G.A.T.E. (Gifted And Talented Education)
It is the philosophy of the Franklin-McKinley School District to provide a rigorous curriculum within an academic setting that nurtures the intellectual, social, and emotional needs of our gifted population. GATE students are challenged in their regular classroom through differentiated instruction.
The goals of Gifted and Talented Education Department can be defined as follows:
- To equip each student with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to become a lifelong learner.
- To stimulate independent decision making.
- To encourage students to become contributing citizens leading productive and personally satisfying lives.
- To provide a standards-based curriculum that allows gifted students to develop higher level thinking skills by delving deeper into the content.
- To provide an environment that cultivates and supports all learning, intellectual, creative, and social.
- To develop and support a home/school partnership that facilitates advancement for all by providing services for GATE families at all sites.
- To ensure out teachers are trained and ready to meet the challenge of teaching the gifted.
Throughout the year, we provide multiple opportunities for GATE students to participate in after school enrichment classes and the annual GATE fair.
GATE Identification Process
The GATE identification process uses multiple measures of students' academic and intellectual ability. All students in 3rd grade, and those new to the district in 4th through 7th grades, are tested in the Fall using the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. This assessment, along with the CAASPP (ELA and Math), District Writing Assessment, California English Language Development Test (CELDT), and Renaissance STAR (ELA and Math), are weighted to determine qualification.
For more information about GATE in the Franklin-McKinley School District, please contact the Curriculum & Instruction department.