Early Entrance, Grade Acceleration, and Gifted Programs
Students with advanced learning needs are served in a three-tiered system of support. Most students have their advanced needs met by their teacher using the District’s rigorous curriculum, individualizing work projects, and strategically grouping students for small group classroom work. Students with skills that are too advanced for this level of support participate in our Accelerated Math Program. This program is provided to top performing math students and instructs students with materials that are one grade level higher than the student’s current grade. Students with more profound advanced learning needs are selected for the District’s self-contained gifted program. Gifted program classrooms are housed at Stuart R. Paddock School, serve only students identified by the District as gifted, and target students in grades 3 to 5. In grades 6-8, advanced math courses and accelerated English/Language Arts classes are available.
District 15 may provide accelerated programming for highly-advanced students who demonstrate skill levels that are well above grade-level expectations. Accelerated programming is commonly referred to as early entrance, grade skipping, or accelerated placement.
In 2018, the Illinois legislature passed the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act (Public Act 100-0421). This act allows Illinois public school districts to include early entrance to kindergarten and first grade, and to provide grade accelerations (often referred to as grade skipping) for all grades. This process is reserved for students that demonstrate highly advanced skills, but do not meet the District’s regular age requirements for the desired grade (typically, children must turn five by September 1 to enroll in Kindergarten, and turn six by September 1 to enroll in first grade).
District 15 defines accelerated placement as:
- The placement of a child in an educational setting with curriculum that is typically reserved for children who are older or in higher grades than the child.
- This includes, but is not limited to, the following types of acceleration: early entrance to kindergarten or first grade, acceleration of a child in a single subject or for a whole grade.
The District uses an evaluation process to determine if a student qualifies for an accelerated placement.