WHAT IS GIFTED EDUCATION?
In Georgia, Gifted education is guided by the Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.38 EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR GIFTED STUDENTS.
The Georgia Department of Education has created an in-depth manual that supplements the rules and regulations and provides assistance to teachers and administrators who provide instructional services to Georgia’s gifted students. Additionally, parents and other interested parties can use the online resource manual as a guide to gifted education in Georgia.
As described by the GaDOE, many gifted education decisions and procedures are left open to the discretion of local school systems so that they may address the unique needs of their communities.
WHO IS THE GIFTED & CREATIVE LEARNER?
Students with gifts and talents perform, or have the capability to perform, at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience, and environment in at least one or more domains. These students require modification(s) to their educational experience(s) to learn and to realize their potential. Student with gifts and talents:
Come from all racial, ethnic, and cultural populations, as well as all economic strata.
Require sufficient access to appropriate learning opportunities to realize their potential.
Can have learning and processing disorders that require specialized intervention and accommodation.
Need support and guidance to develop socially and emotionally as well as in their areas of talent.
Require varied services based on their changing needs.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Students with gifts and talents have needs along a continuum as well as in a diverse range of domains that are both cognitive and affective. Needs also differ among gifted students within domains based on their readiness for more advanced content. The services that students receive should reflect a match between both their current achievement levels or potential and instruction that addresses their immediate and future needs.
The goal of gifted services should be to alleviate a need that would otherwise go unmet.
Because students’ needs and educational environments change over time, gifted education services must change as well.
(National Association for Gifted Children, Position Statement, A Definition of Giftedness that Guides Best Practice 2025)
“Gifted children are the cultural leaders of the future. It is our responsibility to ensure that their unique abilities are recognized, valued, and developed.”