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Gifted advisory recommends better data, targeted staffing and coaching to identify and serve gifted learners
Summary
The Gifted Community Advisory Committee (GCAC) told the board the division should use MAP data to develop clearer outcome measures, prioritize staffing for gifted resource teachers, and expand coaching to schools with low identification rates; the board asked for more data and follow-up.
The Gifted Community Advisory Committee (GCAC) presented five recommendations on June 24 aimed at improving identification, staffing and instructional consistency for gifted learners across Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
Why it matters: GCAC members said the system should rely on richer assessment and growth measures to find gifted students who are currently missed, particularly among economically disadvantaged and twice-exceptional populations. The committee urged the district to use existing MAP (NWEA) data to create visual indicators and to allocate Gifted Resource Teacher (GRT) staffing based on identified need rather than fixed formulas.
GCAC Chair Alison Krug (presented in the meeting by Miss Lisonbee Krug) recommended "a suite of data indicators" to show where gifted learners are and how they are growing, and she urged "prioritize staffing allocations for GRTs and differentiate based on the number of gifted identified learners." Director Crystal Wilkerson said the office will continue reciprocal learning walks between Old Donation School (ODS) and cluster programs to share pacing and acceleration strategies.
Board members pressed for specificity. Mister Cummings asked what outcome measures the committee had in mind; Krug replied that the division should start with simple MAP medians and growth by subgroup (economically disadvantaged, ELL, military-connected) and then examine growth in reading and math. Members also discussed twice-exceptional students and whether some alternative assessments might better capture creativity and leadership that typical tests miss.
GCAC recommended approving funding for temporary gifted staff where needed (e.g., Renaissance Academy, Spanish immersion programs) and offering coaching to schools with low identification rates. The committee left board members with site-visit findings and suggested next steps to align ODS practices with cluster classrooms.
What comes next: The board will consider GCAC recommendations during the next action cycle; staff said the GCAC meetings will continue and data graphics will be prepared for the board. Trustees asked for MAP visualizations to be sent to the full board and for a clear plan to retest or add screening at fifth grade entry points as requested by some parents.
The presentation emphasized that identification and service are distinct problems — identifying gifted students requires outreach and assessment; serving them requires curriculum pacing, acceleration and teacher coaching — and that the district should use MAP growth data to guide policy and staffing.
