Sarah Gardner, the district’s gifted-program presenter, told the Winchester School Board she is seeking three additional gifted-teacher positions and outlined referral and eligibility data showing rising identification activity.
Nut graf: Gardner said the division currently has one gifted teacher for more than 4,000 students and cited Virginia Department of Education guidance recommending roughly one gifted teacher per 1,000 students; she asked the board to consider adding three positions and making them building-specific to ensure predictable, visible services for K–12 students.
Gardner opened her annual review by describing a multi-year rise in teacher referrals for gifted evaluation and training that she said is driving that increase. "Teachers are now referring on average 25 more students each year than the previous year," Gardner said, and she gave year-by-year referral totals: about 100 in her first year, then 126, 152 and 177 in the most recent year, a net increase of 77 referrals over three years.
She said the division uses a second-grade CogAT screener as one identification tool and that pilot results showed teachers are identifying students earlier. Gardner also presented proportionality data, saying the majority of referred students are economically disadvantaged and the majority of students identified are not white; she noted that a two-or-more-races category appeared overrepresented on one slide but that deeper review showed several of those students have at least one Black parent, which she said made the data more proportional relative to the Black and African American population in Winchester.
Gardner described classroom and extension work across the division: co-teaching and small-group pullouts at Daniel Morgan schools, a LEAP leadership project at John Kerr, cross-curricular lessons at Quarles, and targeted activities for students who hit ceiling scores on early screening tools. She said those in-class extensions and pullouts help gifted and potentially gifted students develop academic and social skills, including perseverance and collaborative leadership.
On staffing, Gardner said: "The Virginia Department of Education suggestion is 1 gifted teacher per thousand students. Currently, we have 1 gifted teacher and more than 4,000 students. ... I would like to add 3 gifted teachers to our department." She proposed assigning those positions to K–2, 3–4, and 5–8 ranges and said a constant, physical presence in buildings would make services more reliable than intermittent visits.
Board members asked procedural questions about identification age and testing. Gardner explained the division’s local plan and why specific academic aptitude programs typically begin at third grade while talent-development lessons are provided in K–2 to teach flexible thinking and creativity. She recommended the local advisory committee consider whether identification at the end of second grade would be appropriate in future years.
No formal board vote or budget decision accompanied the presentation. A board member reminded attendees that budget season is approaching and asked members to keep staffing requests in mind as fiscal planning begins. Gardner and colleagues offered to provide additional data and to discuss possible budget timing with staff.
Ending: Gardner concluded by saying the department’s goal is to move "from adequate to excellent" for gifted learners; the board received the review and did not take immediate action, leaving the staffing request to be considered during upcoming budget discussions.