Mrs. Stutsman - Gifted and Talented Education Facilitator and Program Director
Program description:
Gifted children are gem stones. We need to search for them and be willing to dig in order to find them. Even though we may find something that's not shiny and polished, it is still a gem stone! It could even be a diamond!
We are building the program here at East, starting fresh this year. In order for a program to be successful, we must set a solid foundation to build upon. We are working hard to identify gifted and talented children who are among us to begin providing them with the support that they need and deserve.
Nomination and Identification Process:
The nomination for evaluation of giftedness is a lengthy process. It begins with a piece of evidence that a student demonstrates that stands out from the rest. This could be a high data score, (90th percentile or above) teacher and/or parent observations and anecdotal notes. After gathering preliminary information, the student's name will be discussed at TSST and a decision to nominate, or not nominate will be reached. If they become nominated, parent consent will be attained. Then the evaluation process may begin. To qualify for gifted services, a student must have: One qualitative score in the 95th percentile or above on a nationally normed Achievement or Ability test. (Examples: Cogats and Maps) Then they must have 2 of the 4 categories of qualitative data. The 4 possible categories include: Student Performance (example: CSAP and reading level) Motivation, Observable Student behaviors and Student Interest. Students who qualify are classified by their strength area. A student will be categorized in one of the following strength areas: Math gifted. Language Arts gifted. Both math and language arts gifted. Other type of giftedness - which includes non-verbal, leadership, creativity, spatial, visual or performing arts gifted. Parents, teachers, administrators and students work closely with Mrs. Stutsman to attain a body of evidence to fully support these categories and come to a placement or non-placement decision.
Services:
After identifying the unique needs of students grades K-5, each student who has qualified for gifted and talented services will be discussed at TSST to make the best decision on how to meet their idiosyncratic needs. Mrs. Stutsman will collaborate with each teacher to assist in supporting their GT needs while they are in the general classroom. GT math acceleration class is in place every day for 4th and 5th graders. Mrs. Workman teaches the pull out group on Mondays and Fridays and Mrs. Stutsman teaches Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We will begin a GT Writing program when we return from spring break. Mrs. Stutsman will also be providing math acceleration for 2nd grade and 1st grade GT math students. As we identify new students, services reflect their needs and will continue to grow as our program grows.
All staff members, parents and students will be working as a cohesive team striving for the same goal for each child - to focus on the whole child development and to plan for the creative, social-emotional, and intellectual growth of each gifted and talented student.
Meet Mrs. Stutsman:
I am so excited to be a member of East's community and family! I have always enjoyed working with children of all ages and am eager to meet and get to know every student here at East. I graduated from the University of Denver in June 2003 (class of 2004) with my BA in Psychology, minoring in Sociology and Photography with an emphasis in Human Communications. I then began teaching in many different realms, exploring the field of education and all of its possibilities. One of those experiences was teaching at the Ricks Center for Gifted Children at the University of Denver. I co-taught in a combined classroom of 3rd and 4th graders for the 2005-2006 school year while I began my graduate degree. I enrolled in a combined licensure and masters program at the University of Denver . I attained my Colorado state teaching license for grades K-6 in May 2006 and my Masters Degree in Elementary Education specializing in Gifted and Talented Education in June 2007. I chose to substitute teach across the districts of Littleton, Denver and Jeffco for the 2006-2007 school year. Going to a new school every day was a marvelous experience from which I learned so much! I just got married, July 27, 2007 and love being a newlywed. Some of the students know me from last year as Miss. Weber and sometimes call me by that name. Last year I was able to get to know some of the students here at East when I was a long term substitute teacher for Mrs. Chalfin. I enjoy spending time with my new husband, family and friends, our puppies and birds. :)
My door is always open if you have any questions, concerns or simply want to learn more about gifted education and how it may affect your student. Please don't hesitate to contact me.
Hours: 8am to 3pm Tues, Weds and Thursday
Phone: 303-734-3109
E-mail: estutsman@lps.k12.co.us