Accelerated Programs and Gifted Education, K-12

Our Gifted Education Programs are designed to provide academic challenges by extending the Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS). These programs are tailored to meet the needs of gifted students at different educational levels:

• Elementary School: The program is known as FOCUS.
• Middle School: The program is called PROBE.
• High School: The program is referred to as Gifted Education and QUEST.

Program Structure

Elementary School (Grades K-5):

• Instruction is delivered through resource, cluster, and/or advanced content classes.

Middle and High School:

• Instruction is delivered through advanced content classes.

Student Identification and Placement

Students are identified and placed in gifted education programs based on criteria established by the Georgia General Assembly and the Georgia Board of Education.

• In-State Transfers: Students transferring from within Georgia will be placed in the Gwinnett program, provided their original placement was completed correctly.

• Out-of-State Transfers: Students must meet Georgia’s requirements. Parents should inform the school of their interest in the gifted education program during registration. The local gifted program teacher will review the student's educational records and discuss them with the parents.

For more information, contact your local school or call the Gifted Program office at (678) 301-7020.

Program Focus Areas

The gifted education program emphasizes five key areas:

1. AKS Extensions
2. Advanced Content
3. Research and Reference Skills
4. Communication Skills
5. Metacognition/Cognitive Strategy Development

Core Principles

At the heart of GCPS’s curriculum for gifted students are learning experiences that foster the development of thinking strategies and processes. Our instruction aims to:

• Enable students to make informed decisions.
• Help students understand and apply complex concepts.
• Promote the ability to make reasonable judgments.
• Develop problem-solving skills.

By focusing on these core principles, we prepare gifted students to excel academically and develop critical thinking skills that will benefit them throughout their educational journey and beyond.