The Montville Township Public Schools will recognize and challenge the unique special needs, talents, and abilities of all students,encourage students to be active learners, and address the needs of learners with exceptional abilities. Therefore, the Montville Township Public Schools has established a gifted and talented program that assists the classroom teachers’ efforts to:

• Provide gifted students with the opportunity to interact and collaborate with peers of like ability

• Provide differentiated learning experiences appropriate for students’ level of ability

• Provide gifted students with opportunities to explore concepts, ideas, and topics that extend beyond the traditional grade level curricula

• Provide challenging and stimulating projects that encourage the growth of creative, critical thinking, and problem solving abilities

The mission of the Montville Township Public Schools is to ensure that the needs of all students are met, including those exhibiting unique learning needs, learning styles, depth and complexity of understanding, and potential; whose intellectual capacity, rate of learning, and creative contributions outpace peers of similar chronological age. The school board recognizes that some students possess, or are capable of possessing, extraordinary learning ability and/or outstanding talents. Students of all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds are considered for participation in the gifted program, with multiple criteria used to select students.

• It is the responsibility of the school district to ensure the ongoing identification of gifted and talented children and to provide the educational services to meet their unique learning needs.

• It is the responsibility of the entire staff to meet the needs of gifted students by identifying their gifts and talents and developing those areas. These students demand learning experiences that are different from those outlined in the general education curriculum.

• Curricular modifications as described in the program design will occur primarily in the general education classroom or through accelerated coursework to provide continuous levels of challenge for all students.

Gifted and talented students are defined as those 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 program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.