Explorer Referrals begin in January 2013

Explorer Referrals begin in January 2013

Referral forms and information for the 2013-14 Explorer (Gifted Education) Program will available in all district elementary and middle schools following the winter break. Parents with students in grades 2 through 7 will be able to contact their child’s teacher or school learning specialist/middle school counselor for more information. Program information will also be available on the district website.

Walla Walla School District’s Explorer Program provides students of high academic and intellectual ability with designated time to explore concepts in greater depth. Classes are currently offered for students in grade three through eight.

The goal of the Explorer Program is to encourage the development of higher level thinking skills. Students learn to become responsible for their own learning, to develop their creative thinking and critical reasoning power and to strive to reach their potential.

The Explorer curriculum for third through fifth grades focuses primarily on mathematics, science, oral and written communication and critical thinking skills. Elementary students are bussed to Sharpstein Elementary School for two half-days per week. At each middle school, curriculum focuses on the humanities, drawn from the areas of language arts and social studies, and offers advanced, but parallel, learning opportunities.

The referral deadline will slightly earlier next year: February 13, 2013. All referred students will take a norm-referenced standardized test and those who qualify for further testing will participate in cognitive abilities testing, also at their home schools. In all cases, parents will be notified of the results of the process, and a child not selected one year may be referred again in subsequent years.

For more information, please contact the Walla Walla School District Curriculum and Instruction office: 509-526-6735.