Gifted/Talented

Welcome to the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Program!

Elementary School District 159 recognizes and embraces academically advanced students.  Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, full-day gifted and talented education classes have been created for students in grades 3 through 8. Effective the 2018-2019 school year, a second grade GATE classroom has been added. Students who have been invited to participate in our GATE Program have attained above average scores on the NWEA tests in both Reading and Math, the CogAT test of Cognitive Skills, and the Teacher Inventory Behavioral Checklist. 

Our goal is to meet each child’s educational needs so exceptional achievement in school will continue to flourish and offer the best chance for each child to reach their full potential and become college and career ready.  We are always reminded of the quote by Michael Baker, President of The Critical Thinking Mind which states, “If we teach children everything we know, their knowledge is limited to ours.  If we teach children to think, their knowledge is limitless.”

The culture of the learning environment in all GATE classes encourage and ensure that our students do not miss critical opportunities to develop to their full potential.  We develop an environment in all GATE classrooms which emphasize “No fear of failure.”  Students answer questions by analyzing, evaluating, connecting, applying, and reflecting the given information across all curricular areas.  They learn to justify their opinions, seek deeper understanding of complex ideas, think efficiently, and write concisely.  Since the program reaches students in grades 2 – 8, a learning continuum of critical thinking skills is developed throughout each subsequent grade level.