Gifted Education Program

S.T.A.R.T.

Strategies for Teaching and Reaching for Talent

Grades K-3

Students in kindergarten through grade three receive services once each week in their base school. The goals of the START program are to promote critical and creative thinking, problem solving skills, and independent learning skills. Students engage in cooperative group learning in START units. These units extend the grade level content in Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies as well as addressing thinking and learning skills. Identified students also receive enrichment and extension daily in the regular classroom during content instruction.

Newsletters are sent home quarterly informing parents of units currently being studied as well as general information about the program. Supplemental newsletters may also be sent as needed. Student progress reports are sent home at the end of each semester.

Identification

Students participating in the START program are identified as gifted. This identification, once established, lasts through the end of the child's school career. At the end of third grade, a child's placement in the program is re-evaluated. They may be identified for services based on potential academic ability in the verbal area, the quantitative area, or both. 
        Prince William County has established a multiple criteria screening process which takes into account several aspects of a child’s performance, including testing, parent and teacher narratives, grades, and classroom work samples. No single area either includes or excludes a child from placement in the gifted program.

A student may be nominated by a teacher or a parent, as well as other school staff or individuals in the community. Referral forms are available on the Prince William County Schools website under gifted education.