Gifted & Talented
Enrollment in honors-designated courses in the core subjects – Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies – is reserved first for GT Center students. Students with Advanced Learning Plans (ALPs) may enroll in honors-designated courses pending available space in the course.
All students with an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) take an elective once per year that is specifically tailored for the affective and academic needs. They are also offered open library/lab time by grade level during Advise once or twice a month to work on tasks related to their goal or other individual or small group activities.
Course Designations
While all students receive differentiated instruction, the only courses offered with an Honors designation in the course name are English/Language Arts and Social Studies. All of our Science courses are designated as STEM; national course naming standards permit the use of STEM or Honors, not both.
Students that qualify via math placement tests given in the spring may accelerate faster than the traditional math pathway followed in our district via compacted math courses (Math 6/7 and Math 7/8) that allow students to take Algebra in eighth grade (one-year acceleration) or Algebra in seventh grade and Geometry in eighth grade (two-year acceleration). Please see the Curriculum page on our website for more information on math pathways.
GT Center Application and Testing
The district offers just one testing window for GT Center placement in the following school year. The 2024-2025 GT Center testing application is open from early August 2023 through 4 pm on October 13, 2023; testing will take place on Saturday, October 14 or Saturday, October 28. More information and the application are available on the district's Gifted & Talented page.
We have additional information for families on the identification process for the GT Center programs offered at Evergreen and West Jefferson Middle Schools at GT Center Application Process WJMS / Evergreen.
GT Gazette
Jeffco Gifted & Talented publishes a quarterly newsletter with articles of interest about GT programming in Jeffco, helpful ideas for families of gifted learners and information on upcoming GT-related events. The latest issue is made available in English and Spanish on the GT Gazette page of the Jeffco Gifted & Talented website.
GT Online Academy
6th, 7th and 8th grade students with Advanced Learning Plans that are not enrolled in a GT Center program may take up to three of their core academic courses through Jeffco Virtual Academy's GT Online Academy while remaining enrolled at their neighborhood school. The courses are taught by GT-certified teachers and are designed with the unique academic and social-emotional needs of gifted learners in mind. Honors English/Language Arts, Honors Science, Honors Social Studies, Math 7/8, and Algebra 1 will be offered in the 2023-2024 school year. Please visit the GT Online Academy website for additional information on courses and registration.
Summer Programs
Programs that advertise to our district's gifted and talented students include:
- Center for Bright Kids summer programs at Colorado School of Mines
- GT Sparks for elementary and middle school students at Golden High School and Ignite for middle school students at Wheat Ridge High School
- Space Voyage at Summit Ridge Middle School
- Summer Enrichment Program at the University of Northern Colorado
Gifted & Talented in Jeffco
The Jeffco Public Schools Gifted and Talented (GT) Department’s vision is to Actualize Learners’ Potential for gifted and high-ability learners through a focus on access, equity, inclusion and diversity. All students deserve an education that provides meaningful growth academically, socially and emotionally.
Each year, every second grader in Jeffco takes The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) which measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative and nonverbal questions. The results of this test inform teachers which students may be identified as gifted and talented.
What Is A Gifted Student?
GT students are learners between the ages of four and 21 whose abilities, talents or potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special educational programming. Children under five who are gifted may also receive early childhood special educational services.
Gifted students include students from all backgrounds who have exceptional abilities or potential. Gifted students are capable of exceptional performance, production or learning behavior and have one or more of these areas of giftedness:
Areas of giftedness
- Intellectual abilities
- Specific academic skills
- Creative or productive thinking
- Leadership abilities
- Visual arts, performing arts or musical abilities
- Physical skills
The 2024 Fall GT Center application is now open.
Advanced Learning Plan
WJMS develops an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) to guide programming for every identified gifted student.