G.A.T.E.

GATE - Gifted and Talented Education

Susan Henn
GATE Coordinator
(920) 568-4478
henns@mail.fortschools.org

Fort Atkinson School District is committed to meeting the needs of all learners by providing appropriate educational experiences for students of all abilities.

The GATE program is divided into two components.  The first is gifted programming.  Gifted programming takes place during the school day and is embedded into the curriculum.  Gifted programming is delivered by classroom teachers from Kindergarten to 12 th grade as needed by individual students.  Gifted programming is required by law and is the MOST important thing we do as a district for gifted students.  Gifted programming is embedded into guided reading by grouping students by ability and by challenging better readers with higher levels of questions.  In the elementary schools the Library-Media Specialists also provide HAR (high ability reading) groups at each grade level.  The Library-Media Specialists use high level questions and difficult text to extend reading and critical thinking.  Writers Workshop meets the needs of gifted students by individualizing instruction for each student.  The elementary ‘4’ Math activities are another example of gifted programming.  As students show mastery of concepts, the ‘4’ activities take them to the next level of instruction.  Again, gifted programming is across all grades and is really what GATE is all about.  The gifted coordinator’s main role is to help identify the learning needs of high students and help provide the learning materials needed to teach gifted students in the classroom.

The second component of GATE is a collection of programs.  GATE supports these programs by helping with registration fees and distributing information about the programs to students and parents. Some of the programs are national programs; Future Problem Solvers (FPS) for grades 4-12 and Destination Imagination (DI) for grades 3-12 (with a special non-competitive program for K-2).  Parents organize and coach the teams for both FPS and DI.  If money is available in the GATE budget, we can sometimes pay for training seminars if parents are interested in learning to be a coach for one of these programs.  Other programs are run in conjunction with the regional Whitewater TAG Network.  These programs are mainly competitions like the 3 rd-8 th grade Southern Lakes Anthology Contest (students can write or draw entrees for the contest) and the Math Meets for 5 th-8 th graders. GATE also takes a few middle and high school students to leadership conferences and arts programs each year.  Finally, GATE provides a couple programs internally. The Mini-Grant program allows 3 rd-12 th graders to do something good for their schools or community by applying for a grant to do a project. Extended Learning Classes are held for upper elementary, high ability, science and social studies students in the winter at each elementary school. All these programs are wonderfully exciting, however, they are not considered part of a gifted child’s programming. These programs are considered enrichment opportunities and help to extend a gifted child’s life experience.

Announcements:

For Summer Opportunities - Check out the WATG's list of opportunities!

http://www.watg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66

Don't miss the opportunity to participate in Fort Atkinson's own Science Fair. Check out the following links for more information:

http://www.fasciencefair.org/

http://bssef.org/

http://www.intel.com/education/isef/

Students interested in inventive ideas should check out www.ignitingcreativeenergy.org for a contest put on by Johnson Controls company from Wisconsin.