Gifted and Talented Program
Our Mission
Grand Prairie ISD Advanced Academics Program is committed to ensuring that our highest ability learners are challenged to meet their potential by providing appropriate curriculum and equitable learning opportunities that meet their social and emotional needs, interests, and areas of strength, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religious, age, sexual orientation, class, and disability disparities.
Gifted Program Referrals
Referrals for GT Services is accepted from August-April with ongoing testing during that time. Contact your campus GT Specialists for more information.
GPISD Gifted and Talented Program Goals
- Implement ongoing identification and assessment processes in grades K-12 using multiple data and specific criteria to ensure equitable, tiered services for advanced learners
- Provide differentiation and appropriate learning experiences by cultivating a growth mindset and grit
- Promote divergent thinking and problem-solving skills
- Build students’ self-awareness and executive functioning skills
- Provide ongoing training opportunities for parents, teachers, and staff members involved in meeting the needs of gifted and advanced learners
How Does GPISD Prepare Students for Advanced Courses?
Elementary School
- Gifted & Talented Pull-Out
- Differentiated Curriculum
Middle School
- GT/Advanced
- Advanced Placement Classes
High School
- GT/Advanced
- Advanced Placement
- Dual Credit
- on Ramps
Hear From a GT Student
The Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented defines a "gifted and talented" student as a child/youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience or environment and who exhibits high-performance capability in an intellectual, creative or artistic area, possesses an unusual capacity for leadership, and/or excels in a specific academic field. However, I define a "gifted and talented" student as an inquisitive, unique, and capable student whose thirst for knowledge goes beyond the classroom walls.
Being a GT student honestly means the world to me. It has allowed me to not only go above and beyond in my academics, but I've also been able to forge strong relationships with other GT students and gain a deeper level of self-confidence. On my wall in my room is a bright red piece of paper I received from my GT teacher, a mantra of self-love and self-assurance printed in bold on it. I've look at that piece of paper an immeasurable amount of times now, filled with pride of the person I have become.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who are the gifted/talented?
- Why must we serve the gifted and talented outside the regular curriculum?
- What is differentiation for the gifted/talented?
- Is it of benefit for a child to be identified as gifted and talented at a young age?
- How can gifted students be identified?
- What measures are used in Grand Prairie ISD to determine giftedness?
- Why does the district not use STAAR scores to determine GT placement?
- Who makes the decisions regarding identification of gifted children in Grand Prairie?
- What if parents are not satisfied with the Selection Committee's decision?
- I am new to GPISD, and my child was identified as being gifted in another state or in another district in Texas. Is he/she automatically placed into the gifted program? What is the process? Who do I contact?
- Once students have been identified as gifted in Grand Prairie ISD, will they have to re-qualify to continue in the program?
- Will gifted services look the same on every elementary campus?
- What happens if a child decides not to continue in the Gifted Program? May a child re-enter the gifted program at a later time?
- How can parents help meet the needs of their gifted child?
- Who is required to have professional development in Gifted Education?