The Wauwatosa School District believes all students are unique, have the ability to learn and achieve, and need opportunities for optimal development.  We believe intelligence is dynamic and fluid and that educational systems should be responsive to students’ needs. 

Wisconsin State Statutes define gifted and talented students as, “Pupils enrolled in public schools who give evidence of high-performance capability in intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or specific academic areas and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided in a regular school program in order to fully develop such capabilities.” (from s.118.35(1), Wis. Stats.) 

Gifted and Talented 

The purpose of gifted and talented is to provide students with challenge, opportunity, and intellectual rigor within our core curriculum and instruction. Identification is an ongoing and continuous process, and all students are considered in kindergarten through 12th grade. 

For those who may need support outside of the core curriculum, teams gather data from multiple sources and use the information, in conjunction with district criteria, to determine eligibility. When gathering information to inform decisions about students’ need for challenge beyond the regular curriculum, a number of tools are used such as standardized tests, portfolios, selected grade-level classroom assessments, or rating scales. The appropriateness of a student’s services is periodically reviewed.  At times, it may be determined that students’ needs can be met through the regular school program and course offerings.   

At the secondary level, students and parents work with their child’s school counselor to ensure a sequence of advanced courses that are most aligned to the student’s interests and academic goals.

Areas of Gifted 

The five areas of gifted are:

1. General Intellectual Ability (high level of overall ability)
2. Specific Academic Ability (excels in reading or mathematics)
3. Creativity (has original, varied, or unusual ideas and solutions)
4. Leadership (demonstrates an unusual ability to relate to and motivate other people or to take charge)
5. Artistic (Visual/Music) (intuitive sense of artistic or musical concepts)