Early Access

Gate Early

 

 

 

 

Considerations for Highly Gifted Early Access

Letter of Interest for Early Access MUST be submitted by the February 1, 2024 deadline (*no exceptions).

Early Access to Kindergarten and First Grade

The Canon City School District has Early Access enrollment for highly advanced gifted children under the age of six.  This option is not recommended for the majority of children.  This option is for the top .1% (1 out of 1,000) of children. Children who may be ready to enter school early:

  • generally reading books on their own, usually at least beginning chapter books.
  • writing their own stories that include multiple sentences.
  • able to do larger addition and subtraction problems, can count indefinitely, and may understand multiplication and division.
  • have appropriate social and emotional readiness
  • have exhausted the resources of preschool

There are several levels of screening to determine if a child would be a good candidate for early enrollment. 

  1.  First, speak with your child’s preschool teacher to find out if they feel your child would fit the criteria. All preschool directors have received training on the process. 

To begin the Early Access Process, remit a letter of intent on or before February 1 to:

Shyla Christiansen
Gifted and Talented Coordinator
490 North Diamond Ave.
Cañon City, CO 81212  

     2. Second, contact Shyla Christiansen in the Gifted Education Department at shyla.christiansen@ccsre1.org or 719-276-6168 for a brief interview and to pick up a Screening Portfolio packet. This packet explains the procedure and time frame, as well as the information that will need to collected to complete the process.  

Phase 1: Portfolio Screening
Phase 2: Interview
Phase 3: Achievement Assessment

 *Children that qualify for Early Access will be placed on an Advanced Learning Plan by September 30th and progress monitoring will occur every 5 weeks.