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The Department of Gifted and Talented Education identifies and provides support services for gifted students as defined by state law: **257.44 Gifted and talented children defined.**

//"Gifted and talented children"// are those identified as possessing outstanding abilities who are capable of high performance. Gifted and talented children who require appropriate instruction and educational services commensurate with their abilities and needs beyond those provided by the regular school program. Gifted and talented children include those children with demonstrated achievement or potential ability, or both, in any of the following areas or in combination: (Multiple criteria will be used, with three of the guidelines met. A single test score is not sufficient data for identification.)
 * 1) General intellectual ability.
 * 2) Creative thinking.
 * 3) Leadership ability.
 * 4) Visual and performing arts ability.
 * 5) Specific ability aptitude.
 * Identification guidelines:**
 * Students who score in the 95th percentile on the Cognitive Abilities Test;
 * Students who perform at 90% or above on the Naglieri Nonverbal Aptitiude Test;
 * Students who perform at 90% or higher two years above grade level on reading assessments;
 * Students who perform at 90% or higher one year above grade level on math assessments;
 * Students who perform at the 95% or higher on the Torrance Test of Creativity;
 * Students who receive superior range ratings on the matrices for creativity, leadership, and visual and performing arts.
 * Teacher recommendations in the superior range of the matrices.

Central Academy, located at Central Campus, is an educational program specifically designed for highly gifted and talented students. Central Academy is in the top 1% of all Advanced Placement programs in the country. Students typically enter the Academy in 8th grade. Qualified students from every Des Moines Public middle and high school spend part of their day at the Academy. The curriculum at Central Academy is compacted and accelerated. Students begin taking the rigorous Advanced Placement courses in 10th grade.

Accelerated summer math classes are offered to invited fifth graders transitioning to sixth grade. These classes allow the mathematically gifted to complete one year of math during summer school.

Through out the school year, programs will be offered to students, parents, and families. The Des Moines Public Schools is committed to serving all gifted and talented students.

For more information, please contact the G/T office: 1912 Grand Ave. Des Moines, Iowa 50309-3382 Phone: 515-242-7930 FAX: 242-8278 or email: debra.mishak@dmschools.org For more information on gifted education and the needs of gifted children, please go to these websites: [|www.nagc.org] and [|www.iowatag.org].