Gifted and Talented Programming in Cherry Creek School District: A Historical Overview

Revised 1-26-09

1979 - Task force was appointed to study issue of gifted/talented education
in Cherry Creek…five year plan was instituted…7 pilot schools opted to participate: Dry Creek, Holly Hills, Homestead, Willow Creek, Heritage, Village Heights (later merged with Cherry Hills to become Cherry Hills Village), and Cunningham
- Task Force Survey of March, 1979 “revealed that the professional staff of the
Cherry Creek School District recognized a need for the district to make additional provisions for gifted and talented students.”

1980 - Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA): Judi Herm
- 1980 Report of the District Gifted and Talented Committee (Task Force)
included the Cherry Creek School District goals which stated that It shall be the responsibility of the Cherry Creek School District and community to create a flexible learning environment in which opportunities are provided for each student to get excited about learning and to develop his/her talent. The district is committed to individualized instruction and to developing and maintaining programs that are responsible to the needs of each pupil. “Implicit in these goals is an obligation to provide differentiated programs for all students, including the gifted and talented.”
In the “Identification” subsection of this report it was noted that “Research has shown that appropriate identification must occur before special needs can be met. Identification ideally includes all of the information which can be gathered about a given student. Talents may emerge at any point in time, provided students are given ample time and opportunity to demonstrate potential. In an effort to more adequately identify gifted and talented students, we should expose students to ideas and topics outside their normal experience to allow opportunities for traits of giftedness to emerge.”
- In November, 40 people attended a meeting to discuss the formation of a
chapter of Colorado Association for GT; at the January, 1981 meeting the
group adopted a charter. The organization began with 28 member families.

1981/’82 - Teachers on Special Assignment: Deena Brooks & Shirley Baker

1982 - Teachers on Special Assignment: Suzanne Peterson & Shirley Baker
- District established a “Plan to Identify Gifted & Talented Students”
- Each school expected to have gifted education planning committee
- Referral by parents or teachers, peers, self, others
- 3-5% of the population
- Student Profile would include teacher rating scales, test scores
(standardized, as well as group & individual IQ tests, creativity tests) along with
check sheets, interviews, products review, interest surveys, and observation
- Needs met/unmet

1982/’83
- “Teacher Representatives” in each building are available to answer
questions or talk with other faculties
- Discussion of gifted/talented was on agenda of several feeder groups
- Teachers who have exemplary classroom provisions for GT are
invited to lead district inservices, presentations, and workshops
- GT Brochure
- President of parent group & 2 other parents were members of
GT Advisory Committee
- Parents were invited to attend school or district inservices
- Focus on GT Office newsletter, feeder area meetings, video-taped
lessons with GT students, GT Fair, and high school GT programming
- Recommendations for Articulation about GT students

1983 - GT Project Fair

1987 - District Gifted and Talented Task Force formed to respond to State Board of
Education ruling that in order to be accredited with the State Department of Education “each district shall demonstrate the means by which it provides for the needs of gifted and talented students.”
1988 - GT Task Force, chaired by Dr. Kathy Smith, Director of Pupil Services,
presented Gifted and Talented Plan for Programming to the
Board of Education for approval on August 8th. The purpose of the plan was to provide parameters orguidelines for gifted/talented programming throughout the District, and to meet state accreditation requirements. The Task Force noted recommendations in five key areas:
(1) Individualization – Staff Training
(2) Staffing Allocation to Buildings
(3) Ability Grouping
(4) Identification of Gifted and Talented Students
(5) Parent Professional Partnerships

1989 - Dr.Deena Davis, Principal of Willow Creek Elementary was also assigned the
part-time position of District GT Coordinator


1990 - May announcement of new Adventures and Explorations Saturday Program for
GT students in grades 1-6 with focus on visual and performing arts
- Cherry Creek School District purchased rights to Omnibus Program
- In February the Executive Board of the Cherry Creek Chapter of CAGT met
with Dr. Louise Woelber to discuss the following GT issues:
1. District Budget for Gifted and Talented
2. Full-time GT Coordinator
3. District Plan for GT Programming
4. Building Accountability
5. Inservice for Administrators and Classroom Teachers
6. District Attitude and Needs Assessment
7. District GT Advisory Committee
(1990 continued)
- Dr. Shirley Weddel was hired by Cherry Creek School District as the half-time
Specialist for Gifted and Talented Programming
- In November the 1989 -’90 Cherry Creek Shareholders Report included the
following recommendations from the District Accountability Committee’s
Grouping Subcommittee:
§ Through the Area Executive Directors, provide leadership for an effort to move away from ability grouping;
§ Through the Area Executive Directors, provide ways to learn alternative methods to deliver instruction (e.g., heterogeneous grouping, cooperative learning, etc.);
§ Inform parents that students are not always best serviced when placed in ability groups; and
§ Provide guidelines to ensure the quality of educational opportunity for all students.
- State Board Vice-Chair Pat Hayes, former Cherry Creek Board Member,
presented a Resolution passed by the State Board of Education in support
of GT education: “…Be it resolved, that the Colorado State Board of Education reaffirms it s commitment to the full and appropriate education for gifted and talented students and urges Colorado’s school districts to review State Guidelines with special emphasis on programs for minority students.”

1991 - Dr. Susan Baum presented on the LD/GT child in January at West Middle
School
- A Secondary Study Team was formed chaired by Dr. Shirley Weddel along
with GT middle school teachers, high school counselors, and administrators. The group planned to examine scheduling issues and counseling options for gifted middle and high school students.
- District GT Advisory Committee having ongoing discussions on the future
review of the identification plan, middle school services, middle school/
high school articulation, district evaluation project, and ability grouping.
- The Cherry Creek Office of Assessment and Evaluation reported that
“Districtwide, it appears that schools are doing a better job of increasing
the achievement (as measured by the ITBS) of Low-Scoring students than
Average-Scoring students and High-Scoring students. 1990/91 High-
Scoring students in grades 3, 5, and 6 made less-than-expected gains in
grade equivalent scores. 1990/91 Grade 4 High-Scoring students made
expected or greater-than-expected gains.”

1992 - Cherry Creek Advisory Committee on Gifted and Talented Education presented
its subcommittee report: Ability Grouping for Gifted and Talented
Students: A Survey of Recent Research and Literature
- Parent Resource Center at PERC at Cunningham
- Subcommittees:
Staffing issues (to avoid “ungifting” due to inadequate staffing)
Transition Processes (elementary to middle to high school levels)
High School Programming/Underachievement Issues
Ability Grouping
K-12 Programming + Staff Development + Brochure Revision
1993 - District-wide inservice by Dr. Karen Rogers on instructional grouping
- District released “Instructional Grouping Position Statement”
- District Recommendations from the Education Summit: Funding Our Vision of
Excellence: Constructively Addressing the New Realities

1994 - District Report of the Summit Implementation Steering Committee
- The Challenge School opened with 190 students in grades 4 – 8
- Revised Gifted and Talented Plan for Programming: A Vision for
Continued Excellence
- Program expansion possible with additional state funds upon approval of
Cherry Creek District Gifted and Talented Plan
- The 1994/’95 student count reports 4,574 students receive Gifted and
Talented services.
- Forty-three staff members serve Gifted and Talented students K-12.

1994/’95
- Beginning of special projects funded by Colorado state GT grants: middle level,
primary project, and underachieving gifted at middle and high schools

1995/’96
- Signed on with the National Research Center for Gifted and Talented to
participate in national research project on classroom services for GT students

1995 - The Gifted and Talented Advisory Council outlined its goals for the school year:
§ To create a link between each school building and the Advisory Council by naming a representative from each school to facilitate communication.
§ To increase the number of Council members who attend regularly and to introduce new members to the Council.
§ To provide presentations by guest speakers on topics of relevance to the gifted population and to the work of the committee.
§ To provide a forum for Council members to openly discuss issues of concern to them to share activities and programming plans used at their building.
§ To prioritize the recommendations which resulted from the 1994-1995 Survey; to bring those recommendations to the attention of the administration, teaching staff, and parent community; and to develop feasible action plans for implementing those recommendations.

1996 - First printing of the parent handbook: Working Together for Excellence: Cherry
Creek Handbook for Parents of Gifted and Talented Children
- Evolution of Gifted and Talented Planning Team with staffing at 0.2 FTE:
Dr. Jean Strop (high school); Mary Patton (middle school); Jan Taylor (intermediate); Dr. Shirley Weddel (primary), and Julie Gonzales, 0.1 FTE, (Parent/Community).
- GT Planning Team initiated discussion with Dr. Dick Reed, Director of Pupil
Services, on the need for creating a Gifted and Talented Strategic Plan.
- Initiated scholarship program for teachers taking masters level courses in
gifted and talented education.


1997 - GT Advisory Council Response to Proposals from The In Search of Excellence
Task Force – a set of “non-negotiables” for gifted and talented
Programming
- In Search of Excellence Recommendations include the following:
§ Choice and magnet programs should be provided as responses to specialized student needs that cannot be met with the regular program.
§ Site-based decision making should be used in tandem with a clear district focus to enhance student achievement and organization efficiency. Three elements that must be preset for site-based decision making to remain vital: achievement of all students, accountability for results and articulation within each school.
§ Provide additional opportunities and support for gifted and accelerated students in grades K-12, which go above and beyond Advanced Placement courses and the International Baccalaureate program at the high school level; promote performance of students at advanced and distinguished levels in K-12.
§ Pursue a goal of all students successfully complete Algebra 1 by the end of 9th grade, and increase the number of 8th graders who successfully complete Algebra 1.
§ Benchmark with exemplary districts in the region, state and nation to identify strengths and areas of improvement. Also, develop a comprehensive assessment system to more accurately assess student achievement.
§ Provide more accelerated and honors classes at the middle and elementary school levels.
- Advisory Council created the following committees in order to align with
district goals, In Search of Excellence recommendations, and the Gifted
and Talented Strategic Plan:
§ Acceleration: Best Practices
§ Mentorships
§ Programming Guide – update parent portion
§ High School Services
§ Primary Programming
§ Evaluation
§ Communication

1998 - Additional leadership roles: Karen Ackerman (staff development); Joanne Marie
(ChallengeTime); Daphne Pereles (Twice Exceptional).
- Underachievement of Gifted and Talented Students at the High School Project
at Smoky Hill High School with Dr. Cathy Brondos and Christine Price

1999 - Dr. Monte Moses selected as new Cherry Creek Superintendent.
- Dr. Monte Moses invited to offer his vision and goals for gifted education to the
members of the GT Advisory Council
- District-wide GT Needs Assessment Survey conducted
- Strategic Plan for Gifted and Talented Education (1999-2002) presented to
public



1999 -2000
- Year of transition following retirement of Dr. Shirley Weddel
- Mary Patton and Barbara Weaver co-facilitated GT Office work
- Overview of Middle School Site Visits
- Elementary Program Review
- Standards of Practice for Gifted and Talented Programming (document adapted
from NAGC standards)

2000 - Revised publication of parent handbook: Excellence through Partnership:
Handbook for Parents of Gifted and Talented Children
- Selection of Dr. Robert Scott, Coordinator of GT and Accelerated Learning
- Appointed as primary resource teachers for elementary school staff development
support

2001 - Professional Development Proposal presented to Middle School Principals
- Workshops conducted by Dr. Judy Hilton using instructional model
Understanding by Design with core middle school teams for development
of advanced curriculum

2001 – 2003
Gifted and Talented Education Program Goals:
- Offer advanced curricula in core content areas, K – 8
· Language arts, humanities, math: Available 6 –8, 2001-2002
· Language arts, math: Available 3 - 5, 2001-2002
· Science: Available 6 –8, 2002-2003
· Social Studies: Available TBA
- Fairly and equitable identify gifted and talented students
· Show ongoing improvement in equity among diverse populations every year beginning in 2002
- Have trained site liaisons to trouble shoot issues of underachievement and
twice exceptionality
· Provide ongoing training and professional development opportunities for teachers, counselors, and parents
· 2001-2002: Maureen Neihart, Susan Baum, Richard Olenchak, Mary Fitzgibbons, 4 parent education programs, 2 counselor education programs, and the June, 2002 summer institute
· 2002-2003: George Betts, Lois Baldwin, Dennis Higgins, Elizabeth Neilson, Maureen Neihart, the AEGUS collaboration, NAGC in Denver, 4 parent education programs, 2 counselor training programs, and the June 2003 summer institute
- Provide every GT student with an electronic PLP stating programming
options and goals
· Tailored K-5, 2000
· Tailored K-8, 2001
· Tailored by high school: EHS, 1996; OHS, 2002
- Clearly delineate between GT and Students of Exceptional Ability for
CSAP performance and accreditation accountability
· Inherent in the identification process

July, 2002
- Dr. Robert Scott resigned from District GT Coordinator Position to take
school administration position in Virginia
- Leslie Chislett hired as Coordinator, Gifted Education and Accelerated
Learning Services

2002 – 2005
- Office of Gifted Education lead Gifted Education Task Force on Identification
beginning January, 2003. The task force included district administrators, building principals, GT specialists and staff, classroom teachers, and parents.
- The Gifted Education Task Force on Identification created a draft proposal
using multiple identification pathways via a body of evidence model. A pilot plan was adopted for the fall of 2003 involving Trails West, Sagebrush, High Plains, Highline, Polton, Belleview and Greenwood Elementary Schools.
- Followingevaluation of the pilot project, the district approved the revised
Body of Evidence Model for identification at all schools. The GT Office
continues to provide a staff development course for credit for GT staff,
resource specialists, and classroom teachers.
- The district-wide ChallengeTime weekend and break enrichment classes were
re-designed to include all interested students rather than only those
referred by the building GT Resource Teacher.
- Cherry Creek School District closed the early entrance process for highly
gifted 4 year olds based on denial of state funding for early entrance for
gifted children.
- Cherry Creek School District presented plan for “guaranteed and viable
curriculum” focusing on excellence and equity and clear goals for all
students in preparation for college and success in life after high school.

July, 2005
- Leslie Chislett retired from Cherry Creek School District to serve as a
principal in Douglas County School District.
- Shawn Colleary, former principal at the Challenge School, was assigned the
new position of Director of Gifted Education and Advanced Learning

2005/2006 School Year
- The Office of Gifted Education sponsored multiple high school information
nights providing the public with information on high school graduation
requirements, college entrance requirements, and an overview of premier
programs at each of the district’s high schools
- The Office of Gifted Education presented its new brochure “Gifted and
Talented Education in Cherry Creek School District” celebrating this
publication made available in six different languages: English, Spanish,
Russian, Korean, Chinese, Arabic and Vietnamese.
- The revised edition of the GT parent handbook “Excellence through
Partnership” was made available on the Cherry Creek School District
website.
- The members of the GT Advisory Council received a white paper report
entitled “STEMming the Tide: A Colorado Response to the National
Crisis in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
Education” collaboratively produced by the Colorado Association for
(2005/’06 continued)
Gifted and Talented and the Center for the Education and Study of the
gifted, Talented, Creative at the University of Northern Colorado. The
paper generated much discussion and new interest in STEM-related
instruction and research-based teaching strategies used in gifted education.
- The U-STARS Javits Grant Project provided the opportunity for identifying
science talent in K-2 students with a focus on diverse populations.
- The Office of Gifted Education continued to provide in-house staff
development training for teachers in such areas as effective independent
studies, reversing underachievement, fostering creativity and using key
data tools to “inform” instructional practice.

2006/2007 School Year
- The Office of Gifted Education implemented the Differentiation Project.
All elementary and middle schools were invited to participate by
sending teachers to be trained as school site differentiation coaches.
To date there are 33 schools in the district that are participating in
Differentiation Project.
- A new enrichment program for gifted and high potential elementary and
middle school students was inaugurated INSIDE/OUT revamping what
was known as Challenge Time. The classes were billed as an extended
learning opportunity for students at the elementary and middle level
providing discoveries and connections between the classroom and the real
world with hands-on learning and field experts as guest speakers.
- The Cherry Creek Association for Gifted and Talented (ChCAGT) produced
an on-line newsletter and communication system for its members. Along
with the Office of Gifted Education, ChCAGT co-sponsored a newly
revived Career Fair: Exploring Opportunities in STEM Fields and a
springtime Math and Science Family Night Carnival.
- GT district staff collaborated with the district’s equity project, disaggregating
student assessments in diverse populations and tracking individual progress.
- Other district GT Office sponsored projects included a language arts
curriculum alignment project with Eaglecrest HS and three middle
schools(Sky Vista, Horizon and Thunder Ridge); focus on growth in data training for GT teachers; and the publication Excellence in High Quality Instruction: Focus on Rigor that clarifies the meaning and purpose of rigor and its application in the classroom.

2007/2008 School Year
- The Office of Gifted Education implemented a professional development
plan based on the information gathered from examining growth reports.
- Expanded Differentiation Project into 30 schools
- Developed a “Walk-Through Observation” protocol for administrators to
examine elements of rigor in the classroom
- Monitored effectiveness of GT identification system with particular attention to correlating percent of students of color by school to percent of students of
color identified for gifted programming.
- Second year of INSIDE/OUT classes continue to grow (250 attended summer
sessions)
(2007/’08 continued)

- Created new district brochures:
1. Real Questions from Real Parents Concerning Gifted Education:
Identification
2. Twice Exceptional: Gifted Students with Disabilities
3. Guidance: Access College Success (High School Guidance &
Counseling Services)

January, 2009
- Mary Chesley succeeds Dr. Monte Moses as CCSD Superintendent
- The Office of Gifted Education rolled out the evaluation process to
identify children under the age of six for entry into the early
entrance program as legislated by HB 1021.
Revised 1-26-09