The Fort Bend Independent School District introduced a comprehensive program to meet the special needs of gifted students in 1990. The FBISD Gifted and Talented Program is charged with identifying academically gifted students and providing for the special needs of these students. Gifted students tend to learn at a remarkably rapid rate, to be extremely sensitive and intense. The characteristics of gifted students create special needs which the GT Program is designed to meet.
Gifted and Talented Program Services
- The GT program is available for identified GT students at every grade level in every school throughout the district.
- Services are currently provided in core subject areas: English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
- Students in Kindergarten are not offered GT services until they are identified in February of their Kindergarten year.
- Identified students are grouped together for services. In some cases, GT students are in core subject area classes with only other GT students. Sometimes, however, it is not possible for a campus to have GT only classes so non-identified students are placed in the classroom with GT students.
- At the secondary level (grades 7-12), GT services are provided in Pre-AP/AP courses.
- Fort Bend does not have a separate GT curriculum. Teachers are expected to meet the needs of GT students in their classrooms by differentiating the district's curriculum. In this way, they are able to meet the varied needs of GT students.
- The aim of the differentiated curriculum is to encourage GT students to develop critical, creative, and productive thinking skills, self-directed learning skills, an awareness of their own unique abilities, and to create advanced-level products and/or performances.
- A Gifted and Talented Mentorship Program is available for identified juniors and seniors in high school. Students must complete an application process to be considered for the program.
- Opportunities to accelerate are offered through the district's Credit By Exam testing conducted in the summer by the Testing and Evaluation Department.