Meet GATE, the GT Program for Tyler ISD

GATE = Gifted And Talented Education

As a district, we believe your child should have access to needed services and the opportunity to maximize their potential ability.

In support of this, our Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) provides a flexible program that accommodates our gifted students' individual needs, abilities, and interests through the modification of depth, complexity and pacing in the general school program.

What is GATE?

Our Gifted and Talented program is specialized instruction based on the academic, social, and emotional needs of students who are identified as needing these services.

What will my child gain from being in GATE?

Your child will demonstrate self-directed learning, thinking, research, and communication skills. Evidence of this will be shown by the development of advanced innovative products and performances that reflect individuality and creativity well beyond students of similar age, experience, or environment.

Identifying Gifted and Talented Students

two elementary age students wearing a maroon polo shirt sitting at a desk with papers in front of them

Does your child...

have an internal drive to KNOW things?
react in big ways to small things, may have trouble changing topics and letting things go, and may get hyper-focused on a topic?
have interests that don’t always coincide with what is being taught; they seek a challenge and the opportunity to study their interests?
tend not to respond to the same rewards as *high achieving students?
tend to have fewer behavior problems because they are motivated by making adults happy and getting positive feedback from authority figures?
get motivated by grades, pleasing adults and competition?

*Some gifted children are also high achievers - but not always.

two female students working on a construction paper project together

What makes GATE different?

GATE provides students with a rigorous, customized, and differentiated approach to instruction. This approach sets us apart from other gifted programs in East Texas. Students in GATE receive TEKS based differentiated activities to use in their general classroom setting to further enhance the depth and complexity of their core instruction.

Core+

Core+ is a new service model designed for students who qualify in one area of giftedness but would not benefit from missing core content every week.

These students will be pulled for a STEM activity once a month and have access to challenging enrichment content in Canvas that we call "The Hub."

Classroom Pullout

K-5 students whose data shows the need for pullout services will spend a specified amount of time per week with the campus GATE teacher; exploring a variety of concepts in critical and creative thinking and project-based learning, along with the completion of at least two Texas Performance Standards Projects, TPSP’s, per year.

Parent & Community Involvement

Community Engagement events are held at each elementary campus throughout the academic school year.

Highly Trained Teachers

All GATE teachers are required to attend the initial 30 hour Foundations training and also receive their annual six hour update each subsequent school year.

When do GATE services begin?

Students in 1st through 5th grades who are identified through the testing and qualification process will begin services the following instructional year.

Kindergarten students will begin services in March of their current academic year.

How does my child get identified to join GATE?

To become a GATE student, your child must perform at or show the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment.

They must exhibit high-performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area.

They must possess an unusual leadership capacity or excel in a specific academic field.

Understand the GATE Process

Below are the steps to join GATE.

STEP 1

Referrals

Parents and staff members may refer a K-5 student for further Gifted Evaluation if they feel that current instructional services may not meet their needs.

Students referred will be administered the appropriate assessment no more than once per academic year.

Refer a Student

STEP 2

Universal Screening

All students in second grade will take the Cognitive Abilities Test. This provides a way for students to be identified early. Students will begin services the following academic year.

STEP 3

GATE Committee

Three or more GATE certified educators will evaluate each student that is tested for identification.

The data points may include but are not limited to NNAT3, CogAT, STAR Renaissance, CIRCLE, mClass, Benchmarks, Unit Assessments, and attendance. Parent/teacher surveys and notes are considered anecdotally.