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SAUSD's administrators, teachers, and parents recognize that gifted and talented students possess unique Intellectual, social, and emotional characteristics that need to be nurtured to promote a positive school experience.

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The Santa Ana Unified School District provides a comprehensive continuum of academic services tailored to the readiness, interests and abilities of gifted learners, while supporting their social and emotional needs to promote and foster a positive identity and school experience.

Mission

Program Objectives

The district's identification procedures are equitable, comprehensive, and ongoing. Teacher and parent workshops addressing the characteristics of gifted students prepare teachers and parents to recognize unique talents and gifts. In grades K-1, teachers are encouraged to refer students to a pre-GATE program. These students are not formally tested, but the schools take into consideration their classroom placement with other high ability students. Formal assessment begins with screening of all second-graders. Parent permission is required for students to participate in general ability testing. Students in grades 3-12 can participate in testing by teacher referral and parent request. To obtain the most accurate assessment of the student being considered for identification, an Eligibility and Placement Committee reviews a variety of informational data: teacher recommendation, grades, achievement test scores and a creativity exercise. Nontraditional methods for effective identification of English learners are also considered, such as rapid gain in English acquisition and standardized test scores. Parents are notified of their child's acceptance or denial into the GATE Program and must give signed consent for their child to participate in the program.The district coordinators offer a beginning-of-the-year orientation to inform parents about student placement and participation in the program. Once a child is identified, schools attempt to place the student in one of the district's program design options with teachers who are trained in differentiating the curriculum and who will challenge them to their highest potential.

Identification

The GATE Program provides a comprehensive continuum of services and program options responsive to the needs, interests, and abilities of its students. The program is managed by a full-time district TK-12 GATE coordinator, as well as a GATE site coordinator at each school. The GATE Program provides services for students in grades 3-12 who have been identified in the intellectual, high achievement, high ability, specific academic or visual and performing arts categories. Students in grades K-1 are not formally identified, but are challenged to their highest potential. Depending upon the number of identified GATE students, elementary schools serve gifted students during the school day via the "cluster" model, with approximately 5-10 identified gifted students placed in a general education class. Schools with high numbers of identified students offer special day classes with the majority of the students in the class being formally identified. In the secondary classrooms, gifted students are scheduled into honors-level and Advanced Placement classes. Teachers use the grade level standards and core curriculum for all students, as well as differentiated strategies, to challenge GATE students to their highest potential.

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Many gifted students begin the school year already knowing much of what will be taught by the teacher that year. Because of this, the GATE Department believes it is necessary to provide staff development to teachers which prepares them to differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of GATE learners. The GATE Department adheres to the definition of differentiation described by the California Association for the Gifted, "Adapting the curriculum to meet the unique needs of learners by making modifications in complexity, depth, and pacing". (Meeting the Challenge). Staff development is designed to provide the teacher with the knowledge and tools to differentiate the core curriculum or instruction so that students who have already mastered the material continue to progress and so that students who have a particular interest in an area can pursue it in greater depth or in a personalized way" (Differentiating the Core Curriculum and Instruction to Provide Advanced Learning Opportunities). Staff development is designed to help teachers differentiate curriculum through content, process, resource, and product, and to use various instructional models and strategies that are aligned with and extend the state academic content standards and curriculum frameworks. Staff development is also provided to teachers, administrators, psychologists, and counselors which support the social and emotional development of gifted learners to increase responsibility, self-awareness, and other issues of affective development in gifted individuals. GATE teachers are encouraged to participate in various staff development opportunities which include but are not limited to: district-sponsored staff development days provided by a cadre of trained SAUSD GATE teachers, the OCC GATE Collaborative Certification, consultants hired by the GATE Department, state and local GATE conferences, and summer GATE academies. Parents are also notified of opportunities and encouraged to attend District GATE Parent Nights and conferences to learn about the affective and curricular needs of their children.

Staff Development

Family and parent involvement in the schools is a key factor in the improvement of our children's education. The Santa Ana Unified School District is a leader in advocating involvement in all aspects of education. The Board of Education, the Superintendent and staff strongly believe that positive gains result from educators and parents who take an active interest in their schools. You can make a difference in the quality of your child's education.

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Thursday, 11/7/24 BOOM Sessions

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Wednesday, 10/15/24 GATE Program Objectives & Identification Zoom Meeting

Thursday, 5/1/25 GATE Zoom Meeting

Saturday, 4/26/25 GATE Symposium (Elementary student event)

Saturday, 3/1/25 GATE Symposium (Intermediate student event)

Thursday, 2/6/25 GATE Family Night

Saturday, 2/1/25 GATE Symposium (Hishschool student event)

Thursday, 11/5/24 GATE Zoom Meeting

Thursday, 10/3/24 GATE Family Night

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Explore virtual tours, analyze historical artifacts, and engage with multimedia resources that align with your curriculum.

Resources to implement the D&C framework to enhance differentiated learning and critical thinking.

Creative lessons, ideas, and strategies to engage and challenge students.

Join SAUSD GATE Google Drive

depthcomplexity.com

si.edu

Byrdseed.com

Contextualize your topic with a subtitle

Describe the problem you’re going to resolve and, above all, the reason why your idea is interesting

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Orange County Council for the Gifted is consortium that holds networking meetings for district GATE Coordinators, university liaisons, and CAG representatives.

& Associations

NAGC provides professional learning, research, and iadvocacy to ensure all children have equitable opportunities and support to develop their gifts and talents.

Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted: SENG empowers families and communities to guide individuals to their goals.

Advocates for the intellectual, academic, social, and emotional needs of diverse gifted students.

sengifted.org

nagc.org

occgate.org

cagifted.org

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English and Spanish

Parent Consent for GATE Placement

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Spanish

Guía Para Identificar Alumnos Dotados

English

A Guide for Identifying Gifted Students

Coming Soon

GATE Newsletters

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Individual schools offer various extended activities in which GA TE students can participate...

What enrichment activities are available beyond the classroom which my child can be involved in?

Some gifted children have learning disabilities such as...

Can a gifted child have disabilities too?

Differences commonly found between most gifted learners and their age peers are...

How do I find out if my child qualifies for the SAUSD GATE program?

All students in the Santa Ana Unified School District receive comprehensive instruction in the basic skills...

How is GATE instruction different from what the general education students is receiving?

FAQs

In California, schools can choose to apply educational funds to...

What is the Gifted and Talented Education program?

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Welcome to the SAUSD GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Program! In collaboration with schools and teachers across the district, our program is dedicated to creating dynamic, student-centered events where gifted students can showcase their learning through innovative projects. Our events are designed to engage students, foster creativity, and highlight the diverse talents within our district.

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Corner

Primary Characteristics for Pre-GATE Consideration

Pre-GATE Consideration

Site Coordinator Timeline

GATE 2024-2025 Timeline

Resources slidedeck

GATE Coordinator Resources

An instructional model designed to promote higher-level thinking

D&C Framework and Rubric

English

A Guide for Identifying Gifted Students

Criteria for GATE identification

SAUSD GATE Qualification

A guide to support educators and learning community.

GATE Handbook

GATE Certification I & II

GATE Professional Development

GATE Site Coordinator

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School Counselors

Each school's website has a counselor's tab

Gate

Learning & Achievement Specialist GATE Elementary

Liza Villa

Learning & Achievement Specialist GATE Secondary

Arlyn Shelton

Learning & Achievement Specialist GATE Family Engagement

Laura Gomez

Coordinators

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Site Gate Coordinators

Contact List of site coordinators for your school

School Website

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GATE Program Specialist

Dr. Nereida Prado

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Nereida Prado

Nereida.Prado@sausd.us

Laura Gomez

Laura.Gomez@sausd.us

Liza Villa

Liza.Villa@sausd.us Liza.Villa@sausdlearns.net

Arlyn Shelton

Arlyn.Shelton@sausd.us Arlyn.Shelton@sausdlearns.net