Identification
The DMPS Gifted and Advanced Learning Program (GALP) screens students each year in the fall for possible identification and subsequent gifted and talented programming and services.
Overview of Identification Protocol (September – December)
A request for screening by GALP may be submitted by a parent, teacher, school counselor, the student him/herself, the building GALP consultant, or a school administrator. A formal “Request for Screening” packet includes the official request form, an observation form completed by the referee, as well as any supporting data he or she wishes.
Once the referee has submitted the request form and any supporting evidence, other sources of data are collected by the classroom teacher and/or the building GALP consultant to create a portfolio supporting the screening of students for possible GALP identification. The more comprehensive a profile submitted for screening, the better each building committee is able to understand the student, assess each student’s unique strengths and needs, and properly identify and recommend appropriate programming options.
The portfolio is designed to provide a holistic look at each student’s strengths and needs, based upon on the age and grade of the student, the school the student attends, and the preferences of the school administrator(s) in the student’s school. The screening committee in each school then meets to examine all submitted portfolios, determines which students’ needs are already being met in the regular classroom, and which students should be recommended for further assessment by the school’s assigned district GALP consultant.
Those students the committee refers for further assessment are interviewed by the building consultant, and are administered those standardized and non-standardized assessments supported by gifted education research which the consultant believes will most fully reveal each student’s strengths and needs. At the conclusion of all testing building consultants communicate with parents, administrators and classroom teachers regarding the results of the identification process and recommendations when identifications are made. In all cases, programs and services are determined by need and potential benefit, not the identification