Special Education Programs

Gifted And Talented Education Programs

Students can be officially identified for the GATE program as early as the end of kindergarten, but typically identification occurs in 3rd grade. The student is referred to the GATE committee, which at Chatsworth Park UPM consists of a teacher, GATE coordinator, a parent, and the principal. Students whose abilities fall into one or more categories below may be considered for Gifted/Talented Programs.

• • Intellectual Ability
  • High Achievement 
  • Specific Academic Ability 
  • Creative Ability
  • Leadership Ability
  • Ability in the Performing or Visual Arts

In LAUSD, the OLSAT-8 (Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, Eighth Edition) is also administered to all second grade students in general education classrooms.  The OLSAT-8 is a nationally standardized, norm-referenced, group administered measure of verbal and non-verbal school abilities and is used to determine gifted eligibility in the high achievement category.

State guidelines require that differentiated instruction for gifted/talented students build on the core curriculum and supplement it, therefore the gifted/talented “program” takes place within the student’s classroom. Differentiated instruction occurs when the core curriculum is modified and includes acceleration, pacing, levels of complexity, depth, and novelty with expectations for student production that are appropriate to individual learning interests, assessed needs, and abilities. Teachers receive professional development in educational programs that take into account each student's interests, talents and special abilities and to afford them opportunities for high-level thinking, creative expression, and self-understanding frequently at a learning pace beyond age or grade level as compared to that of their peers.