[MCCSC] Monroe County
Community School Corporation
315 E North Drive . Bloomington, IN 47401 . USA . 812.330.7700
www.MCCSC.edu
 		MCCSC High Ability Programs

Overview of HA Programs
Important HA Dates
Elementary ALPS
Middle School ALPS
Opportunities for High Ability High School Students
Guiding Principles of HA Education in the MCCSC
Broad Based Planning Committee/High Ability Task Force
HA News [including BBPC Minutes]
Other High Ability Education Sites
Contact G/T Office

Overview of Programs
for High Ability Students in the MCCSC

Programs for high ability students are administered through the Office of High Ability Education. Using state grant and local school corporation funds, programs are supported to serve the needs of high ability students throughout the corporation.  The Coordinator of High Ability Education works with the local Broad-Based Planning Committee (composed of parents, school personnel, students, and community representatives) [Select [Adobe PDF®] to view.] to ensure compliance with state and local requirements.

Throughout the MCCSC, students are provided with differentiated instruction and opportunities for acceleration.  These opportunities are not restricted to students who are formally identified as high ability. Individual teachers and building principals work to develop the most appropriate educational experience possible for each child.

For students in grade four and above who clearly demonstrate high academic and intellectual ability, the MCCSC offers the Accelerated Learning Program for Students or ALPS.

Elementary ALPS

Elementary ALPS is available to students in grades four, five, and six who are formally identified as being high ability students.  At this level, one self-contained classroom at each grade is housed at University Elementary School. Transportation is provided to MCCSC students. This humanities-based program offers high ability students the opportunity to complete grade-level requirements as well as participate in appropriate enrichment and acceleration activities in all areas of the curriculum. Children also have the opportunity to work with other grade-level students at University School throughout the day in other subject areas.

In addition, most MCCSC elementary schools offer students who demonstrate exceptional ability in mathematics the opportunity for accelerated instruction in this subject.  This opportunity is not restricted to students who participate in the ALPS program.  Teachers and principals in each elementary school work with parents to determine how best to provide an appropriate level of challenge and acceleration in mathematics for each child.

The challenges of the ALPS program require both students and their families to make a commitment of time and energy. Students and families who elect to participate in the program agree to work together to ensure that the student:

  • Produces work of high quality and submitted on time
  • Actively and meaningfully participates in class
  • Exhibits appropriate classroom behavior
  • Maintains an average grade of B or higher
  • Participates for a full academic year in the assigned placement

Consideration for Elementary School ALPS. Early in each academic year, the Test of Cognitive Skills is administered to all third grade students in the MCCSC. Using the results of this test and other school records, students having potential of benefiting from participation in the ALPS program are identified. Students whose recent achievement test performance has been at or above the 92th percentile in reading and for whom cognitive ability is at or above 120 are part of the initial identification pool and are eligible for further consideration by the High Ability Identification Committee. Letters are sent to students qualifying for the initial identification pool with information about applying for the ALPS program. Any student may apply for placement in the ALPS program; families interested in this opportunity should speak with their child's teachers or principal. Interested families work with their children's teachers to provide additional information that may support the children's qualifications for invitation into the elementary ALPS program. Parents will be notified of their child's invitation into the program in late April.

Alternative application for elementary ALPS occurs throughout the year. Elementary school students who are new to the MCCSC or those who did not apply, did not qualify, or opted not to accept an invitation to the ALPS program at the end of third grade can submit a portfolio for review by the Identification Committee during their fourth, fifth, and sixth grade years. Alternative admission applications are considered by the Identification Committee in the week or two prior to the end of the current school year and/or the beginning of the next academic year.

More information about the elementary ALPS program and the application process can be obtained by clicking the appropriate links below, or by contacting your child's teachers or principal. You may find links to all MCCSC schools on the website. Select University Elementary to visit the pages for that school.


Fourth through sixth grade parents can download, print out, complete, and submit the Parent Referral Form. Copies are also available at the Office of High Ability Education, 401 E Miller Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401

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Middle School ALPS

All MCCSC middle schools offer self-contained ALPS class sections for identified high ability students at grades seven and eight. The ALPS program at this level continues to focus on a core of English, Social Studies, and Science. However, as in elementary school, students of exceptional ability in mathematics may also be identified to participate in advanced coursework (e.g., algebra or geometry). Middle school ALPS students enroll in additional regular classes to meet the curricular requirements of the State.

The challenges of the ALPS program require both students and their families to make a commitment of time and energy. Students and families who elect to participate in the program agree to work together to ensure that the student:

  • Produces work of high quality and submitted on time
  • Actively and meaningfully participates in class
  • Exhibits appropriate classroom behavior
  • Maintains an average grade of B or higher
  • Participates for a full academic year in the assigned placement

Consideration for Middle Schools ALPS. Early in each academic year, the Test of Cognitive Skills is administered to all sixth grade students in the MCCSC. Using the results of this test and other school records, students having potential of benefiting from participation in the ALPS program are identified. Students whose recent achievement test performance has been at or above the 92th percentile in reading and for whom cognitive ability is at or above 120 are part of the initial identification pool and are eligible for further consideration by the High Ability Identification Committee. Letters are sent to students qualifying for the initial identification pool with information about applying for the ALPS program. Any student may apply for placement in the ALPS program; families interested in this opportunity should speak with their child's teachers or principal. All sixth grade students who are eligible for and interested in participating in the ALPS program in middle school must submit materials that allow the Identification Committee to make determinations about middle school placement.

Alternative application for middle school ALPS occurs throughout the year. Middle school students who are new to the MCCSC or those who did not apply, did not qualify, or opted not to accept an invitation to the ALPS program at the end of sixth grade can, with the recommendation of their teacher, counselor, or principal, submit a portfolio for review by the Identification Committee during their seventh and eighth grade years. Alternative admission applications are considered by the Identification Committee in the week or two prior to the end of the current school year and/or the beginning of the next academic year. Families are notified as soon as possible upon completion of this process.

More information about the middle school ALPS program and the application process can be obtained by clicking the appropriate links below, or by contacting middle school teachers, principals, or counselors. You may find links to all MCCSC schools on the website. Select Batchelor, Jackson Creek, or Tri North to visit the pages for those schools.

 


Seventh and eighth grade parents can download, print out, complete, and submit the Parent Referral Form. Copies are also available at the Office of High Ability Education, 401 E North Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401.

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Opportunities for High Ability High School Students

The Monroe County Community School Corporation offers a wide range of opportunities for any student who is interested in accelerated or advanced learning. For all students, honors level classes, Advanced Placement courses, Advanced College Project courses with Indiana University and other experiences are available.

For students who are identified as high ability, the MCCSC provides a number of unique opportunities for experiential learning and for advanced study. These include mentorships, early graduation, and other opportunities unique to each high school. Students who are interested in any of these options should contact their high school counselor.

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Guiding Principles of High Ability Education in MCCSC

At its January 24, 2005 meeting, the Broad-Based Planning Committee approved a set of four principles that should guide the identification of students to be served by the High Ability program in MCCSC.  These principles are:

  1. Equity:  The process must be structured to ensure that every high ability child in MCCSC is considered for and given the opportunity to participate in the High Ability program without regard to or influence by his or her family’s education level, stability, influence, motivation, economic status, or political savvy.

  2. Consistency:  The process, factors or elements considered, and, when possible, the criteria used to make identification decisions must be clearly defined, defensible, and applied consistently to each eligible student.  When questions arise about decisions made for particular students, we must be able to demonstrate exactly how the identification process was applied and how or why the student’s placement came about.

  3. Legitimacy:  The factors that are considered in making identification decisions must be legitimate or valid and must be viewed as such by those outside the process.  Complete agreement will never be reached about exactly what should be considered, but we must be clear about and able to justify to others how we arrived at the operational definition of “high Ability” that we apply.

  4. Significance:  The decisions that result from the process should result in meaningful differences in the types of educational experiences and challenges that students receive.  While differentiated instruction throughout the district should allow every child to receive instruction that is appropriately tailored to her or his particular needs and abilities, being identified as a participant in the district’s High Ability program must mean that a child is experiencing something genuinely different than students not participating in the program.

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Broad Based Planning Committee (BBPC)/High Ability Task Force

Indiana Administrative Code 511 requires that the Broad-Based Planning Committee (BBPC) includes diverse representation from the following groups:

  • Educators
  • Parents
  • Students
  • Community members
  • Other stakeholder groups
The function of the High Ability Task Force/BBPC is to "design and monitor the continuous development and implementation of the levels of services program for high ability students" (511 IAC 6-9.1-2, Section 2, Part (e)).

Since the development of a high ability program more than 20 years ago, the MCCSC has continuously maintained a High Ability Task Force/Broad-Based Planning Committee that has served to provide guidance to the program and to support the Coordinator of High Ability Education. During the 2007-08 academic year, the High Ability Task force/BBPC for Monroe County Community Schools consisted of 43 members:

  • Two high school students (one each from North and South)
  • Two elementary principals (Arlington Elementary School and University Elementary School)
  • One middle school principal (Tri North)
  • Two high school principals (North and South)
  • Seven parents (elementary, middle school, and high school)
  • Five elementary school teachers
  • Five middle school teachers
  • Seven school teachers
  • One middle school counselor (Batchelor)
  • Two high school counselor (North and South)
  • One school psychologist (district)
  • One community representative
  • One school board member
  • One other stakeholder
  • Two central administration (chair)
Notification of vacancies will be made through individual school's publications, district publications, and through local media. Nominated individuals who are interested in serving on the High Ability Task Force/BBPC will be asked to provide a brief letter of interest that includes information about their experience, knowledge, and beliefs about high ability education and a list of educators who agree to serve as references. Invitations to join the BBPC will be offered by the Coordinator of High Ability Education and the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

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High Ability News from the MCCSC

Other High Ability Education Sites

Resources

  • Humanities and Geography


  • Language Arts


  • ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication

  • Other ERIC Sites on Reading, English, and Communication

  • Mathematics


  • The Math Forum: A center for Math Education funded by the National Science Foundation

  • Math History: Annotated Bibliography of Mathematics History Web Sites

  • Museums


  • Science







  • Other Interesting Sites





  • PBS: Public Broadcasting Service Online





For More Information:

More information about high ability programs provided by the MCCSC can be acquired by contacting the Office of High Ability Education at:


kwilliam @mccsc .edu


401 E Miller Drive

Bloomington, Indiana 47401

(812) 330-7700





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The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. Last update: 11 February 2008.