Pasco workshop outlines expansion of acceleration and gifted programs, seeks PHSC dual-enrollment exception

District staff on Wednesday reviewed a package of recommendations intended to increase student access to acceleration and gifted programming across Pasco schools. Speaker 2 introduced the workshop as tied to the district’s strategic Goal 7.1, and Speaker 3 (Samantha Eiler) laid out data and specific proposals for middle and high school acceleration and an elementary gifted pilot.

The presentation highlighted recent progress and targets. Staff said middle-school algebra enrollment rose 31 percent year over year and that, with proper placement, middle-school potential acceleration could reach 95 percent compared with last year’s 63 percent. For high school, staff reported that 57 percent of current seniors had earned an acceleration point; 2,583 seniors had not, and 63 percent of those non‑accelerated seniors have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

“We have the fundamental belief that all of our students possess some sort of giftedness or academic talent,” Speaker 2 said, arguing that acceleration should provide multi-year on-ramps rather than serve only the top few percent of students.

Staff recommended curricular shifts and partnerships to expand options. For AP and Cambridge courses, they proposed transitioning some existing courses (for example, psychology sequences) to AP psychology and making ACE (Cambridge thinking skills) available to all high schools that request it. For dual enrollment, staff reported a pending agreement with PHSC to offer a reduced-criteria SLS course (SLS 1106, Journey to Success) on high school campuses; under the plan, juniors and seniors with a 2.5 GPA and qualifying college‑reading scores would be prioritized pending board and PHSC approvals.

“PHSC also added to the agreement that students who are admitted under this exception, if they get a 3 or a B or higher in the course, they can continue on for 12 additional credit hours without having to meet the requirements,” Speaker 3 said, describing a built-in pathway for credit accumulation.

For elementary schools, staff proposed piloting a branded gifted-and-talented inclusion model at four sites — Conerton, Longleaf, Pasco Elementary and Shady Hills Elementary — with principals deciding site‑specific names and schedules. Staff said the model is intended to preserve zoned enrollment while increasing visibility and supports for high-achieving learners.

Staff also showed a newly revamped district Accelerated Opportunities web portal that consolidates one-page flyers, course overviews and links to deeper resources and the PASCO Pathways catalog. Mr. Dunn navigated attendees through the high school page and staff said middle- and elementary-level pages will follow; schools will receive materials to share with families beginning the next day.

Next steps and timing: staff asked the board to consider the PHSC agreement at the March 3 board meeting, continue piloting and evaluating acceleration pathways, and use dashboards and targeted scheduling to identify and enroll eligible students. Staff said they will provide implementation supports for schools, including parent materials and testing plans to meet college course prerequisites.

Funding, staffing and site-level scheduling details were not specified in the presentation; staff said those operational plans will be addressed as the initiatives are refined.