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Akron Public Schools
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Gifted & Talented

The Gifted and Talented Education Department aims to help students realize and reach their full potential while making learning an enjoyable and challenging experience.
Our department emphasizes the importance of talent development that encourages equity and inclusion across the district.

Students develop:

  • critical and creative thinking processes
  • research and independent study skills
  • presentation skills
  • perseverance
  • teamwork

All elementary students (grades K-5, or grade 6 in the East cluster) identified as gifted and talented in a specific academic ability area, superior cognitive and creative thinking are serviced by a Gifted Intervention Specialist (GIS). The building GIS may service gifted identified students through a Service Delivery Model that utilizes four main components:

  • consultation
  • collaboration
  • co-teaching
  • Resource Room/pull-out

Akron Public Schools provides whole screening for possible gifted identification in superior cognitive ability and possible creative thinking ability in grades 2 and 4. Specific academic ability testing is achieved through district-wide testing using iReady data. Akron Public Schools offers gifted referral testing twice a year. Students, parents, teachers or administrators may refer students for gifted testing at any time during the school year by completing the Gifted and Talented Referral Form linked below. The form includes dates, times and locations of referral testing.

Students, parents, teachers or administrators may refer students for identification in the Visual & Performing Arts by completing the VPA Nomination form linked below. VPA demonstrations occur once a year. The date, time and location are included on the nomination form.

Resources