Tillamook School District's TAG program identifies students who are intellectually gifted and/or academically talented in reading and math, as demonstrated by standardized tests, teacher and parent rating scales, anecdotal information, and work samples, as well as through additional screening.

Mission

The mission of the Tillamook School District is to prepare our students with the academic, artistic, and social skills necessary to become positive contributors to a changing world

Gifted students will

• become analytical thinkers, creative producers, and practical problem solvers,
• develop and demonstrate individual confidence and personal responsibility, and
• use their gifts to contribute to the betterment of their community

Differentiation in curricula, instruction, and assessment will

• stimulate and challenge gifted students to expand their intellectual horizons,
• emphasize advanced, conceptually challenging, in-depth, destinctive, and complex content,
• be specific to individual student's assessed levels and accelerated rates of learning, and
• prepare students to become responsible, broad-minded, contributing members of a diverse society.

Gifted Children

• Gifted children have an intense desire to explore and question their universe.
• Gifted students are different as learners, often demonstrate unique learning styles, and have academic, emotional, and social needs that must be recognized and nurtured in school.
• Gifted children must be seen as average with gifts, not as superior with faults.

Importance of Gifted Education

• The goal of the gifted education program is to provide a differentiated curriculum for academically gifted students in the areas of thinking, performance, and research skills, as well as affective awareness necessary to meet their needs.
• Gifted education provides interventions to accommodte the child's passion for learning and their need for creative expression.
• Gifted and talented students need a rigorous and relevant curriculum delivered in a creative, flexible, and supportive instructional environment.

Diversity

• Gifted children are diverse compared to their chronological peers due to their elevated intellectual and creative abilities, and need support and validation from those who nurture their giftedness.
• Giftedness knows no boundaries of socioeconomic class, gender, or race.

Environment

• Gifted children need to associate with their intellectual peers to stimulate learning and contribute to affective development.
• Appropriate learning environments and strategies foster success providing challenging and rigorous activities that enhance self-esteen.
• Positive self-esteen enhances lifelong learning and future succes

Parents

• Gifted education supports and values the important role of the family in their child reaching his/her full potential.

Partnerships

• The partnership of home, school, and community is crucial to the success of gifted children.