Research has shown that gifted students possess similar general characteristics and that these characteristics represent specific learning needs, requiring certain instructional approaches.  The purpose of Worcester County Public Schools’ (WCPS) Gifted and Talented (GT) Program is to identify and serve students who exhibit characteristics of gifted intellectual ability and to meet their special learning needs.

The GT Program seeks to serve advanced problem solvers and creative thinkers, not merely bright memory learners, by meeting the specific learning needs that stem from this type of giftedness through a differentiated curriculum, thereby providing challenging activities and more complex materials to meet the needs of high achieving and gifted students.

The GT Program serves gifted students by modifying content, process, product, and environment, thereby meeting and nurturing the abstract thinking abilities of these students and their advanced abilities.  A combination of the strategies of differentiation, enrichment, and student-centered discovery learning are used in the implementation of this program.

In Worcester County, we formally identify students in the spring of the third grade.  We utilize the time students spend in Pre-K through third grade to allow for them to develop the gifted characteristics which may arise.  We utilize the Primary Talent Development (PTD) and Kingore Gifted Potential program to instruct Prek-3rd grade students, and act as a tool for proper gifted identification. 

If you are a parent of a GT student and are looking for resources to help your child at home, please visit this Gifted website, created by Maryland State Department of Education and Johns Hopkins University: GT Discover.