Download Excitement in Limestone County Gifted Education

Krystle Landtroop
Resource Specialist
Limestone County Special Education Department
Excitement in Limestone County Gifted Education
Gifted Education takes flight in preparing Limestone County gifted students for their future. Our
gifted specialists take pride in equipping students with experiences they need to address their
level of knowledge. The teachers do all they can to prepare their students for the outside world
and get them ready to live and work in society. Some very exciting projects have taken place or
are going to take place this school year involving our gifted students.
Third and fourth grade students have been learning about the history of flight. Part of the
instruction included in this unit is flying kites, hot air balloons, gliders, and rockets. I had the
opportunity to go watch one of the classes launch their hot air balloons. Each student was
assigned a partner and they worked together to design a hot air balloon. All of the balloons were
very unique in the way they were designed. On launching day, the students were very excited!
Mr. Kennedy, one of our gifted specialists, went over the rules of launching the balloons while
the students listened intently. Each team had a chance to launch their balloon together with Mr.
Kennedy’s help. It was a windy day, making launching more difficult, but everyone’s balloon
flew with success. I could see the excitement on each child’s face. This was an experience they
will most likely always remember.
Another exciting project involving our senior gifted students is taking place right now.
Each year, as part of their curriculum, the senior gifted students participate in a Career
Mentorship Program. This program involves students doing extensive career research and
choosing a profession to work with during their internship. This experience is typically more indepth than other job shadowing experiences the students may have had because they are with
their professional/mentor for a longer period of time. The professions vary from year to year
depending on the interests of the students and the willingness and support of professionals. This
year, students are being placed with pediatricians, pharmacists, pediatric nurses, surgeons,
engineers, researchers, journalists, agriscience teachers and a dean of a local college. During
their job shadow experience, students are able to see what the professionals do on a typical or
not-so-typical day and ask questions about education requirements, job responsibilities, etc. to
help them decide if this is the profession for them. The students go to their job shadowing
location instead of attending their gifted classes so they don’t get too far behind in their school
work. Also, they have to receive permission from their school principal, teachers, and parents
prior to participating in this experience. When all students have completed their experiences,
they have an opportunity to share what they learned with their classmates and write thank you
letters to their mentors. This process is extremely time-consuming for the gifted specialist
because she has to call or e-mail various professionals to request this experience for her students.
The high school gifted specialist, Monica McConnell is very passionate that her students are
presented with this opportunity and willing to do whatever it takes to make this possible. Mrs.
McConnell stated “this is a great experience because either the students leave high school
knowing what they want to do or knowing that whatever profession they chose is not the right
choice for them.”
These are only a few of the many experiences gifted students in Limestone County
Schools receive. Our gifted specialists work diligently to provide their students with the learning
opportunities they need as well as making learning fun. As you can see, our gifted specialists are
very passionate about providing exceptional learning experiences for their students’ level of
knowledge.