Gifted and Talented Education
The School District of Philadelphia is committed to revealing the talents of all of our students and providing all students with a variety of options and activities to challenge their creativity and grow academically.
What does it mean to be Gifted?
Gifted can mean different things in different cultures. Gifted and talented characteristics may be expressed by students in many ways.
The National Association for Gifted Children identifies gifted children as “…those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).”
The Pennsylvania Department of Education defines mentally gifted as possessing “outstanding intellectual and creative ability, the development of which requires specially-designed programs or support services, or both, not ordinarily provided in the regular education program.”
The District’s Gifted services are specifically afforded to those students who not only demonstrate highly intellectualized and exceptional academic and thinking skills, but who require specially designed instruction that is not provided in the regular classroom.
