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Gifted And Talented Education (GATE)

2023 GATE Parent Orientation

Magnolia School District's GATE Program

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The MSD GATE program is designed to meet the needs of those children who demonstrate the capacity for high levels of thinking and/or scholastic achievement. The goal is to nurture their unique talents, abilities, and interests, and to extend their educational experiences so that they may reach their fullest potential.

Formal GATE programs are offered to identified students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Our elementary schools meet the needs of gifted students via the homeschool cluster model.  In this educational setting, groups identified students are clustered together within a general education classroom at their own school site.

GATE teachers provide this group of gifted students a differentiated core curriculum that is designed to allow for acceleration, novelty, more complex student products and research.

GATE Identification

GlassThe district's identification procedures are equitable and comprehensive. Students are identified for participation in the GATE program using the following informational data:

  • Intellectual Ability
  • Academic Achievement
  • Gifted Student Characteristics (e.g., creativity, leadership, task commitment, an extraordinary development in the arts)
  • Impact Factors (e.g., English language acquisition, medical history)
 

Formal assessment is initiated in one of two ways:

  • 3rd Grade Screening (students who achieve a minimum score on district benchmarks in English Language Arts and Math are tested in the winter of each school year)
  • Teacher Referral and/or Parent Request (students recommended for GATE screening are tested in early March)

GATE Scholar Academy

Gate LogoGATE students are invited to participate in an after-school GATE Scholar Academy.  The Scholar Academy will include monthly seminars promoting college and career readiness in elementary school students and support the goals of the Strong Workforce Grant. GATE students will also focus on specific content areas of study. Participating students will each achieve a GATE Scholar Seal (6th grade) or Scholar Certificate (4th & 5th graders) upon completion.