- Winchester Public Schools
- Overview
Welcome to Gifted & Personalized Education
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The Winchester Public Schools K-12 Gifted (EXCEL) program emphasizes EXcellence, Creativity, Enrichment, and Leadership. Appropriate learning pathways are provided to gifted students through a continuum of services and options. Learning opportunities are designed to be open-ended so that they may be tailored to the talents and interests of students. The goal is to engage students in comprehensive study for which the rate of learning, content, and high level processing skills are adjusted to provide an individualized program commensurate with the needs of each intellectually gifted student.
Teachers are trained to look for gifted characteristics in all students, but students may also be referred to the EXCEL program by parents, community members, professional school staff, student self nomination, or peer nomination. All 2nd grade students are assessed using a universal screener during the month of January.
Gifted Identification
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WPS invites referrals for gifted identification twice a year, once during the fall and once during the spring.
FALL: Grades 3-12 - Referrals submitted October 7-16, 2020
SPRING: Grades 2-12 - Referrals submitted March 1-10, 2021Download the Gifted Referral Form or contact your child's teacher.
Information and Forms
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2020-2021 CogAT Screening Information (2nd Grade)
During the window of January 19 - February 18, your child will be administered the online version of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). This is a screening measure that is administered to all WPS second grade students as part of the district wide identification process for gifted services. Specific dates and times will be determined by each school building. Please make every effort to have your child attend during the testing weeks, paying specific attention to the testing dates and times for your child’s class.
Contact Information
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Jake Boula
Director of Elementary & Intermediate Instruction
boulaj@wps.k12.va.us
540-667-4253
Michele Dempsey Herrmann
K-12 Instructional Specialist
for Gifted Education
herrmannm@wps.k12.va.us
540-662-3945Felicia Andre
Administrative Assistant
andref@wps.k12.va.us
540-667-4253For additional information, contact your child's school principal or the Department of Instruction.