PROJECT EXTRA OVERVIEW Project Extra is Oceanside School District’s gifted program, which serves children in grades 4, 5, and 6. This pull-out program is centrally located at School 6 and is staffed by two full time teachers. The children leave their home schools once a week to engage in activities of a specialized nature. Project Extra activities are designed to nurture the potential giftedness of our students. These activities provide children opportunities to learn that are commensurate with their abilities. This differentiated curriculum is designed to foster independent thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving. Children are encouraged to take risks by attempting to solve complex problems in unique and original ways. The activities in Project Extra are not designed to complement, relate to, or extend the standard classroom curriculum. They are chosen and designed for their purposeful ability to meet the needs of academically talented students. These activities are specific to the Project Extra population. The program of instruction maximizes the opportunities for children to be producers rather than consumers of knowledge. It equips them with the ability to generate not only ideas but also the criteria with which to evaluate them. The children work in group activities as well as individually. Thus effective communication and decision making skills are fostered through group interaction, oral presentations and written work. The teachers evaluate the child’s growth in the program through projects, class work, and class participation as well as periodic assessments. Report cards are sent home twice a year in February and June. Over the three years the children are involved in the program, there is a well-planned sequential development of increasingly difficult content and processes. The techniques, activities, and projects experienced in Project Extra are designed and taught to nurture the life long needs of the potentially gifted learner. These skills, techniques and activities are built upon each year as the children mature and become more cognizant of their own learning and environment. As the developers and providers of the gifted program we continually strive to meet the needs, interests and abilities of our students. PROJECT EXTRA SELECTION PROCESS Our selection process for the Project Extra program is designed to identify those students who can best profit from inclusion in this program, while being fair and equitable to all students from our six elementary schools. Students are selected for the Project Extra program based upon multiple criteria reviewed at the conclusion of third grade. These criteria are scores on the most recent:
Scores from each of these components are converted to standard scores (with InView counted twice) and placed on an identification matrix. Student whose total scores exceed the cut-off are invited to the program at the beginning of fourth grade. Students who were not accepted into the program in fourth grade may be reevaluated for entrance into one of the limited spots in the program, at the conclusion of fourth and/or fifth grade, at the recommendation of the classroom teacher. If you have questions regarding any aspect of our Project Extra program please feel free to contact the Principal of your school. |
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