Elementary Placement Process for GATE Identified Students Entering 4th Grade in 2012-13

ELEMENTARY PLACEMENT PROCESS FOR

INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED STUDENTS

REQUESTING THE SELF-CONTAINED GATE PROGRAM

Identified third graders applying for fourth grade GATE:

1.                   If more than four classes of qualified students request placement in the district-wide 4^th grade GATE self-contained classes, students will be rank-ordered for placement purposes.

a.       A rank order list by total score will be created.

b.       Should there be tying scores, a second level of ranking will take place using the higher subtest score; verbal or nonverbal.

For example, a student whose Total Score is 98th%ile, Verbal is 96^th%ile and Nonverbal is 99^th%ile would be ranked ahead of a student whose Total Score is 98^th%ile, Verbal is 98^th%ile, and Nonverbal is 98^th%ile.

2.                   Once the initial pool of students is established using the rank-order scores, students will be assigned to a GATE site based on geography. A student from the district pool is placed as close to their residence as is possible based on the rank order.  Generally, placement is assigned as follows:

·         identified students residing in the Montgomery and Pioneer areas, are placed in the GATE class at Pioneer;

·         identified students from Birch Lane who live East of Pole Line and those residing in the Korematsu area are placed in the GATE class at Korematsu;

·         identified students from Birch Lane who live West of Pole Line and those residing in the North Davis area are placed in the GATE class at North Davis; and

·          identified students residing in the Patwin and Willett areas, are placed in the GATE class at Willett.

If your child is not placed at his/her closest school he/she will not be considered for placement unless you have indicated a second choice. However, if you do select a second site, your child will not be moved to accommodate someone else who indicated only a first choice.

Placement preference is given to an incoming 4^th grader who has a sibling attending a self-contained GATE class at the same GATE site, if that student was selected in the initial pool by rank-order scores.

If any vacancies remain after all qualified Davis residents have been placed, qualified students attending Davis schools on interdistrict transfers (IDTs) will be placed by rank order. (Board Policy #5117: In the case of magnet programs, no student residing in the district may be displaced by a student living outside the district.)

3.                  Any vacancy that results from a student who declines his/her placement will be offered first to the highest ranked student who was placed outside his/her area.  If no one has been placed outside his/her area, the placement will be offered to the highest ranked student on the waiting list who indicated a willingness to attend the site with the opening.

·         NOTE: For example, if your child’s name is next on the list and there is a vacancy at NDE but you indicated that you will only accept Willett, that seat will be offered to the next student on the list whose family indicated NDE would be accepted.

4.         Requests for transfers between GATE schools from students within the district pool are then accommodated on a space available basis.

5          If you decline the site offered, your child will be placed on the waiting list according to his/her rank order score.  The waiting list remains active until March of the next school year.

6.         Anytime a space in a GATE self-contained class becomes available, a student in the program will be given priority to return to a closer school ahead of a student on the waiting list.

7.         Any student identified after class and waiting lists are finalized will be added to the bottom of the wait list by the date he/she qualified.  However, each March this list is updated by rank order.