Bucyrus City Schools Special Programs
Gifted Programming and Services: K-12
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District Policy For the Identification Of Services For Students Who Are Gifted
Assessment Instruments Used for Gifted Identification
Gifted Intervention Specialists:
Ms. Carissa Wiedle - grades 1-3
Ms. Traci Wetterau - grades 4-5
Gifted Coordinator: Mrs. Sandra Shields
Email: sshields@bucyrusschools.org
Phone: 419-563-3125
Bucyrus City Schools is committed to providing a continuum of K-12 services that address the diverse abilities and needs of our gifted students through instructional lessons that are designed to place emphasis on critical and higher level thinking skills as well as creative problem solving.
"GIFTED" MEANS STUDENTS WHO PERFORM OR SHOW POTENTIAL FOR PERFORMING AT REMARKABLY HIGH LEVELS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT WHEN COMPARED TO OTHERS OF THEIR AGE, EXPERIENCE, OR ENVIRONMENT AND WHO ARE IDENTIFIED UNDER DIVISION (A), (B), (C), OR (D) OF SECTION 3324.03 OF THE REVISED CODE. (Ohio Revised Code 3324.01-.07)
Students are identified as gifted according to Ohio Revised Code 3324.01-07 and Ohio Administrative Code 3301-51-15.
District service options are varied. At the elementary level, gifted identified students are cluster grouped in the regular education classroom. In grades K-3, indirect services are provided by district gifted personnel and regular education teachers are provided professional development in differentiated instruction.
At the 4th and 5th grade level, gifted intervention specialists co-teach with the regular education instructor. Students may be served in the gifted resource room. While students may be identified in other academic areas, the focus of services is on English language arts and mathematics. The options of Early Entrance to Kindergarten and Accelerated instruction are also exercised.
Gifted services are offered at the secondary building in the form of "honors" classes for middle school students. Honors classes are offered in grades 6-8 in the academic areas of reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students continue to learn the appropriate grade level Ohio Content Standards, but to a much greater depth and understanding. Eighth grade students have the option of advanced placement; enrolling in appropriate high school level courses and receiving high school credits.
Bucyrus High School students have even greater opportunities available to them. Students may enroll in post secondary enrollment option (PSEO) or dual enrollment courses. Bucyrus High School partners with Marion Tech and North Central State College (NCSC) to offer courses where students can earn college credit. Students enrolled in the AP calculus course have the opportunity to participate in taking the AP test in the spring for the possibility of earning college credit.
All of these opportunities allow our students at Bucyrus City Schools the chance to join the 30/1300 Club! 30/1300 is a metaphorical term for earning a score of 30 or higher on the ACT test, which is given to juniors and seniors or a score of 1300 or higher on the SAT test. A score of 30/1300 or higher often translates into free college tuition at many colleges in the state of Ohio!
Students can chart their progress to this goal of 30/1300 beginning in the 8th grade with the EXPLORE test, which is given to all eighth grade students and is the first of three assessments that build to the ACT.
The PLAN test, which is the second of the three tests, is given to all sophomores and builds on the EXPLORE test. Both of these assessments are paid for compliments of P-16 SPARC (Succeed and Prosper through education: Ashland Richland Crawford). These two tests culminate to the ACT. A score on the EXPLORE or PLAN correlates to scores on the ACT, e.g. earning a 25 on the EXPLORE or PLAN indicates a student's ability to earn a 25 on the ACT.
Students and parents receive the results of these assessments as well as the specific interventions skills needed to earn a higher score. This allows for specific intervention on the skills the student needs in order to earn a higher score the next time they take the ACT, hopefully bringing them closer to that score of 30 or higher!
Bucyrus City Schools K-12 gifted programs build on developing depth to the curriculum and higher level critical thinking and problem solving skills. We are pleased to offer these services and are committed to providing excellence in teaching and learning.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Services: K-12
Instructor: Mrs. Sandra Shields
Email: sshields@bucyrusschools.org
Phone: 419-563-3125
Lessons focus on specific language acquisition skills that help students participate in U.S. society and attain English proficiency at a level that ensures achievement of the State's academic standards.
The goal of the Bucyrus ESL program is to provide naturally occurring language experiences that focus on what the students communicate rather than on how they communicate. Learning situations are designed to build cultural knowledge and to foster relationships between the ESL students and their peers and teachers.
Regular education teachers are offered professional development opportunities that increase knowledge of instruction in second language acquisition and awareness of culture. Teachers attend state level ESL conferences and visit the Columbus Japanese Language School in order to increase skills that will better enable them to meet the needs of our ESL students.
Link:
Ohio Department of Education - Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students
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