Teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, or other interested persons may refer students for Gifted and Talented services.  Secondary students may choose to refer themselves.  Referral forms are completed by the person who is recommending the student for gifted services and should be submitted to the GT campus coordinator.

A screening process is used to identify students who perform at or show potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience and environment.  Both quantitative and qualitative measures are used by campus screening committees to identify students for whom gifted services are most appropriate. Campus screening committees consist of at least three local district educators who have received training in the nature and needs of gifted students.

Parents/ Guardians are notified in writing as to the decision made by the campus screening committee.

For students identified to receive gifted services, a permission to participate form must be signed by parent or guardian and returned to the campus coordinator before services may begin.

For students not identified to receive gifted services, a written appeal may be filed with the students' campus. Any subsequent appeals shall be made in accordance with FNG (LOCAL) beginning with Level 2.

Students who are unable to maintain satisfactory performance within the structure of services for Gifted and Talented may be placed on furlough by the selection committee. The purpose of such a furlough is to provide the student an opportunity to attain satisfactory performance goals. A furlough may also be granted at the request of the student and/or parent.

A student furlough will extend for a period of time (not to exceed one year) deemed appropriate by the parent, student, and educators involved in the student’s instruction. At the end of the furlough, the student may again receive GT services, be removed from services, or be placed on another furlough. The state plan for gifted education limits a furlough period to one year. After one year, the GT Committee will review the case and make a decision as to the status of the student.

Student performance within gifted services shall be monitored.  A student shall be removed from services if the parent, student, and/or educator determine it is in the student’s best interest.  If a student or parent requests removal, the educator involved in the student’s instruction and a campus administrator shall meet with the parent and student before honoring the request. 

Decisions to exit a student from GT services may include, but are not limited to:

• Teacher recommendations based on observation of student performance;
• Counselor recommendations based on interview and observations;
• Parent requests;
• Student requests with parental permission.

Written appeals regarding identification procedures, furloughs, and/or exiting decisions related to the GT Program may be filed by adult students, parents or guardians, or school personnel. Appeals shall be made first to the student’s campus. Any subsequent appeals shall be made in accordance with FNG (LOCAL) beginning with Level 2.

Students new to Socorro ISD are eligible for GT services based on verification of previous qualification in the Gifted and Talented program from another district. GT documentation will be included in the Request for Records by the campus attendance clerk. Upon receipt of qualifying records, GT campus coordinators will verify and provide a Permission to Participate form to parent/ guardian. Once permission has been received, services will begin.

Students from within Socorro ISD who are identified for the Gifted and Talented program will continue to receive GT services if they are moved to another campus.

• Is unusually active and alert
• Learns quickly
• Shows an excellent memory
• Uses advanced vocabulary
• Engages in word play, mimicry, and storytelling
• Enjoys solving puzzles with numbers, words, and images
• Excels at improvising ways to solve problems
• Thinks in abstract, complex, insightful, and creative ways
• Responds to and demonstrates strengths in the arts
• Focuses intensely on single or varied interests at the same time
• Is highly inquisitive and asks probing questions
• Insists on doing things his or her way, yet can be loyal and modest
• Manifests deep, intense feelings and emotional reactions
• Is concerned with truth, equity, and justice
• Displays a keen sense of humor, at times better understood by adults
• Daydreams—lives in his or her own world
• Exhibits a vivid and precise imagination

• Are there indicators—such as academic performance, social-emotional characteristics, or certain behaviors—that makes me suspect my child is gifted?
• Is my child not thriving or unhappy in his current learning environment?
• Does my child demonstrate giftedness, but it is not recognized because I suspect other factors (such as a learning disability, ADHD, or anxiety, for example) may be getting in the way?

  If the answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, consider referring your child to your campus coordinator for testing.