Overview of Gifted Education Programs

(updated September 11, 2023)

The Gifted Education Resource Teacher at Ashburn Elementary facilitates gifted education instruction with 4 separate programs designed by LCPS. 

The following LCPS Gifted and Talented Education Programs are in use at Ashburn Elementary School and detailed descriptions can be found below, organized by grade level. Additionally, the classroom teacher facilitates learning for a wide range of learners within the classroom. 

The LCPS gifted education programs are:

–SEARCH 

-GT GIA FUSION

-GT DCI Math and/or GT DCI ELA

-EDGE

Click here for video overview of Gifted Education Programs School Year 23-24: SY 23-24 Gifted Elementary Programs (for families) 

Grade levels K,1,2,3: SEARCH Program
(Seeking Educational Activities to Reach & Challenge Higher Level Thinking Skills)
The Gifted Education teacher models lessons to ALL students in grades K-3, in the classroom setting on a whole group basis. The SEARCH lessons are designed to foster an environment that encourages students to think, take intellectual risks, and develop an excitement for learning and discovery across a variety of thinking skills. The SEARCH curriculum is problem-solving based and founded upon gifted education research. The curriculum spirals developmentally through five components: reasoning, perceiving, connecting, evaluating, and creating. Each grade level learns about each component at increasingly more complex and abstract levels. The class occurs in the student's classroom on a roughly, twice-a-month basis. The lesson activities are not graded in K, 1, or 2nd grade classrooms. Spring of grade 3 requires some student work to be collected for portfolio samples for the identification of gifted services in later grades.

Grade levels 4,5 (small group):  GT: GIA FUSION program

(General Intellectual Ability/FUSION) Formally identified gifted education, 4th and 5th grade students receive 1 GT math enrichment lesson,1 GT language arts enrichment lesson and 1 FUSION conceptual lesson, per week, at school. The school-based, collaborative GIA FUSION program is the model for delivering gifted services for formally identified 4th and 5th grade gifted learners. GT: GIA FUSION gifted learners meet in the gifted education classroom, once a week, for an extended, FUSION conceptual lesson in order to collaborate on a variety of challenging, project-based learning activities designed to integrate real-world problem solving, connective thinking and the five C's of 21st century learning: Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Contribution. GT: GIA students also attend one GT math and one GT language arts lesson per week, with the GT teacher, to enrich their understanding of academic-specific standards. These students are formally identified by the county at the end of grade 3.   

Grade levels 4,5 (small group):  GT: DCI Math &/or ELA

(Differentiated Curriculum Instruction in math or language arts) GT: DCI Math &/or ELA (language arts) students attend one GT math and/or GT language arts lesson per week, with the GT teacher, to challenge and enrich their understanding of an academic-specific domain. The gifted resource teacher will meet weekly with GT: DCI students to provide enrichment via deeper learning, rigor, and hands-on, project-based learning. These students are formally identified by the county at the end of grade 3. 

Grade levels 1, 2, 3: EDGE program 

(Empowering Diversity through Gifted Education) The EDGE program is designed to nurture and challenge students with advanced academic potential from groups historically underrepresented in LCPS advanced academic and gifted programs. The program provides additional academic challenges for students designed to develop students' individual potential. Classroom teachers and gifted education resource teachers work together to nurture academic potential in young learners and prepare them for more challenging and rigorous academic pathways. This program does not necessarily lead to a gifted education designation for future grade levels for the student, but is there to nurture and challenge the student.