GIFTED/TALENTED PROGRAMS (Schools for Advanced Studies )
Overview
Schools for Advanced Studies demonstration sites receive the SAS designation for their exemplary Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) implementation. The Schools for Advanced Studies designation, initially implemented in the 1998-1999 school year, was created to acknowledge exemplary school models of innovative, equitable and effective GATE practices districtwide. By providing high-quality differentiated instruction with an emphasis on depth, complexity, acceleration and novelty, SAS sites offer high-level academic opportunities that meet the unique educational needs of K-12 gifted learners, identified in the Intellectual Ability, High Achievement Ability, Specific Academic Ability, Creative Ability and Leadership Ability categories or verified based on critical thinking/achievement.
The SAS model, which is in alignment with the California Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program Resource Guide and the State Board of Education Recommended Standards for Programs for Gifted and Talented Students, explicitly supports the District's goal to ensure equitable GATE participation for underrepresented students. It is District policy that resident schools must undergo a rigorous application process every five years to obtain or maintain the SAS designation.
