Individual Achievement Program (IA)

Greetings to you!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read about Enumclaw School District's Individual Achievement or IA Program. The purpose of this brochure is to provide you with initial understanding about the program and contact information so you will be able to ask questions and/or visit a classroom as a result of this reading.

The individual Achievement Program is designed to meet the academic and social needs of gifted students with advanced learning abilities and interests. All students who participate in this program have qualified for admittance as a result of meeting necessary standards on an assessment. In order to maintain the program, we may include other students if an insufficient number of students who tested, qualify or accept a placement offering.

Enumclaw School District offers a full-time program for students who meet standard, or roughly three percent of the elementary student population. The program is offered at Southwood Elementary in two classrooms: a 2-3 Primary Classroom and a 4-5 Intermediate Classroom. The primary and intermediate classrooms provide students with enrichment and acceleration, focusing on critical and creative thinking skills. Although Kindergarten and first grade students may opt to be tested, we believe that their needs are best served in the regular classroom, where much of the curriculum is individualized, particularly in literacy.

A second option, also available for first grade students, is our one day a week pullout program. Students who qualify for this program through the assessment process would remain in their home schools, and travel to Southwood one day a week for the day. The program is organized into Primary and Intermediate Classrooms, depending upon the number of students who accept the placement offering at each grade level. Transportation is provided from the student's home school to Southwood and back via school bus for both the full time and pullout programs.

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have questions about this program option for your child.

Respectfully,

 

Susan Arbury
Principal, Southwood Elementary
Program Coordinator, Individual Achievement (IA)

Individual Achievement Program Staff Contact Information

Contact Information:
Faith Lindley
Primary Individual Achievement Teacher
360.802.7390
faith_lindley@enumclaw.wednet.edu

Barb Sadler
Individual Achievement Teacher (Pull-Out Program)
360.802.7399
barb_sadler@enumclaw.wednet.edu

Susan Arbury
Principal, Southwood Elementary
360.802.7370
susan_arbury@enumclaw.wednet.edu

 

• Teacher or Parent Recommendation slips due to School Office Manager:
  Kindergarten/First Grade - Monday, January 4, 2010
  Grades 2-4 - Friday, January 22, 2010
• Results of the test will be sent to families by February 19.
• For more information about the Individual Achievement testing, please contact
  Susan Arbury at (360) 802-7370 or Ruth Ann Vanassa at (360) 802-7109.

 

Program Identification and Criteria:

Students are identified for the Individual Achievement program through recommendations from teachers, parents and/or community members. Teacher and parent checklists of traits of a highly capable student are available for teachers and parents. The purpose of the checklist is to help teachers and parents understand the varying characteristics of a highly capable student. They are not used as criteria for testing. We test all students whose parents would like them tested.

Once the recommendations have been made, a letter is sent to families sharing information about the testing date and requesting confirmation/permission for their child to be tested for the program.

Kindergarten and first grade students are tested in small groups during their school day at their neighborhood school. The test is given over two days. Students in grades 2-4 take the test on a Saturday morning. The testing date for the 2008-2009 school year is February 7, 2008.

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)is the name of the criteria assessment that we use in determining placement into our Individual Achievement Program. This assessment gives a balanced view of a child's abilities, giving scores in verbal (oral vocabulary and verbal reasoning), quantitative (relational concepts and qualitative concepts) and non-verbal(figure classification and matrices).

Students who have a combined score of 380 or higher (150 is available on each of the three areas)or who have an individual score in one area of 140 or higher, qualify for our self-contained program. Students who have a combined score of 360 -379 qualify for our pull-out program.

Student Placement Process

Following the testing process, all families receive a letter containing student scores. Students who meet the standard for the Pull-Out (part-time) or Self-Contained (full-time) option, are invited to participate in the Individual Achievement Program. Individual Achievement Program candidates will be given the opportunity to have a conversation with Individual Achievement Staff and visit the Individual Achievement Classroom before returning the registration form. Parents of students offered placement in the Self-Contained classes may select the Pull-Out Program instead if they wish.

Self-Contained Classes (Full-time)

Students who qualify for the Individual Achievement Program are provided with an educational option to attend the full-time program at Southwood Elementary. Students in grades 2-3 enter our primary classroom while students in grade 4 & 5 enter our intermediate classroom.

The goals of the self-contained program are:

• basic skill development
• enrichment
• acceleration as appropriate to the individual student

Students are placed in flexible multi-level classes. Opportunities are provided for students in these classes to interact with
age-mates through participation in specific grade-level events such as field trips and school activities. These interactions and the multi-grade grouping develop and reinforce social development.

Reading is literature-based and, for the majority of activities, books are related to all content areas. (Art, science and writing are integrated into the thematic units being studied.) Students read as a large group, in small groups, and individually.

Students learn the elements of art, creative and descriptive writing, and participate in the district adopted Foss and Harcourt science program. Students attend grade level math classes using the district-adopted math program, and also receive accelerated and enriched instruction in the math strands of Measurement, Geometry, Algebra, and Probability involving structural math concepts. At the primary and intermediate level, math manipulatives, creative problem-solving skills, and structural math concepts are implemented to meet the developmental needs of the students.

Pull-out Individual Achievement Program (Part-time)

The Individual Achievement Program provides one full day per week of enrichment experiences for students in grades 1-5 at Southwood Elementary. Students participate in creative problem-solving activities and projects, and develop critical thinking skills in a positive and active environment.

Upon reviewing and accepting program offerings, parents agree that their child will maintain regular attendance in the program. Attendance in the Pull-Out Program may necessitate missing other classes, P.E., music, assemblies, parties or other activities. The Pull-Out Program will academically and creatively offset any general education activities occurring in the regular classroom.

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2929 McDougall Avenue, Enumclaw, Washington 98022    Phone: 360.802.7100