La Porte Community School Corporation provides high-ability services for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. On this page, families can learn how students are identified, what services look like at each grade level, and who to contact with questions.

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Mission

The La Porte Community School Corporation strives to identify high-ability students and provide them with research-based best practices that give them opportunities to develop socially, emotionally, and academically. These opportunities provide students with educational pathways to become active contributors to our diverse, rapidly changing world.

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What "High Ability" Means

LPCSC follows Indiana's definition of high ability. Under Indiana Code 20-36-1-3, a high-ability student is one who performs at, or shows the potential for performing at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in at least one domain when compared with other students of the same age, experience, or environment, and who is characterized by exceptional gifts, talents, motivation, or interests.

Nationally, the terms academically talented, gifted and talented, high ability, and gifted are all used to describe these students. LPCSC uses "high ability" because the Indiana Department of Education uses that term.

LPCSC identifies students as high ability in three domains:

• General intellectual ability, which opens opportunities for acceleration and enrichment across subject areas.
• English language arts, which combines reading and language arts.
• Mathematics.

A student may be identified in one domain or in more than one.

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How We Serve Students

LPCSC follows the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, a research-based approach to gifted education. Under this model, enrichment opportunities are open to high-achieving students as well as to students formally identified as high ability. Formal identification determines placement in high-ability cluster groups and advanced courses, described by grade level below.

Depending on grade level, students may be served through:

• Enrichment, which explores grade-level standards in greater depth.
• Acceleration, which gives students opportunities to learn and practice skills above their current grade level, including dual credit and Advanced Placement coursework in high school.
• Cluster grouping, which places identified students together in a classroom with a teacher trained to serve them.
• Project-based learning, which engages students in extended, real-world problems and investigations.
• Differentiation and independent study, in which teachers adjust content, pace, and tasks to meet individual student needs.

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Contact

Amy Kosior Director of Student Services and High Ability Coordinator akosior@lpcsc.k12.in.us 219-326-6930, ext. 3