A990003

Grantee: Buffalo City School District

WEB School 71
156 Newburgh Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14211

Contact: Vanessa Hughes

(716) 897-8151

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Middle School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$215,000 $215,000 $215,000

Buffalo Public School #71 is a neighborhood school that services 796 students in grades
K-8. This proposal will establish a demonstration model that will use the Talents
component of the school theme to identify and nurture the potential giftedness of
students, especially minorities, the economically disadvantaged and those with
disabilities. This proposal will build on the Gifted and Talented Enhancement Program
that was instituted in September 1994 and expand the program from Grade K-4 to K-8.

There are five major parts to the project:

• Expansion of the school theme model,

• Development of challenging content, performance standards, and assessment tools,
• Professional development of staff,
• Training of parents into the program, and
• A comprehensive improvement plan.

The overall goal is to create a model, which will utilize the principles of the gifted, and
talent philosophy and provide three talent strands – the Arts, Scientific Method and
Inquiry, and Technology – to give students opportunities to express the talents they
possess.

31
Project IMAGINE (Innovative Model for the Advancement of the Gifted through
Inquiry In nature and the Environment)

PR AWARD #: R206A990008

Grantee: Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo)

2300 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10920

Contact: Ann Robinson

(718) 220-6899

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Middle School

+
Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$185,000 $208,239 $185,000

Project IMAGINE will apply the theories of Gardner, Bloom and others to adapt a
nationally-validated and –acclaimed life science program to meet the special needs of
disadvantaged gifted and talented students. The project is a cooperative effort by the
Bronx Zoo and School Districts 4 and 6 in Manhattan (Harlem) and 7, 8 and 9 in the
Bronx. Project IMAGINE will serve as a model of how informal science institutions
(ISI’s), such as zoos, natural history museums, and nature centers can work with schools
to implement a program of science infusion and talent development for economically
disadvantaged students. The program will show educators how ISI’s can serve as living
laboratories for the instruction of gifted and talented students.

Through Project IMAGINE, the Bronx Zoo will help teachers provide an enriched
collaborative environment for their students that will encourage peer-to-peer cooperation,
reconfigure the relationship between teacher and student by making informal science
institutions an essential part of educational activity. Project IMAGINE will allow
approximately 14,700 students to explore the life sciences in a very exciting and
immediate way. It will consist of five main components.

1. A series of intensive Hands-On Science Leadership Training Institutes for sixth-grade

teachers that will prepare them to deliver life science programs.
2. A follow-up program of Reflective Study Workshops and technical assistance through
which the teachers will get ongoing support centering on science content, classroom
instruction, authentic assessment, and the National Science Education Standards.
3. A series of special Student-to-Student Projects that will allow sixth-grade students to
work in teams to teach partner third-grade classes about topics in environmental
science.
4. Training workshops for third-grade teachers that will enable them to place the
Student-to-Student Projects in the context of their environmental science curricula.
5. An extensive weekend program at the Bronx Zoo for participating students designed
to motivate students and enable them to learn the science content and skills necessary
to serve as Junior Guides at the Bronx Zoo during the seventh grade.
6. A Parent Program that assist parents in developing their gifted child’s potential.

32
Opportunities for Learning in the Art

PR AWARD #: R206A990002

Grantee: The Harlem School of the Arts

645 St. Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10030

Contact: Max Bertrand

(212) 926-4100

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$129,156 $200,701 $211,347

The Opportunities for Learning in the Arts (OLA) project is a collaboration of The
Harlem School of the Arts, and Community School District Five’s public schools 46, 123,
and 129.

OLA is an arts education program for 250 children in grades one through three. This
program infuses students with life-long love for the arts, encourages creativity and
impacts their academic performance through hands-on instruction in the arts. First and
second grade students have the opportunity to study each discipline – music (percussion,
chorus), dance, drama, and visual arts. Third graders receive more intensive instruction
in two disciplines of their choice.

The goals of the OLA program are:

1. Develop a system for recognizing the gifts and talents of all children in the
participating public schools.
2. Use the arts to support the general curriculum through literacy and offering the arts as
an extension of the existing curriculum in order to allow children to develop to their
full potential.
3. Provide ongoing professional development for Harlem School of the Arts and Public
School teachers and administrators.
4. Develop critical thinking and raise the level of comprehension.
5. Strengthen the Harlem School of the Arts existing OLA program and provide
continuity through related existing programs.

33
Project U-STARS

PR AWARD #: R206A990006

Grantee: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center
300 Bynum Hall, CB 4100
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Contact: Dr. Mary Ruth Coleman

(919) 962-7375

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$197,765 $202,688 $195,431

The Early Recognition and Cultivation of Potential project (U-STARS) is the result of
ideas proposed in an extensive two-year field study involving two North Carolina school
districts. The following tasks were accomplished during the two-year pilot. Developed
the Harrison Observation Scale.
• Drafted personnel preparation modules on the early recognition of potential in
children from economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse families.
• Teachers in three pilot schools participated in personnel preparation and in the
development of three pilot science units.
• Field-tested and refined the evaluation strategies.
• Reported the initial findings to the Reynolds Foundation who funded the pilot.

Three collaborating districts, Edgecombe, Nash-Rocky Mount, and Northampton, will

work with the project staff to demonstrate effective strategies for incorporating and
sustaining the new identification and service delivery practices. Edgecombe is an
enterprise zone.

The objectives of the project are:

1. To design challenging and engaging science units and activities for pre-K,
kindergarten, first, and second grades to enhance classroom practices.
2. To provide staff development and support to pre-K through second grade teachers on
strategies for the early recognition and cultivation of potential in students from
economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse families.
3. To involve parents (guardian/caregiver) in the early cultivation of potential in their
children through a variety of engaging science-related activities.
4. To conduct a comprehensive evaluation using both formative and summative methods
to assess project implementation and verify findings.
5. To develop materials and disseminate project findings to support other school
districts’ work on the early recognition and cultivation of high potential students.

34
Project SAIL: Schools for Active Interdisciplinary Learning

PR AWARD #: R206A990007

Grantee: The University of Tulsa

University School
600 South College Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74104

Contact: Patricia Hollingsworth

(918) 631-5063

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Secondary School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$215,000 $215,000 $215,000

Project SAIL is a model program for underserved economically disadvantaged gifted and
talented students, their teachers, and parents. The program will provide 3 years of
comprehensive ongoing professional development for 75 teachers, high level content and
standards for over 2,500 grade 1-12 students, and training for parents and administrators.
These teachers will reach between 8,000 to 10,000 people through in-service
presentations.

Students, teachers, and parents will attend three-week summer workshops where they
will be immersed in active interdisciplinary learning in writing, drama, art, computers,
math, science, history, and research. In the fall, adult participants will attend a three-day
Parent and Teacher Institute at the University of Tulsa. By winter, students will have
written original historical plays, which they will present at the university. By spring,
students will have done in-depth research into subjects of their own choosing and
produce original products for exhibit for real audiences. Students will be involved in
highly engaging, highly educational activities that will help their potential in academic
areas and the arts.

Project SAIL will train teachers to identify and support student’s gifts and talents in
nontraditional ways. Teachers will use active interdisciplinary learning strategies
regularly in their classroom as a way to differentiate and energize curriculum.

In addition to those students who are reached directly, many more will be reached
indirectly. Project SAIL workshop leaders, SAIL trained teachers, Tulsa University
professors, Women in Science plus teachers trained at the University of Tulsa in hands-on
active learning through Eisenhower, National Science Foundation, and Javits grants will
form the Schools for Active Disciplinary Learning (SAIL) Network to disseminate, train,
develop, and implement active learning programs.

35
Speakers of Other Languages Network (SOL Net)

PR AWARD #: R206A990001

Grantee: Dallas Public Schools

3700 Ross Avenue
Box 51
Dallas, TX 75204

Target Grade Level: Elementary and Middle School

Contact: Esmer Wear

(972) 749 2640

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$215,000 $215,000 $215,000

The goal of the Speakers of Other Languages Network (SOL Net) project is to provide
gifted education services in an interdisciplinary format to previously non-served
populations, low socio-economic status students whose primary language is Spanish or
Navajo. The methods of serving students are to provide staff development in Two-Way
Bilingual talented and gifted (TAG) interactive television. Students, parents and teachers
in Dallas, Chicago, Utah, Oklahoma and the Rio Grande Valley will form networks via
the Internet. Bilingual TAG products will be developed and available to anyone
worldwide via a dedicated web site.

Collaborating with the Dallas Public Schools Advanced Academic Services and
Multilingual Departments are Chicago Public Schools, San Juan School District
(Blanding, UT), the University of Texas at Pan American (Rio Grande Valley, TX) and
the American Indian Research & Development, Inc. (Enid, OK). Elementary and middle
school model lab sites will be established in Dallas, Texas, and Blanding, UT. Peer
mentoring for teachers, parents, and students will be an integral part of the project.
Bilingual products, including student/teacher/parent constructed lessons, units, plans,
staff development materials, alternative identification procedures/materials, parent
information packets, etc., will be placed on a web site available for anyone in the world
to download.

For all SOL Net model projects, bilingual teachers will be selected at each school and
offered staff development in gifted education. This training will be multicultural and
multi-disciplinary (covers the four core areas) in nature. There will be a minimum of one
bilingual TAG class per grade level (1-8) in each school by the end of the second year.
For the second and third years, other schools will be allowed to apply to establish SOL
Net model programs in their schools, with the first training slots being given to
incomplete grade level coverage of a previously selected school.

Half of each SOL Net class will be taught in Spanish/Navajo and the other half in
English. Half of the students in the program will be limited English proficient and the

36
other half will be English speakers as their primary language. The goal of the two-way
bilingual TAG program will be to have all SOL Net students proficient in both languages.

37
Identifying Mathematics Potential In Young, Underserved Children

PR AWARD #: R206A990004

Grantee: Charlottesville City Schools

1400 Melbourne Road
Central Office #2
Charlottesville, VA 22901

Contact: Megan Murray

(804) 924-3399

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$159,817 $177,636 $179,286

The Charlottesville City Schools, in Charlottesville, Virginia, in cooperation with the

Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia proposes to develop a process for
identifying and serving children in kindergarten, first and second grade who are
potentially gifted in mathematics.

Identifying Mathematics Potential in Young, Underserved Children will use teacher

observations, enhanced by the use of video as a major component of its identification
process. The observations will not only be used to identify children as gifted, but will be
used more globally to allow teachers to make instructional decisions and plans for all
children, resulting in a differentiated mathematics curriculum. The instructional model
teachers will follow is Cognitive Gifted Instruction.

The project includes an extensive professional development component, designed to

enhance teachers’ knowledge about all aspects of effective mathematics instruction in the
early grades. The project also contains specific strategies for increasing parental
involvement and plans for dissemination of findings and results.

38
Rural Isolated Elementary School-Communities Of Washington State Collaborative
Demonstration Of The Schoolwide Enrichment Model In Eight Districts

PR AWARD #: R206A990005

Grantee: University of Washington

4725 30th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98105

Contact: Dr. Albert Smith

(206) 543-3815

Target Grade Level: Elementary School

Funding: FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001

$215,000 $215,000 $215,000

Eight rural school districts serving large numbers of Hispanic and Native American
children will partner with two research universities, the Washington State Migrant
Council, and a local liberal arts college to develop and demonstrate an enhanced version
of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model targeting elementary students often
underrepresented in traditional programs for gifted and talented, and at-risk students.

Elementary teachers of the partner school districts will work closely with university
curriculum and instruction specialists, experts in gifted and talented education, content
and performance standards consultants, and the Washington State Migrant Council to
develop a series of challenging enrichment activities for addressing new state content and
performance standards with a strong focus on contextually and culturally relevant
activities. These activities will be field tested with highly capable and other K-4 students,
and the effective ones will be shared with K-4 teachers of the 8 partner school districts
through university sponsored summer Staff Development Institutes. These strategies and
activities will also be shared with the twenty-two teacher preparation programs operating
in Washington State for their reference with pre-service training of teachers.

The community partnership component of the project will focus on parent involvement,
family support, and parent education activities designed to involve parents and
community representatives in supporting these K-4 students.

39
Minneapolis Catalyst 345

PR AWARD #: R206A000051

Grantee: Minneapolis Public Schools

Minneapolis, MN

Contact: Michelle Dunn

(612) 627-2164

Target Grade Level: 3-5

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$215,000 $215,000 $215,000

The Catalyst 345 Project acknowledges the diversity of America’s gifted children
and proposes to use effective measures to identify and recognize their individual needs, to
design a program that addresses their individual needs, and implement an evaluation
system that provides ongoing feedback to improve the efficacy of the program design.

In the first year Pilot Site Lead Teachers will work with identified gifted and
talented 3rd grade students who reflect the cultural (socio-economic, ethnic, racial,
linguistic) makeup of their school, in focused language arts and math classes each day.
The Lead Teachers will continue working with the same students through 4th and 5th
grades. The Lead Teachers will reach out to gifted and talented students’
parents/guardians to learn from and work with them to develop the knowledge and skills
they need to support the academic achievement of their children. Concurrently, the Lead
Teachers will work with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers and all their students,
teaching a critical, creative, research-based visual thinking skills curriculum that will
challenge all students to greater depth of thinking, while providing their classroom
teachers with modeling for ways to embed critical, creative, visual thinking strategies into
their daily instruction.

The project is significant because it meets the needs of culturally diverse gifted
and talented students, includes a process to improve the direct teaching of thinking
strategies for all students, embeds staff development into the regular teaching day, builds
on another successful district initiative, and includes a process for continuance after the
grant. It will answer the question, “Once you’ve identified culturally diverse gifted and
talented students, how do you effectively develop and sustain their strengths and
potential?

40
Newark Collegiate Academies

PR/AWARD #: R206A000044

Grantee: The Newark Public Schools

Newark, NJ

Contact: Ann L. Wilson

(973) 733-7308

Target Grade Level: K-6

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$209,278 $209,278 $209,278

Newark Collegiate Academies will provide a rigorous course of study for students with
gifted and talented abilities, starting in grade nine, at four comprehensive high schools.

Two teachers, one for mathematics and one for English, will be identified from each
school as the Key Collegiate Academy Team Members. They will be certified to teach
advanced classes in these two critical content areas. They will also share responsibility
for working with other faculty within the school in the other subject areas, demonstrating
how the district curriculum can be strengthened and infused with higher- content. This
information will be shared with the District’s Department of Teaching and Learning, that
has oversight for the implementation of the state and district curriculum.

The teachers will participate in a two-week summer institute to develop specific

classroom activities that can be integrated into the curriculum to add more content depth,
and for PSAT/SAT staff development, using organizations such as the Princeton Institute
for Quality Education. The summer institute will also give teachers from the
participating schools a sense of community so that they can share their experiences
throughout the school year (district staff development days will be used for these
purposes.) Teachers will also be available for after school tutoring of students to
strengthen content, and mitigate against students falling behind and dropping out of the
program.

Students will be identified in grade eight in their respective feeder patterns, and
encouraged to apply to the academy. They will participate in a three-week summer
preparatory program prior to entering grade nine, their first year at the academy. By year
two, sophomores will be able to assist the incoming freshmen, and by year three, juniors
and sophomores will participate.

41
Project CRITICAL

PR AWARD #: R206A000020

Grantee: Syracuse University

Maxwell School
230 Euclid Ave.
Syracuse, NY 13244-5130

Contact: James J. Carroll

(315) 443-4720
(315) 443-1448

Target Grade Level: K-6

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$204,322 $206,228 $212,290

Project CRITICAL: Curriculum Restructuring, Inservice Training, Identification,

Computer Assisted Instruction, and Learning outcomes is a project submitted by Syracuse
University’s Project LEGAL (Law-related Education: Goals for American Leadership) to
work with New York City’s Community School District 3. This school district is in an
Empowerment Zone, has high unemployment and poverty levels, and large numbers of
students scoring poorly on the state mandated tests.

Project CRITICAL will implement on-going professional development activities.

These activities will combine the theories of leading gifted researchers, such as Gardner,
Bloom, and Renzulli with Project LEGAL’s law-related education models for problem-
based, engaged learning.

The project will integrate computer applications and new technologies into
teaching and learning. They will provide curriculum restructuring to enable teachers to
better prepare gifted and talented students to meet the new standards, to expand the
diversity of students identified as gifted, and to improve learning outcomes in science,
social studies, language arts and music.

Project CRITICAL’s goal is to assist gifted and talented students to (1) become
responsible for their own learning; (2) learn to strategically apply and transfer knowledge
to solve problems creatively; (3) develop a lifelong passion for problem solving; and
(4) learn to value working with diverse and multiple perspectives.

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INSIGHTS

PR/AWARD #: R206A000053

Grantee: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Department of Teaching Specialties
9201 University Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Contact: Shelagh Gallagher

(704) 547-3757

Target Grade Level: Middle School

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$213,711 $209,845 $213,705

INSIGHTS is a program for middle school disadvantaged gifted (DG), their

teachers and parents. Evolving from an extensive review of the literature, INSIGHTS
responds to the systemic needs of DG middle school students with a unique multifaceted
model that unites school, student and community. The core of this academic program is
Cycles of Instruction that uses 1) differentiated lessons to identify “top students” on a
unit-by-unit basis, 2) a 2-3 week interdisiplinary problem-based learning unit with
embedded differentiated activities, and 3) an additional 3 weeks of self-contained, pull-
out programming based on a modified version of the Autonomous Learner Model, where
students learn both self-directed study skills and also self-efficacy as a learner. A summer
mentorship allows for real experience with the skills and ideas students encounter during
the school year.

The INSIGHT academic program is strengthened by a strong professional

development program for teachers and parents. Teachers engage in training that includes
workshops, peer coaching and “just in time” feedback from experts via video
conferencing. Parents and community members develop strategies to help DG students
through a Community Resource Group. Through student-parent-teacher conferences
parents also learn how to talk to their children about academic issues. Formative
evaluation data are gathered, analyzed and provided to project staff to ensure ongoing
improvement of procedures, practices, and products.

To help assemble, implement and test the components of INSIGHT, a cooperative

agreement has been established with two school districts in North Carolina with large
populations of disadvantaged students. Darden Vick Middle School, the primary project
site, is in Wilson County, and an Enterprise Community; and Chester Middle School is in
Gatson County.

All materials that emerge from the project after field testing and revision will be
available for national dissemination, many through the project web site.

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Statewide Arts Talent (START) Project

PR Award #: R206A000056

Grantee: The Ohio Department of Education

Columbus, Ohio

Contact: Jan Fedorenko/Roberta Newcomer

(614) 466-2761

Target Grade Level:

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$141,490 $138,990 $138,990

The Ohio Department of Education, in cooperation with the Ohio Alliance for
Arts Education and the Ohio Arts Council, plans to identify and serve gifted visual and
performing arts students in two targeted economically disadvantaged areas of Ohio.

In response to state legislation, the Ohio Board of Education recently adopted

policies and procedures for the identification of gifted students, including the category of
visual and performing arts. Since the number of reliable and valid identification
instruments in this category is small, past local practice has been based on teacher
identification with few services provided. To address this problem, the project will use
the Talent Assessment Process and Clark’s Drawing Test in two model sites.

The intent of this project is to facilitate the systematic, valid and reliable
identification of potentially gifted students in visual and performing arts, and to provide
appropriate instructional and support services to students identified as gifted in dance,
drama/theatre, music, and visual art. Building on existing local partnerships of schools,
cultural institutions, and arts-in-education organizations, and supported by the state level
partnerships, the project will provide a model of student assessment, professional
development, arts instruction (both in and out of school), curriculum development, and
parent services that will be made available to schools across Ohio. Using best practices
in the arts and gifted education and employing a creative pedagogy linking the arts to
other academic subjects, the project seeks to provide further evidence and working
models that demonstrate how recognizing and nurturing artistic abilities can result in
success for many students whose gifts and talents are currently unappreciated and under-
developed.

The results will provide invaluable research to the fields of gifted, arts, urban and
special education. With individual talent profiles of over 600 students in four art areas,
the project will allow classroom teachers, art specialists and teaching-artists to adapt
curriculum, differentiate learning experiences, and tailor specific teaching strategies
designed to nurture students’ artistic talents.
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Next Steps, Project Enterprise: Pittsburgh

PR AWARD #: R206A000048

Grantee: School District of Pittsburgh

Conroy Education Center, Room 227
1398 Page Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Contact: Jacqueline Dandridge

(412) 323-3966
(412) 323-3992

Target Grade Level: K-6

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$205,677 $209,622 $212,639

Next Steps Project Enterprise will build on a collaboration previously established

between an urban school district and a local college, addressing Office of Civil Rights
compliance issues. Next Steps PEP will maintain a family /school partnership while
developing a mentorship program that pairs gifted high school students with elementary
students. A new cohort of teachers will receive staff development in three concentrated
areas of gifted education: screening/identification of potentially gifted students,
curriculum, and counseling issues for the culturally diverse leaders. Participating
teachers and students will also attend a Summer Enrichment Academy for further
experiences in the field of gifted education.

PEP will raise academic expectations, build on a local school-college

collaboration, and develop and pilot gifted education strategies within basic education
classrooms. It will also develop, pilot, and revise pre-screening tasks for identifying
potentially gifted students, establish enrichment demonstration classrooms, and equip
families and communities to advocate for the best possible education for all children.

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HOTT LINX

PR/Award #: R206A000032

Grantee: University of Virginia

Curry School
P.O. Box 400265
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4265

Contact: Carolyn Callahan

(804) 924-0791

Target Level:

Funding: FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

$211,713 $214,556 $214,696

Project HOTT LINX (High Quality On-line Teacher Training-Learning and Instruction
Novices to eXperts) is an innovative, far-reaching effort to bring quality differentiated
curriculum and instructional practice into teachers’ classrooms nationwide. It will
provide innovative staff development and help teachers identify and nurture talent among
traditionally under-served gifted student populations.

An Internet-based project, HOTT LINX will provide three levels of teacher access to
differentiated materials using Carol Tomlinson’s model for differentiating in the
heterogeneous classroom. It will encourage an exchange with experts in differentiation
based on national and states standards, as well as attention to learner profiles, with the
expectation that increased engagement of all learners will allow new talent to emerge as
other talent is enhanced. Attention will be given to developing lessons and units that
address student differences including student achievement and readiness, interests,
cultural background, gender, learning preferences, and intelligence strengths.

HOTT LINX will provide for three levels of access. At the unrestricted site (Tier 1), all
teachers may post and retrieve teacher-created differentiated materials and interact
through an electronic bulletin board with one another and experts. At the registered site
(Tier 2) annotated materials developed by experts in differentiation will be posted.
Finally, Tier 3 will allow restricted access to curricular units by teachers who agree to
participate in a high level of exchange between their classrooms and project staff for
purposes of evaluation of effectiveness of the project. Within Tier (3), data will be
collected on differentiated units by arranging for particular units to be taught by
“intervention teachers” while a control group studies the same topic. Both groups will
collect student outcome data.

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The GATEway Project

PR/Award #: R206A010004

Grantee: Jefferson County Public Schools

1829 Denver West Dr.
P.O. Box 4001
Golden, CO 80401

Contact: Jacquelin Medina

(303) 982-6650

Target Level: 1-8

Funding: FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003

$215,000 $215,000 $215,000

The GATEway Project is opening the doors of gifted and talented education by
establishing a rich and challenging instruction for all students, especially those with
outstanding potential. The project is targeting traditionally underrepresented groups,
including low income, limited English proficient, and the disabled. The GATEway
Project plans to increase teacher professional development through coaching strategies
and selected workshops in areas such as, gifted characteristics, multiple intelligences,
critical and creative thinking skills, and differentiated instruction. The activities of the
project are focused in six schools in Jefferson County, CO, for grade levels 1-8.

As a result of this project, there will be: 1) an increase in the number of gifted
and talented students identified from traditionally underrepresented groups at targeted
schools; 2) an instructional framework that is aligned with the student’s strengths and
culture; and 3) an increase in reading and writing achievement for identified students.

Data gathered from target schools and one control school will be analyzed to
determine the most effective tools and methods to work with gifted students.

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