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Gifted Education/SEARCH
Please contact our FUSION teacher, Deborah Davidoff (Howard), or our SEARCH teacher, Cristin Pozniak, with any questions you may have.
Gifted Information
SY24 Elementary Gifted Programs
SY 24 Gifted Evaluation Process - Fall 2023
LCPS Gifted Education Brochure
Be sure to scroll down the web page links above to learn more about various components of the gifted education program in LCPS.
Spring 2024 Gifted Education Evaluation Window
Tuesday 1/2: Window opens for Permission to Evaluate Forms (Deadline for forms: 1/26/2024)
Elementary Gifted Evaluation Videos (2024 Spring Evaluation Cycle):
Grade 3 Opt-Out Forms
Elementary School Forms (4th and 5th Grade):
Permission to Evaluate (Spanish)
**Important Clarification**
Keep in mind that LCPS students may be evaluated for gifted services once annually. Therefore, 4th or 5th grade students who participated in the fall 2023 evaluation cycle are not eligible for re-evaluation until fall 2024. Similarly, participants in the spring 2024 eligibility cycle will be eligible for consideration again in spring 2025. LCPS delivers weekly gifted services to students in grades 4-8 who, through a multi-tiered identification process, are identified as advanced learners needing enrichment and/or extension services.
Elementary Permission to Evaluate forms (HARD COPIES) are due to the Gifted Resource Teacher at your child's school by January 26, 2024. Forms received after this date will not be accepted.
LCPS Gifted Education Program Goals and Services
The following LCPS Gifted Education Program goals provide students from kindergarten through high school with support and structure for finding challenges in the school environment while encouraging students to achieve their maximum potential.
1. To become divergent creative thinkers who recognize problems and solve them.
2. To construct personal meaning and understanding of others and of the world around them.
3. To develop the capacity for self-assessment.
At the elementary level, LCPS provides gifted education services through the following programs:
SEARCH: All kindergarten through third grade students participate in bi-weekly SEARCH lessons within the regular classroom environment. Please see below for more information on our program.
EDGE: Identified students meet in weekly small groups. The LCPS EDGE program is designed to nurture and challenge students with advanced academic potential from populations historically underrepresented in LCPS gifted programs. The program provides additional academic challenges for students that are designed to develop their individual potential.
FUSION: Identified fourth and fifth graders engage in push-in and pull-out enrichment activities in mathematics, language arts, and a thematic unit of study. Students participate in the eligibility process for this program in 3rd grade. Parents are notified of eligibility by the end of 3rd grade.
DCI- Students who demonstrated exceptional performance in one domain, language arts or mathematics, during the gifted evaluation process were found in need of DCI in their area of strength. Some students may have been identified for DCI mathematics and DCI language arts.The gifted resource teacher will meet with DCI students on a weekly basis to provide extension or enrichment options to differentiate instruction for them in their area of strength. These activities are designed to provide additional opportunities for rigor and deeper learning in language arts and/or mathematics.
SEARCH
(Seeking Educational Alternatives to Reach and Challenge Higher)
SEARCH Program Goals:
To become divergent creative thinkers who recognize problems and solve them.
To construct personal meaning and understanding of others and of the world around them.
To develop the capacity for self assessment (ownership of the learning)
The Loudoun County Public Schools SEARCH program offers kindergarten through third grade students an opportunity to engage in critical thinking activities with emphasis on connecting, reasoning, creating, perceiving, and evaluating. The SEARCH teacher works with the students in these classrooms, presenting opportunities for extending each child’s learning. The classroom and SEARCH teachers initiate a team approach, which serves the students well. Unique opportunities to engage children in problem solving activities and kindling their curiosity are consistently presented.
The Loudoun County SEARCH curriculum is based on several learning “keys” and is aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning. These “Keys to Thinking” include: