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District reports gains in highly capable identification; work underway to expand services and teacher support
Summary
Vancouver School District reported increases in identification rates for highly capable students—especially multilingual and twice-exceptional students—and outlined plans for expanding teacher professional development, cluster grouping, and program supports across grades.
District staff told the Vancouver School Board March 25 that identification of highly capable students has moved closer to proportional representation and that the district is working to expand services and teacher supports so identified students receive sustained services.
Dr. Jennifer Brown Sanders and staff reported that 84 fifth graders and about 194 second graders were newly identified or under review in the current cycle; together those cohorts add about 278 students to the pool under review. Among newly identified fifth graders, staff said 61% were White and 39% were identified as races other than White, improving proportionality toward the district mix. Gender balance for newly identified students is roughly even, reversing a prior male over-identification. Staff also reported a notable increase in multilingual students identified for highly capable services: 6% of newly identified fifth graders were multilingual (up from under 1% previously). Twice-exceptional identification also rose: among the newly identified cohort, 12% had IEPs, up from under 1% historically.
Staff credited the district’s changed identification procedures—including use of the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and attention to learning-growth metrics such as WIDA scores and i-Ready growth rates—for surfacing multilingual and twice-exceptional students who previously went unrecognized. Dr. Brown Sanders said the district is focusing next on providing services, not only identification: purchases of Mindset Mathematics materials for K–6, math manipulatives, and targeted professional development are intended to help teachers use “low-floor, high-ceiling” tasks and differentiation strategies. Instructional coaches funded through the highly capable budget are being used as an initial train-the-trainer model.
Board members asked about equity and access, including transportation to intensive programs (Truman) and how cluster grouping is being communicated to principals. Staff said invitations to intensive high-cap programs are based on need as determined by assessments and teacher rating scales and that transportation is not provided; families are informed during informational nights. On cluster grouping, staff said some principals and teachers still view grouping as tracking and that the district is working through messaging and pilot implementations; 10% of elementary instructional coaches are currently funded by the highly capable budget to support rollout.
Staff acknowledged continued gaps, notably among students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch (31% of newly identified vs. 45% districtwide) and said they will analyze additional measures to better capture need. The presentation included a three-year timeline of planned supports, continued evaluation of the Naglieri and single-subject identification methods, and proposals to increase middle-school PD and to pilot a dual-language intensive highly capable class in 2026–27.
