Gifted Education

Our curriculum is designed to meet the unique needs of gifted children, offering dynamic grouping and tools that individualize and accelerate learning in areas of strength while also supporting their social-emotional development—all within a classroom setting with peers of a similar age range.

Families with gifted children value our diverse environment, where their child learns alongside neurotypical classmates. Since gifted learners often have more complex learning profiles and social-emotional needs, choosing the right school involves many important considerations. As you explore options for your gifted or twice-exceptional child, here are some questions that can help guide your decision.

  • Giftedness is a form of asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases the higher the intellectual capacity. Children with this kind of learning and personality profile require modifications in parenting and teaching in order to develop optimally.

  • The program and curriculum are designed around the needs of gifted and other high-achieving learners, with the understanding that deeper and more connected learning strategies and curricula are essential for gifted learners and are good pedagogical practices for all children. The program emphasizes learning by exploration and through a wide range of educational strategies, underpinned by a strong social-emotional curriculum.

  • We use a curriculum designed with tools for acceleration and depth of learning. Students are given the opportunity to explore areas of interest in greater depth to satisfy their sense of discovery while tying concepts to the real world and helping students see relevance to their lives. Some gifted learners may be autodidactic in areas of strength or interest; these areas can be accelerated where appropriate.

  • We use like-learner grouping for reading, writing, spelling, and math. With this approach, students are grouped based on their academic level (not necessarily by grade level). Conversely, in science and social studies, we use a Project-Based Learning approach, grouping children by grade level (not always by ability level). We believe it is important for gifted students to work with a wide variety of peers, and doing a messy science project, for example, doesn’t require all the children to read or do math at the same level.

  • Leadership Notebooks and individual SMART goal setting—a hallmark of the WHPS program—enable students to work at their own advanced pace in areas of strength and define clear, specific goals for success in all areas. Students are grouped with like-learners, based on their learning needs and social-emotional levels. Adjustments are made for individual learning styles and personalities.

Areas of Giftedness

Below are six of the most common areas of giftedness. Within the academic realms, students typically have certain areas of strength and interest where they are the most passionate and likely to excel.

  • Leadership

  • General Intellectual Ability

  • Specific Academic Ability

  • Psychomotor

  • Creative Thinking

  • Visual & Performing Arts

  • It is important for parents, teachers, and schools to understand that one size does not fit all for gifted children. Even two same-age children with similar IQ scores may not have similar skills, personalities, rates of development, abilities, or interests. The individual traits of one gifted child may be extremely different from another. And, the more highly gifted, the more asynchronous their development is likely to be.

  • There are five areas in which gifted children exhibit intense behaviors, also known as OEs: psychomotor, sensual, emotional, intellectual, and imaginational. Gifted children tend to have multiple intensities, although one is usually dominant. The social-emotional curriculum and learning environment are designed with these OEs in mind, and the school works with each family to identify and support children in these areas.

  • WHPS does not require gifted testing or IQ testing. IQ on its own does not change the instructional approach. We believe it is more important to work with each child to understand and develop individual strengths, interests, and areas of giftedness. Often, a formal evaluation of intellectual function can help inform individual student goals or adjustments to the program. If your child has not already had an evaluation, we have a list of professionals to whom we refer our families. Before pursuing a formal evaluation, we suggest meeting with our Principal, Preschool Director, or Head of School to discuss your questions and goals so we can match you with the right professional.

  • We screen new applicants and work with the family to determine if our program would be a good fit and to determine the ideal class placement. The admissions screening includes a student and family interview, as well as a battery of assessments looking at cognitive strengths, processing, memory, executive functioning, and other areas depending on age/grade level.