S.O.A.R. ~ Gifted & Talented at RVS
Scholastic Opportunities for Academic Rigor
"Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for
performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others
of their age, experience, or environment."
- US Department of Education, 1993.
SOAR classes meet twice a week and give students opportunities to engage in both self-directed and cooperative project-based learning. During Genius Hour time students are encouraged and challenged to think beyond the curriculum and develop projects that relate to their personal academic interests. Projects, competitions, and field-trips sponsored by the NJ Consortium for
Gifted and Talented Programs are also included in the SOAR curriculum. Students are pulled out of their regular education classes in order to attend S.O.A.R. and are responsible for all missed work. Typically, students come to S.O.A.R. twice per week.
Eligibility testing for the SOAR program will be conducted in the spring after. NJSLA testing for students in grades 3, 4, and 6.
The RVS Gifted and Talented Program is facilitated by Mrs. Barbach.
Determining qualification for the RVS G&T program is a multi-faceted process.
Determining qualification for the RVS G&T program is a multi-faceted process:
As required by the NJ Department of Education, students are compared with their peers. Students scoring in the top 5-10% of their class in the majority of the categories are considered to participate in the RVS SOAR Program in grades 3-8. Please review the criteria below that describe some of the different characteristics of gifted children.
Boonton Township District Policy for Gifted and Talented: Link Here
New Jersey's Definition of Gifted and Talented Students:
"Gifted and talented students" means those exceptionally able students who
possess or demonstrate high levels of ability, in one or more content areas,
when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who
require modification of their educational programs if they are to achieve in
accordance with their capabilities.
-NJAC 8-1.3
A Comparison of Gifted Children and Bright Children
"I am neither especially clever nor especially gifted. I am only very, very curious."
-Albert Einstein
~Janice Szabos, Challenge Magazine