WILDCAT
GIFTED QUARTERLY
LOUISBURG USD 416 | GIFTED EDUCATION | MAY 2021
WHAT HAS GIFTED PROVIDED IN 2020-21?
The federal definition of giftedness
is “Students, children, or youth who
give evidence of high achievement
capability in areas such as
intellectual, creative, artistic, or
leadership capacity, or in specific
academic fields, and who need
services and activities not ordinarily
provided by the school in order to
fully develop those capabilities.”
(from the National Association for
Gifted Children).
The IEP’s that I write for gifted
students state that the student will
need extensions, enrichment, and/or
content acceleration opportunities
to continue to progress in the
general education curriculum. The
extensions and content acceleration
are often a part of the regular
programming for students. The
enrichment, however, is where I
specialize.
Whether it’s the MS or HS QUEST
elective course, gifted workshops, or
activities during LMS Wildcat Time, I
seek to provide quality enrichment. The
ultimate goal is to encourage students
to take their natural curiosity to the
next step independently.
I like to challenge students with
various activities – trivia, logic puzzles,
mindset discussions, and exercises in
critical thinking. In the end, I stand
firm in the statement that your
children’s experience in USD 416
gifted has enabled them to grow
considerably throughout the year.
QUEST IRP’S
Each semester in QUEST,
the MS and HS gifted
elective, students engage
in a long-term independent
research project (IRP).
There are many steps along
the way, but it all begins
with a simple vision: What
do I want to do that I
normally couldn’t get done
in school?
Students begin by setting
a SMART Goal (Specific,
Meaningful, Ambitious,
Resourced, and Time-
bound). They then write a
formal proposal to me.
The course of the
semester involves weekly
goal-setting and reflecting.
I ask students to draft a
working timeline to help
them get to the end that is
their SMART Goal. Along
the way, they engage in
critical progress monitoring
and evaluation.
The IRP culminates in a
final product that will
reflect personal growth. I
ask students to present their
projects as a final activity –
I want them to showcase
their growth and
experiences as they share
with their gifted peers.
 LOUISBURG USD 416 | GIFTED EDUCATION | MAY 2021

LMS INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

One of the greatest benefits of the IRP strategy is personalization. The student guides his / her own learning and
growth. They get the opportunity to merge personal interests with the academic environment, and they get to use
this time as a means to improve themselves both intellectually and personally.
Students in LMS QUEST were able to engage in a different IRP each quarter of the class, and their selected topics
included sports, literature, foreign languages, computer programming, future careers, and more.
What has been incredible with the LMS QUEST group is how the students have shared their learning with one
another. Whether it was someone trying out a game created by a classmate or simply expressing their excitement
about something they’ve learned, I was continually impressed with the attitudes and positivity of the experiences.

IEP GOAL EVALUATION RUBRICS

Each year, I complete two IEP Goal Evaluations, which are shared with students and
parents during the annual IEP meetings and at the end of the school year.
These evaluations are based on a projected
“trajectory” or baseline assessing various skills. The
pre-eval reports my predictions of the student’s
growth without any gifted services. The post-eval
is an assessment of growth demonstrated by the
student over the course of the year.

After our workshop with Dr. Jeffrey Magee, I

realized that his “Trajectory Code” aligns
perfectly with my philosophy of growth and the
benefits of the gifted program.

LHS: (left) Janet Houchen, owner of Pro 31

Accounting, provides excellent information to LHS
students about taxes. (right) Sophomores Cooper
Anglin, Dalton Whildin, Nate Apple, and Trace
Eslinger participate in the “ASICS” workshop with
former Rockville PE teacher, “Coach A” Seidl.

T HE Y EAR IN W ILDCAT G IFTED

LMS: (left) LMS gifted students successfully
“escaped” the Breakout EDU escape room
during their March workshop. (right) QUEST
students Ellia Gibbons, Sarah Proctor, and
Grace Hathaway enjoy a friendly game of Harry
Potter Uno.