The Mount Laurel School District is committed to providing gifted learners from all backgrounds the support and resources necessary to reach their full potential. Our gifted program delivers differentiated services designed to motivate and challenge students whose abilities differ significantly from their peers.
Students develop and utilize their gifts to become contributing members of an ever-changing global society.
Gifted learners come from all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and possess unique abilities. These learners exhibit the potential to achieve in intellectual, creative, or artistic areas They may possess strong leadership capacity or excel in specific academic fields. They are a unique segment of the district’s student population who require educational alternatives that teach, challenge, and expand their knowledge, while simultaneously developing their identity as independent and self-directed learners who continuously generate questions, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information and ideas.
The Gifted Academic Program (G.A.P.) actively supports the Mount Laurel School District’s commitment to academic and personal success for every student through the use of effective instructional practices, innovative resources, and ongoing professional staff development.
The Mount Laurel School District recognizes the special needs of gifted learners and offers a continuum of services which supports the entire school program through enriched and specialized learning opportunities to develop student skills in the following areas:
- Content Knowledge and Inquiry - Students engage in challenging learning experiences aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and conduct research and analysis and independent study.
- Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving - Students use higher level thinking to identify local and global real-world issues and to develop and communicate solutions to these problems.
- Leadership and Identity - Students build self-direction and independence through flexible learning experiences which empower students to pursue areas of interest and aptitude. Through self-reflection and work with peers, students develop a deeper understanding of community and responsibility.
- Social and Collaboration - Students continuously interact with peers and the broader school community. Affective education supports the unique social emotional needs of gifted learners.