Peninsula updates highly capable identification: 338 referrals and 10.8% identified districtwide

Peninsula School District staff presented an update March 20 on the district’s highly capable program, reporting that the district uses a multi-measure identification process and that 10.8% of enrolled students are identified as highly capable.

Jamie Croft, who led the presentation, said the district received 338 referrals K–12 this year and that the identification process uses universal screening (second and fifth grades), cognitive assessment (CogAT), and a multidisciplinary team review that considers academic and social-emotional indicators. Croft said the district’s identification rate (10.8%) exceeds the Washington statewide rate (7.6%) and that the district is identifying a more diverse population than the state average: 4.8% of the district’s identified highly capable students are multilingual (state 1.4%) and 5.6% are also served in special education (state 1.8%).

Elementary-level results showed 80 K–5 students qualifying for both accelerated reading and math services (identified as “AIR/AIM” for the district’s service labels); staff said those students may opt into the self-contained PACE program, cluster services in their neighborhood school, or other continuum services. Croft described Eagle Quest, a program at the Key Peninsula that offers a PACE-like curriculum for students on the peninsula and said Eagle Quest gives priority seats to qualified students from the Key Peninsula.

The presentation outlined a service continuum that begins in second grade and continues to high school with advanced pathways; staff emphasized teacher preparation and professional development for clustering teachers, and said a secondary program evaluation and listening sessions for middle/high school are planned for next year. District staff also described funding: roughly $300,000 in state allocation supports salaries, training and assessments for highly capable services.

Board members asked about middle- and high-school continuity for students who “find their people” in elementary PACE programs and discussed options that preserve peer groups without creating unnecessary separation. Croft said future work will study models from other districts and consider changes to secondary services.

The board did not take any action; staff said they will continue evaluations, teacher professional learning and outreach to families and will return with secondary program planning.