PHILOSOPHY
The Washington Local District believes that gifted children have exceptional educational needs, that these children exist in all ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic groups, and that these children represent a vast and largely untapped resource to society.

The Gifted Services Department will expand the educational opportunities for these students by providing them with intellectual stimulation and creative challenge. The ultimate goal of the program will be to develop within the individual a desire for excellence and a sense of individual responsibility to self and society.

 
Gifted Program Mission Statement
The mission of the Washington Local Schools LEAP (Learning, Experiences, Activities, Projects) is to:

Facilitate the development of the gifted child by addressing his/her unique needs both academically, socially and emotionally.

Enhance the academic achievement and motivation of gifted students by engaging them in an academically enriched and accelerated curriculum structured to meet their needs.

Give the gifted students the necessary tools to help them understand and use effective problem solving and decision making strategies to prepare them for a meaningful participation in future endeavors and a global society.

Allow them the opportunity to interact and learn from their academically and socially similar peers.

Gifted services in the Washington Local School district are offered in grades 2-8.

To qualify for elementary gifted services in Washington Local Schools the requirements are:

All K-8 students take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) for Primary Grades in Reading and Math three times a year (Fall, Winter and Spring). Students also take the InView - a Cognitive Abilities Aptitude Test in the winter of grade 2. Students who qualify for services begin the Little LEAP gifted program during the second semester of grade 2. Parents and teachers may request testing for gifted identification at anytime. Students are screened and tested again in the fall of 6th grade with the InView - a Cognitive Abilities Aptitude Test to identify new candidates for gifted services in the junior high.

LEAP (Learning Experiences Activities Projects) is a pull-out program for grades 2-6.  LEAP meets in two resource rooms at Greenwood Elementary. Junior high gifted services for grades 7-8 are: LEAP Reading/Language Arts, Advanced/Gifted Math, and Gifted Learning Literacy (an elective exploring study skills, learning styles, and career options).

Students may also qualify for early entrance to kindergarten, whole grade and/or subject acceleration.  All students who receive services have a Written Education Plan (WEP) and/or a Written Acceleration Plan (WAP).

At Whitmer High School, the district provides services to students by offering honors and advanced placement courses.  College Credit Plus is offered to students beginning in grade 7, and allows students to take college classes while in junior/high school.

If you have further questions concerning WLS Gifted Services, please contact the gifted coordinator.