Gifted
Hopewell Public Schools offers a continuum of services for students who have been identified as gifted through an identification and placement process.
Gifted students, who can be found in all ethnic and socioeconomic groups, represent a valuable resource whose abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment require special provisions to meet their educational needs. Hopewell Public School System recognizes the need to plan and implement differentiated programs for gifted students in grades 3-12.
Students in grades 3-12 are identified according to their general intellectual aptitude.
Grades K - 2
In kindergarten, first and second grade, all students are heterogeneously grouped and acceleration is based on individual records. Classroom teachers provide appropriate services through educational differentiation within the classroom.
Grades 3 - 5
In third, fourth and fifth grade gifted students have an opportunity to attend a Central Pull-Out (CPO) program. Students from all sections of the city are transported (school provides transportation) to Dupont Elementary School where they participate in a citywide self-contained gifted program. They have access to a variety of enrichment materials and opportunities for accelerated learning. The students and teachers are together for the academic portion of the school day (Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts). In cases when identified gifted students do not participate in the CPO program, provisions are made in their home school for the differentiation of instruction with the classroom and by the school’s gifted coordinator.
Grades 6 - 8
In middle school identified students are assigned to a team and receive instruction in cluster groups. The principal will place identified students in a single instructionally grouped class with a single team of teachers who provide acceleration based on individual needs. This acceleration is provided through differentiation in content area subjects or through acceleration by advancing students to a higher-grade level. Acceleration is available in the subjects of: English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. There is a gifted enrichment class offered as an elective for all identified students, The school’s gifted coordinator teaches the class. Students take this elective course daily for the entire year and receive a grade. The gifted enrichment class participates in a variety of activities designed to meet special needs of the gifted learner.
Grades 9 - 12
The high school program is two-fold. First, acceleration beyond the scope and sequence of the regular curriculum is prescribed. Second, attention is also focused on developing students’ high level thinking skills through an enriched medium which encourages academic studies and personal pursuits. In-class differentiation is provided by the regular classroom teacher. A full range of challenging courses, including Advanced Classes and Advanced Placement Classes are offered. All AP students are required to take AP achievement tests to receive class credit.
Students have the opportunity to participate in college level courses through additional program offerings.
Hopewell Public Schools offers opportunities for students who wish to participate in the adjudication and evaluation process for seats in both Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology and Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies. Acceptance in either program is based upon the number of slots available through Hopewell Public Schools, meeting entry requirements and participation in a competitive process conducted during the student’s eighth grade year.