Gifted Education Program

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Noxubee County School District's Intellectually Gifted Program is to offer differentiated learning experiences to meet the special needs of the intellectually gifted learner.

S. P. A. R. K. S.  Program

S.P.A.R.K.S. (Special People Achieving Rich Knowledge and Success) is the Noxubee County School District's Intellectually Gifted Program, serving gifted students in second through sixth grades. The format of the gifted program is a one day per week, five-hour pull-out program. The classroom for the gifted program is located at the Earl Nash Elementary School Annex.

"Intellectually gifted children" are those children or youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of intelligence as documented through the identification process. Some characteristics of gifted children are:  highly curious, demonstrate mastery in 1-2 repetitions, construct abstractions, thrive on complexity, keenly observant, ask questions, show strong feelings and opinions, draw inferences and enjoy learning.

The identification process consists of a combination of subjective and objective measures to determine eligibility for the gifted program.  A blanket screening of all first grade students in the Noxubee County School District is conducted each spring in an effort to identify potential gifted students.   Also, referrals for the gifted program can be made throughout the school year by contacting the Teacher of the Gifted (Contact Information is listed below) or a child's classroom teacher.

Framework for the Gifted Curriculum

Meeting the characteristics and needs of the intellectually gifted learner requires differential treatments in curriculum and instructional patterns of delivery.  Because the intellectually gifted learner has special needs in both cognitive and affective areas, so must the curriculum.  In working with the Mississippi Department of Education's suggested outcomes, the gifted program implements the following framework:

     1.  Thinking Skills
     2.  Creativity
     3.  Information Literacy
     4.  Communication Skills
     5.  Affective Skills
     6.  Success Skills

About the Teacher

Melinda Brown is the current Teacher of the Gifted for the Noxubee County School District.  She has 35 years of teaching experience and has taught gifted education classes in Noxubee County for the past 20 years.  She holds a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from Mississippi State University, a  Master's Degree in Gifted Studies from Mississippi University for Women and is  a National Board Certified Teacher.      

Contact Information:  Email:  MBrown@ourncsd.org     Phone:  662-726-5049

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