NEWS RELEASE: Roseville Community Schools Revamps Gifted and Talented Program

After a year hiatus due to the pandemic, Roseville Community Schools has brought their elementary Gifted and Talented Program back to the classroom. There are 115 students participating in the program, which meets once a week at Kment Elementary.

Beginning this year, the program has transitioned to focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Sheryl Vitale, teacher of the Gifted and Talented Program, believes the STEAM curriculum is important for students because it engages their minds and equips them with the four C’s: critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration skills. “STEAM provides an interdisciplinary approach to learning. It makes learning ‘real’ and gives kids the opportunity to connect the content they’re studying to the application of that content in authentic and relevant ways.” She added that she wants to help students develop skills that make for a well-rounded individual who will be able to contribute to society in a very positive way. “I want them to develop a growth mindset, be resilient, have perseverance, and be able to take risks, to be comfortable with productive failure.”

The Gifted and Talented STEAM curriculum aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards. There will also be an emphasis on the Engineering Design Process, which is a series of steps that engineers follow to find a solution to a problem. Classroom challenges provide a hands-on, constructivist approach to learning. Some of the challenges scheduled for this school year include:

• energy study, which includes building circuits to provide electricity to a mini house and solar vehicles
• coding using Rockstar Guitar from littleBits
• forces and motion related to theme parks and roller coasters
• motion and stability, including an egg drop challenge

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Curriculum David Rice said that the year hiatus due to the pandemic made this the ideal time for the program to shift to a STEAM-based curriculum. “Many careers in today’s world focus on these five factors, and anything we can do for our students in this area will help level the playing field for them as they progress through school and beyond. The elementary gifted and talented program will continue to take the lead as we move forward with our STEAM programs district-wide.”  

Roseville’s Gifted and Talented Program, which began in the 1970s, is for students in grades 3-5 throughout the district who are eligible for accelerated learning. Students qualify for the program based on a number of different of criteria, including but not limited to state assessment scores, iReady scores, grades, attendance, and teacher recommendations. Vitale has been teaching in Roseville for the past 25 years.  She spent her first 15 years teaching middle school science and social studies before moving on to serve as one of the district’s science enrichment auxiliary teachers in the elementary schools.  She said that she is excited for the new challenge.  “I am truly looking forward to a generation of students that are not afraid to work hard, articulate strengths and weaknesses, and take productive risks to solve problems, all while using the Engineering Design Process.”

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