Expanded Gifted Services Coming to Lakota Schools: More Teachers and Enhanced Curriculum

Elizabeth Lolli, Ph.D., the Interim Superintendent of Lakota, has shared an update on the district's gifted services. This follows a community discussion held last fall. The Lakota team has been evaluating the current services for gifted and accelerated students, aiming to enhance the program. The Board of Education at Lakota has approved the recruitment of five more teachers to aid in expanding these services. Four of these will be gifted intervention specialists for students in grades 3-6, and one will be a gifted support advisor for grades 7-12.

Starting from the 2024-2025 academic year, each elementary school will have a dedicated gifted intervention specialist. These specialists will continue to support math-accelerated students as before, offering additional help as needed. Teachers will continue to teach the math and ELA Plus class, with a weekly dedicated time for the specialist to work with gifted students in math and reading.

Gifted students in third through fifth grade will receive services from the specialist twice a week. Sixth-grade gifted students will have advanced coursework and will receive services from the specialist at least once a week. The secondary grades will also receive increased support from the gifted support advisor. The advisor's main goal in junior high will be to enhance leadership skills, improve executive functioning strategies, and connect students to extracurricular activities.

The gifted support advisor will offer weekly small-group sessions for cognitively gifted students at each junior school. The advisor will also provide support and small group instruction in the 7th and 8th grade advanced classes. The advisor will play a crucial role in supporting honors, advanced placement, and college credit plus courses for students in grades 9-12. This support will include small-group sessions focusing on service learning opportunities, guidance on internships and scholarships, and improving post-graduation outcomes.

The curriculum for gifted services will emphasize creative thinking, problem-solving, project-centered and spatial reasoning math, in addition to the current offerings. The gifted intervention specialists will also visit early childhood schools weekly to provide services for all gifted second-grade students. For any queries about the expanded services, parents and guardians can contact Wyetta Hayden, interim executive director of pupil personnel services, or Lauren Webb, director of gifted services.

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