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Estill County updates gifted-and-talented handbook; trustees praise summer STEM and CREATE academies
Summary
The board approved revised gifted-and-talented (GT) handbook for 2025–26 after a staff presentation on expanded identification procedures and referral forms; staff also reported successful STEM and CREATE summer academies with about 80 students each.
The Estill County Board of Education approved an updated gifted-and-talented (GT) handbook for the 2025–26 school year after a staff presentation highlighting expanded referral procedures and in-class services.
Board members voted unanimously to accept the handbook updates, which staff said align with board policy and Kentucky gifted-and-talented regulations and add teacher and parent referral forms and clearer guidance on identification pathways.
Why it matters: The revised handbook aims to clarify how students are referred, assessed and served in multiple GT categories — including general intellectual ability, leadership, specific academic areas and the arts — and to increase services for students who show potential but are not yet formally identified.
Gifted-services coordinator Miss Cornett told the board the handbook was the result of year-long work with the district’s gifted consultant and includes data-collection steps after a teacher or parent referral. “We've updated it considerably,” Cornett said, and described referral forms and the “primary talent pool” for kindergarten through third grade.
Cornett and other staff also reported that the district’s summer academies — STEM and CREATE — each hosted about 80 students and included hands-on projects such as forensics exercises, zip lines, egg-drop and musical theater, which staff said drew interest from outside the district and from regional education groups.
Board discussion emphasized expanding in-class services and enrichment opportunities. The board approved the set of updated handbooks — which also included employee, substitute teacher and coaches handbooks updated for recent legislation — by a 5-0 vote.
Staff said the GT handbook clarifies identification routes, the role of assessment data and the distinction between the primary talent pool (K–3) and formal identification starting in fourth grade.
