Services
The Gifted Helping Teacher:
Shares information and facilitates networking
- Organizes formal and informal learning opportunities around characteristics/traits/behaviours of gifted learners
- Raises awareness about intellectual and socio-emotional aspects of giftedness
- Facilitates professional development around strategies for supporting gifted students in the classroom
- Liaises among gifted contact teachers at each school, support teachers, classroom teachers,
- administrators, school psychologists, helping teachers, and other district personnel
Collaborates with support teachers
- Supports development of appropriate IEPs for gifted learners
- Consults to identify appropriate curricular adaptations
- Provides information about needs of twice-exceptional students (e.g., gifted with LD)
- Facilitates processes for screening, testing, and coding students as gifted learners
- Administers CCAT gifted screening in collaboration with school psychologists
- Attends school-based team meetings upon request
Collaborates with classroom teachers
- Supports teachers to recognize gifted behaviours/learners
- Suggests, models, and supports the use of curriculum delivery strategies that benefit all students while meeting the needs of gifted learners
- Dialogues with teachers on invitation to offer feedback or support on use of strategies
- Responds to questions or requests for information/resources
Provides connection to resources
- Collaborates with Elementary Challenge Teacher to develop elementary challenge programs and coordinates all challenge referrals
- Identifies and recommends useful websites/books/articles/teaching resources for teachers; maintains gifted resource library; updates SPARK
- Recommends books/websites/other resources for students/teachers/parents
- Communicates upcoming conferences/learning opportunities & facilitates student/teacher/parent participation
Liaises with community partners
- Represents SD42 at the Lower Mainland Gifted Contacts network
- Works with colleagues in other districts and university professors, and engages parent/student feedback, to evaluate and update service models
- Participates in local and provincial gifted professional/research/parent groups
- Organizes and facilitates learning opportunities for parents
- Attends and shares highlights of gifted education conferences
Provides direct service to students in these capacities
- Teaches and/or co-teaches in some of the elementary challenge programs each year
- Facilitates inquiry learning for high school students (Guided Inquiry)
- Organizes special events (e.g., after-school events for high school students)
- Follows students through significant transitions (e.g., Grade 7 to 8, graduation to post-secondary)
Contact Procedures
See the Staff page on this website or refer to the most recent District Directory (emailed to all staff several times per year) to find contact information for the Helping Teachers for Gifted and Talented Learners.