Question 4A - Facilities Improvements
Standard-aligned Advanced Learning Plan
The Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) is a legal document [22-20-R-12.00, C.R.S.] outlining programming for identified gifted students and is used as a guide for educational planning and decision-making. The Exceptional Children’s Educational Act states that there will be ALP content and procedures set in Rule for statewide implementation; and that goals in the ALP are standards-aligned.
The WHY: The Advanced Learning Plna is a written record of a student's body of evidence, strenghts, learning goals, and programming that suports a meaningful education necessary for the continuous development and growth of gifted and talented students. The purpose of gifted programming is to provide students challenge, growth, and rigor in their area(s) of stregnth as deteremined by data. Student programming is driven by the information recorded in the Advanced Learning Plan (ALP). Alignment to assessment data is a way to see articulation in programming as it grows from year to year to ensure a series of connected goals that help the student thrive over time.
The HOW: Canon City Schools develop and use a local process that meets conditions of the ECEA Rules, designed to create relevancy for gifted and talented students. This process includes collabroative methods for the writing, housing, monnitoring, data extraction, and reports of each ALP.
The four pillars of the Standard-aligned ALP include:
- Strengths (student data driven)
- Standards (based on strengths and interests)
- Student-focused and directed and drives learning in classroom
- Differentiated instruction to ensure GROWTH (learning vs. performance)
Steps in the Process:
1. Gifted and talented specialist meets with student to review the process
2. Student meets with classroom teacher to review standards and craft SMART learning goal
3. Gifted and talented specialist meets with student and parents and ALP is written
4. Progress monitoring occurs between all parties
Sample Standard:
Content Area: Reading
Standard 2: Reading for All Purposes
Grade Level Expectations: Fifth Grade
Concepts and skills students master: Effective communication requires speakers to express an opinion, provide information, describe a process, and persuade an audience
Sample Goal: Reading:
_______will use complex informational text to compare and contrast the overall instruction (comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts, and analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent. Student will write a five paragraph compare/contrast essay using all six steps of the writing process. Student will create a visual representation to accompany work.
Student will be asked to be an active participant in the ALP process by writing an academic goal with the classroom teacher and an affective goal with the GATE specialist.
Academic Goals:
- SMART format
- Support student's area of strength and/or interest
- Aligned with tiered classroom instruction
Affective Goals:
- Reflect development of personal, social, communication, leadership, and/or cultural competency
ALP communication:
- By September 15 - Parents should receive communication about the ALP process, the timeline for writing and implementing ALPs at the school.
- By Winter Break - All parents of identified gifted learners will receive a final copy of the ALP.
*Development of the ALP for new students within 60 school days of enrollment.
**Progress monitoring of academic and affect goals occurs quarterly
