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· Children’s success in school and in life is everyone’s responsibility. Children, families, schools and communities all need to be prepared to support success.
· Each child is unique with individual patterns for learning and growth. Such differences may require adaptations of traditional education.
· When entering the educational system, many children have already developed the basic skills other students have yet to be taught. Educational experiences must be available to all children and appropriately geared to the academic ability and potential of each child.
· Equal educational opportunity does not mean providing the same education for every child but providing the opportunities through which every child can maximize his or her individual potential.
· Research has indicated that challenging teaching and learning is critical for all children. Talents develop when the environment challenges and stimulates the innate ability of the person.
· Research-based concepts can maximize the potential in all students, in particular, advanced students.
· Successful educational planning requires positive collaboration between parents and educators. It requires a conscious, systematic selection of services and strategies.
· Loss of talent through educational neglect can be a tragic waste for both the individual and in turn for society. Leaders, problem solvers, and complex thinkers are vital for society’s progress.
· The information presented within this toolkit is based on a vast body of research that spans 100 years in the field of gifted education that highlights what does and what does not work for advanced learners.
· If a goal of educational institutions is to produce well-educated, self confident, productive, life-long learners, it is necessary to review the synthesis of research-based strategies that have proven successful for this particular population.
· Although the synthesis of the research supports the instructional needs of the advanced learners, these strategies also provide support and opportunities for more meaningful student engagement for all students, especially those in systems that currently focus on the more traditional “at risk” student population.
· The research-based strategies can support local district initiatives such as school improvement, the Multi Tier System of Supports (MTSS) framework, individualized education plans (IEP) and others.
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