Lisa Riggs, the Administrator of Gifted and Talented Education Programs in Washoe County, sent us the following information about the programs, including SWAS (School Within A School):

The WCSD Gifted and Talented Program staff may consider a student for immediate placement if the student qualified for GT services in another district or state with test scores at or above the 98th percentile on an individually administered general intellectual ability test. Documentation of prior test scores is required and must be evaluated by WCSD GATE Education Program Administrative Review Team.

If the student’s out-of-district’s test scores are below the 98th percentile on an individually administered test of general intellectual ability, the student must be evaluated and/or retested utilizing WCSD GT eligibility criteria. Parent authorization must be completed prior to testing. Required WCSD procedures for testing/identification are followed once the parent/guardian signature is obtained.

If the test results of a psychologist outside the WCSD are used, we require the entire report be forwarded to this program for consideration. Requests for information from other agencies and individuals must come in writing from the student’s parents. All information and forms can be found on the GATE website.

School Within A School (SWAS) is a gifted program for 3-6 graders at three magnet sites within the district for students who are identified as Highly Gifted- those learners possessing a full-scale IQ score of 99.5%ile or higher. The SWAS program is a self-contained classroom meeting the needs of these students in lieu of their regular classroom placement. The District provides transportation for SWAS students.

WCSD GATE Program Believes: A Highly Gifted Child is a Child with Special Needs

  • General classrooms unable to provide support services
  • The more the child’s abilities vary from the norm, the greater the need for an individually tailored program and support
  • Benefit from special provisions and teachers with special training
  • Gifted Learners have the right to learn new concepts in school everyday
SWAS Classrooms Provide:
  • Differentiation for Core Content matches Students Needs
  • Pacing should be Flexible
  • Students should have a programming option instead of accelerating into another year
  • Students educated with intellectual peer group in a multi-aged classroom
  • Students with Academic Peers in a Multi-age Classroom
  • Research conducted shows marked academic achievement gain across all subject areas in a full-time program
  • Psychologist Support
  • Technology Grant Implemented
  • Accelerated Curriculum
  • Affective Focus for Social-Emotional Growth utilizing the Autonomous Learner Model, Dr. George Betts
  • Interdisciplinary Units
    • Full range of disciplines in the curriculum: Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, the Arts, Music, and Science
    • Differentiated Instruction
    • Critical Thinking Skills
    • Character Education
    • Multiple Intelligences
    • Brain Research
    • Constructivist/Hands-on Project-Centered Learning
    • State Defined Benchmarks and Standards
    • Rotation of Content-at students’ level