Gifted & Talented

At the elementary level, classroom teachers provide differentiated instruction and incorporate advanced learning strategies into their lessons, ensuring that all students are challenged and supported at their appropriate level. In addition, intervention and enrichment specialist staff provide small group lessons and support for students. Students who are participating in reading and/or math enrichment groups go deeper into their grade level standards with activities that promote inquiry, research, problem-solving, and creative thinking. Enrichment groups are fluid and flexible based on need and subject matter.

In middle school, the focus shifts slightly by emphasizing specific academic aptitude. Because we understand the nature of the adolescent person, we continue to help students build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. We nurture their self-confidence and help them believe that they can do great things. We offer Advanced English Language Arts (ELA), which is more of a humanities course, and advanced mathematics. Middle school is a time for exploration. We offer an array of courses for students, including the arts and computer science, to meet the talents that students possess.

Richfield High School continues to recognize the specific academic aptitude that students have, and we believe that all students can perform at high levels. But we also know that students continue to develop at their own pace. Sometimes, it isn’t until high school that students really find they are ready for more advanced courses. We also know that sometimes, students need adult guidance to help them believe in their potential.

We offer a wide array of Advanced Placement (AP) and College in the Schools (CIS) courses, as well as more traditional honors courses throughout the school day. All of our advanced courses are self-select, meaning that there is no application process. We encourage students to talk with teachers, counselors and their families about possibilities.  

We believe in the power of the question, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? To that end, we also offer seminar courses for our most advanced classes to provide additional support for students who may have never thought they could succeed in these courses. We know the power of advanced courses on a high school transcript, and we want as many students as possible to earn college credit while in high school. As a result, they will have a strong high school transcript that they earned as a result of being actively engaged in our schools.

• We offer compacted 6/7 and 7/8 math courses to accelerate students who demonstrate on multiple measures that they would benefit from a more challenging math class. Compacted 6/7 covers all of sixth grade math and half of seventh grade math in one year. Compacted 7/8 covers the second half of seventh grade math and all of eighth grade math in one year. Thus, the pace is much faster than in the core pathway and some skills are learned or reviewed independently through supplemental summer work before students take the course. 
• We use multiple measures to identify students for compacted math courses. Students must consistently exceed grade-level standards in mathematics on both universal screening assessments (e.g., FastBridge, NWEA Map) and classroom-based summative assessments.

This table shows the Math pathway for students in the core math program, accelerated program and double-accelerated program.