Uncompahgre BOCES Gifted Education

Halloween week promised more than just costumes and candy. On Tuesday of Halloween week, 4th-6th grade gifted students from Naturita, Norwood, and Ridgway converged at Naturita Elementary School for a morning of learning and collaboration. Many gifted students in small, rural areas find themselves to be the only identified student in their grade level - possible in their entire school! Our area coordinators wanted to create a Summit that would bring these students together several times a year to work alongside others like them. Our first Summit brought together nine students. We began with a get-to-know-you activity, followed by a group activity where we looked at giftedness from different perspectives. After a quick snack, we dove into the featured activity - a break-out box which required flexible thinking and collaboration to solve. Although neither of the groups solved the puzzles in the 45 minute time frame, given extended time, all were successful. All of the students left the...

Welcome back to another exciting year! Hopefully everyone had a chance to enjoy some of the amazing summer weather we've been having this year!  Area schools will soon be bustling with students, both excited and nervous about what the new year may entail. Many teachers are already back in their classrooms, busily planning and decorating. Administrators are hard at work ensuring the back-to-school week runs smoothly. In our gifted departments, we have been busy preparing for our CGER (Colorado Gifted Education Review) from the state this October. This review happens every five years, giving us a chance to step back and really look closely at improvements we want to make in our programs. A huge thank you goes out to all of the students, parents, teachers, and administrators who took time last spring to complete our self-evaluation survey. The results give our coordinators validation for all the hard work they put in, as well as possible areas for improvement.  As school g...

This summer will feature our region's very first juried performance for talent identification! This will allow students to display their visual art, music, drama, or dance talents in front of professional adjudicators to receive feedback. This feedback could be used as one data point toward gifted identification in that area. Students still need to obtain other data points to obtain gifted identification, as most pathways require a minimum of three data points at/above the 95th percentile or scoring at an exceeds level. Students will be required to bring a prepared piece or portfolio, answer interview questions with the adjudicators, and perform an improvisation or on-the-spot creation during their time with the adjudicators. More information will be provided to those who are interested in participating. If you, or someone you know, feel that you have what it takes to be identified in a talent area, please contact your district's gifted coordinator to begin the process which wi...