SAS Program

What are Schools for Advanced Studies?
Schools for Advanced Studies demonstration sites receive the SAS designation for their exemplary Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) implementation. The Schools for Advanced Studies designation, initially implemented in the 1998–1999 school year, was created to acknowledge exemplary school models of innovative, equitable, and effective GATE practices districtwide. By providing high-quality differentiated instruction with an emphasis on depth, complexity, acceleration, and novelty, SAS sites offer high-level academic opportunities that meet the unique educational needs of K–12 gifted learners, identified in the Intellectual, High Achievement, Specific Academic, Creative and Leadership Ability categories or verified based on critical thinking/achievement. Resident schools must undergo a rigorous application process every five years to obtain or maintain the SAS designation.

What are the goals of the instructional program?

The goal of Gifted/Talented Programs is to identify gifted and talented students, including those from diverse racial, socioeconomic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, and to provide high-quality differentiated opportunities for learning that develop and advance students’ unique abilities and talents.

How are Teachers Trained?
Gifted/talented learners must be taught by knowledgeable teachers, skilled in differentiating curriculum, and instruction to support and advance their learning. As such, GATE professional development–specialized training about gifted/talented learners and how they learn best–is an essential and ongoing part of the expectations for SAS teachers and administrators. Each school’s GATE program must be supported by administrators, GATE coordinators, and instructional support staff with developed expertise in GATE. SAS teachers and administrators are required to participate annually in professional development specifically tailored to address the unique academic and social-emotional needs of gifted/talented learners to ensure that the curriculum and instruction (content, process, and product) are thoughtfully differentiated to promote a culture of rigor, achievement, and innovation.