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Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS)

Placement at CAS

Photo of a girl raising her hand in a classroom.

During the 2008-2009 school year, the Provo City School District piloted an alternate placement program for selected boys and girls in grades 4-6, in order to address the unique instructional needs of academically gifted students, with a curriculum focus on math and science. This 4th-6th grade magnet program involves students from across the district, and is called the Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS). It includes three full-time gifted classrooms which are located in the former Grandview Elementary School building (1591 North Jordan Avenue), and operate as a satellite to Westridge Elementary.

This Center serves about 80 gifted students who have demonstrated high proficiency in mathematics, science, and language arts. Scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills ((ITBS), DRP reading assessment and Naglieri Non-verbal Abilities Test (NNAT), as well as parent and teacher input are used to identify students who are most in need of the full-time gifted instruction available in this program. District staff, in accordance with state rules, will identify students that will be invited to attend the center for the 2010-2011 school year. A case study approach will look at each student’s strengths and abilities. More information about the CAS and the district’s philosophy regarding gifted education is available on the following district website links:

Identification for next year’s 4th Grade CAS Class All current 3rd graders in the district will be considered for placement at the CAS, using the assessments mentioned above, all of which have been administered at neighborhood schools. Parent and teacher input proved invaluable in last spring’s CAS identification process, and will be sought in this year’s process as well. A parent who wishes to provide input concerning his/her 3rd grader may pick up a copy of the PSD Accelerated Learner Parent Input form at their neighborhood school office, or download a copy below, and return it to their school office by Friday, February 26, 2010.

Identification for next years’ 5th and 6th grade CAS class The current 4th and 5th grade CAS classes are presently full, which means that there may not be many openings for new students to join those classes for the 2010-2011 school year. However, openings may occur for a variety of reasons between now and August 2010. All current 4th grade students who attended Provo schools before February 2009 have already taken the NNAT at their neighborhood school so additional testing will not be necessary. Parents of 4th grade students who believe that their child would qualify for and benefit from alternative placement at the CAS are invited to fill out a parent input form in reference to their child and return it to their school office by February 26th.

Parents and guardians of current 5th grade students, or, 3-5th graders who are not currently attending Provo School District elementary schools, who believe that their child would qualify and benefit from alternative placement at the CAS are invited to have him/her participate in a Naglieri Non-verbal Abilities Test testing session at the Provo School District Office (280 West 940 North), room 38, on Wednesday February 10 or Thursday, February 25th at 4:00 or 4:30 p.m. The test requires 40 minutes. In order to reserve your child a place in one of those testing sessions, you will need to contact the Learning Curriculum and Assessment office at 374-4868. Parents and guardians will be asked to fill out a parent input form in reference to their child during the hour she/he is engaged in testing, or may complete it before the testing date and return it to the Provo School District Curriculum office (280 West 940 North, room 8). A copy of that form may be previewed below. Parents of students from outside the district will also need to contact district Gifted Specialist, Ginny Smith regarding testing data from your child’s current school or the need for additional academic testing.

All current 4th grade students who attended Provo School district before February 2009 have already taken the NNAT at their neighborhood school, so additional testing will not be necessary. Parents and guardians of current 4th grade students who believe that their child would qualify and benefit from alternative placement at the CAS are invited to fill out a parent input form in reference to their child, and return it to their school office by Friday, February 26, 2010.

Parents will be notified regarding their child’s qualification to participate in classes at the CAS by April 30, 2010.

Questions related to the Center for Accelerated Studies should be directed to Ginny Smith (ginnys@provo.edu), district gifted coordinator, or Diana Dean (dianad@provo.edu), administrative assistant, District Learning and Curriculum Office.

Message from Assistant Superintendent Ray Morgan

Photo of a girl raising her hand in a classroom. Because of a desire to better meet the unique instructional needs of academically gifted 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students, Provo City School District has developed an alternative placement program for selected boys and girls. This program is located in the remodeled portion of the old Grandview Elementary School (1591 Jordan Avenue) and operates as a satellite to Westridge Elementary. This upper grade magnet program, called the Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS), opened with the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year.

CAS serves approximately 80 gifted students from across the Provo School District. Students from every elementary school in the city qualified to participate in this program. They have been identified as requiring an alternate placement in order to reach their optimal academic performance. Because the center has a mathematics and science focus, students who have demonstrated high proficiency in mathematics with strong potential in science, language arts and other areas have been considered for placement. District staff, using specific surveys and assessments in accordance with state rules, identified students that were invited to attend CAS. An in-depth description of this identification process is provided elsewhere on this webpage.

Parents and guardians who believe that their child would qualify and benefit from alternative placement at the Center for Accelerated Studies are invited to have him/her participate in the district needs assessment. All third graders in the district will be given a non-verbal performance assessment at their neighborhood schools to measure their potential need for accelerated instruction. This and other assessments will determine which of the fourth grade students will be invited to enter the program. This year’s fourth and fifth graders who have not already qualified to attend CAS can participate in assessment sessions on the 10th and 25th of February. As openings become available for next year’s fifth and sixth graders, students will be invited to participate. More specific information about those sessions is available on this webpage. If children who move into our district after the February dates need to be evaluated for placement at CAS, parents and guardians should make inquiries at our office.

Bus transportation is provided for enrolled students that live more than 1.5 miles from CAS. This is done so children from across the city have an opportunity to participate if they are selected. Students that live within district boundaries and/or are enrolled in Provo District schools will be considered first for placement in this program.

We are excited about the development of the Center for Accelerated Studies. Three fine teachers (Ms. Kartchner, Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Fossom) have worked with Principal Gibbs and district staff to develop curriculum and instructional strategies to meet the needs of these academically talented students. We have appreciated the patience of parents, children, and teachers as we have found solutions to challenges with the building, transportation, and curriculum. We are gratified by the response of children and their parents to our efforts to provide a quality educational experience at CAS and look forward to ongoing success for students and the program.

Questions related to the Center for Accelerated Studies should be directed to Diana Dean at the District Learning, Curriculum, and Assessment Office. You may call her at 374-4868 or email her at dianad@provo.edu.

Differences in Characteristics

Bright Child Gifted Learning, by Janice Szabos Challenge, 1989, issue 34 p. 4

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