PORT ANGELES — The School Board will consider approval of a new program for “highly capable” students Thursday.
The board will hear the recommendation for the new program, affecting some 60 elementary schools students — as well as any middle school students who might be identified — during a workshop at 5 p.m. at the Central Services Building, 216 E. Fourth St.
The board is expected to vote on the recommendations at the 6 p.m. regular meeting following the workshop in the same place.
A committee has drafted a plan to meet a new state requirement for school districts to offer highly capable programs by the beginning of the 2014-15 school year.
“Highly capable” students are defined as “those who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments.”
The committee’s elementary school program recommendation would create three self-contained classrooms for first- through sixth-grade students at Roosevelt Elementary School.
The students have been identified in the past two months as being eligible.
The cost to implement the elementary-level highly capable program is expected to be at least $225,000, to hire three additional teachers, provide bussing, supply the classrooms with materials and provide necessary training to teachers.
“Due to the unique nature of the needs of highly capable students, this will need to be a ‘school within a school’ situation where the staff has the flexibility to design the program that will serve the highly capable population they are entrusted with,” the committee’s written recommendation said.
Students would begin working at levels about a year ahead of their age-peers, it said.
The committee said Roosevelt was chosen because it has room for three new classrooms and an express bus between Stevens and Roosevelt can transport west Port Angeles students.
The committee also considered placing the program at Jefferson Elementary, to replace or work alongside the existing Multi-Age Classroom, or MAC, program, but the concept was discarded because of the effect on existing MAC students.
Class sizes will remain small because flexibility is needed for the accelerated, individual student learning plans.
The middle school program recommended includes seventh-grade honors language arts taught at the eighth-grade level along with pre-algebra and eighth-grade honors language arts taught at the ninth-grade level, along with algebra.
High school students identified as highly capable now are offered a selection of honors, Advanced Placement and University of Washington courses.
Juniors and seniors have the option to attend classes at Peninsula College through the Running Start program.
No changes to the high school program are proposed.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.