• Early Entrance to Kindergarten
  • Early entrance to kindergarten is an acceleration format available for students whose fifth birthday falls after August 1 but before January 1 of the year s/he plans to enter school. More detailed information is available on the Early Entrance to Kindergarten page.

• Early Entrance to First Grade

  • Early entrance to first grade is an acceleration format available to students of school age who are academically, socially, and emotionally prepared for advanced content. If your child is currently enrolled in kindergarten, or will be enrolling in kindergarten, and is academically ready for first grade, this acceleration option may be an appropriate option for your child.
    
• Whole Grade Acceleration
  • Whole grade acceleration occurs most often during elementary school years, and is designed for students whose ability and aptitude have developed well beyond their current grade level. A common example of whole grade acceleration would be a student advancing from first grade to third grade by skipping second grade. A District team will consider many developmental factors before recommending whole grade acceleration, including but not limited to: academic performance, student ability, student aptitude, social development, emotional development, and readiness for advanced content. Both early entrance to kindergarten and whole grade acceleration are evaluated by a team of district administrators, psychologists, teachers, and parents/guardians.
• Single Subject Acceleration
  • Single Subject Acceleration (or Subject Area Acceleration) is designed for students whose ability and aptitude is highly advanced in a particular subject of study (most commonly, mathematics). For students enrolling in an accelerated course, such as Integrated Math I during a student's eighth-grade year, factors such as gifted identification, previous testing results, and teacher recommendation may be considered. If a student is referred for individual subject area acceleration, a committee will be assembled to review testing and observational data to determine if subject area acceleration is the best option for the student.
• Early Graduation from High School
  • A less common form of acceleration is early graduation from high school. For students who desire to graduate early, such as students enrolling in college, seeking employment, participating in spring collegiate athletic training programs, etc., early graduation may be a desirable or necessary pursuit. Early graduation from high school does not exempt a student from any of the state or District graduation requirements. When an acceleration team meets to review the referral for early graduation, the student's academic standing (number of graduation credits, number of points on state assessments, etc.) will be considered before a decision to approve the acceleration is made. If a student is approved for early graduation from high school, a plan will be developed to assist the student in completing all graduation requirements by the target graduation date.

All students seeking academic acceleration must initiate the process by submitting a completed referral form to either the District's gifted coordinator or the student's building principal. No acceleration will be finalized until all relevant factors are considered and a team has agreed that acceleration for the student is academically, socially, and emotionally appropriate for the student.

For questions on the acceleration process, please refer to the documents in this section or contact the District's gifted coordinator.