Exceptional Education

We want all Wesley students to have the resources and tools to thrive and excel in all areas.

A young girl with braided hair rests her head on her arm as she writes in a notebook on a wooden desk, with blurred figures and chairs in the background.

The Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program serves students identified as gifted through our testing process and provides resources and support to teachers to develop and nurture the gifts and talents of all their students.

Wesley utilizes the Cluster Model for PYP (Grades K-5) and the Collaboration Model and Advance Content for MYP (Grades 6-8) gifted identified students.

What is giftedness?

The National Association for Gifted Children defines gifted in this way: “Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).” For more on this conversation on the use of “giftedness,” see this discussion from the National Association for Gifted Children.

Steps To Being Evaluated

Step 1

Students are evaluated for the GATE program via Automatic Referral, Teacher Referral, and/or Parent Referral. There is a specific window for referrals, and if you would like for your child to be evaluated, you will receive instructions via parent communications for how to submit a referral during that time.

Requests must be made during the referral window, and once a request has been received, notification will be sent for a “Parent Informational Meeting.” The referral and testing period will extend over a two-three month period, and then all students will be notified of their eligibility or ineligibility. The “Screening and Referral FAQ” from APS addresses questions regarding testing. Please note that because Wesley is a charter school, we have flexibility with our timeline for referrals, testing, and notification.

Step 2

The next step is to attend the scheduled Parent Information Session and sign the “Permission to Evaluate.”

Gifted Testing Timeline and Resources: This slideshow provides parents/guardians with access to the testing timeline and resources. Please take some time to review the data at your own leisure if your child was referred for gifted testing either through a parent, teacher, and/or automatic referral.* Please reach out to Dr. Melanie Dukes if you are unsure as to whether or not your child was referred.

*Please note that all parents/guardians have been notified of their child’s referral and all forms of referral are now closed.

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Exceptional Education

We want all Wesley students to have the resources and tools to thrive and excel in all areas.

What is giftedness?

Steps To Being Evaluated

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

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