Programs Curriculum

The School District of Clayton’s School Counseling program focuses on teaching students the competencies that are critical to their continued social, emotional and academic growth and development.

Through regular, planned activities led by the District’s professionally certified guidance counselors, students learn about career planning and exploration, knowledge of self and others, and educational and vocational development.

In addition to meeting students’ immediate and critical needs, the District’s School Counseling program provides a full range of activities and services for Clayton students and their families. These activities include assessment, consultation, counseling, referrals, college counseling, placement, follow-up and follow-through.

Clayton’s School Counseling program is based on a team approach; while professionally certified school counselors are central to the program, all school staff members are involved. School counselors not only provide direct services to students, but they also work in consultative and collaborative relationships with other members of the School Counseling team, members of the school staff, parents/guardians and members of the community.

Listed below are the Enduring Understandings of the Guidance curriculum.  These are statements that summarize important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline and have lasting value beyond the classroom.

Enduring Understandings

It is important to acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to become responsible citizens, productive workers and lifelong learners.

• What can we learn about our past to influence our future?
• How does one envision a future and make the necessary plans to attain it?
• What interpersonal and intrapersonal skills are necessary to constructively participate in a changing global community?

• K-5 Curriculum Map
• 6-8 Curriculum Map

The goal of the Clayton gifted program is to support the development of a student’s critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. In addition, the program works closely with families to support the unique social and emotional needs of this particular population.  Academic acceleration is not part of the gifted program. If a child requires academic acceleration, you can review the District’s acceleration policy.

As a part of the gifted program, we believe:

Giftedness is more than just being “smart”; there are common characteristics encompassing giftedness. When students have a deeper understanding of all facets of their abilities, they can more easily extend grace and compassion, both inward and outward.

Gifted students can experience profound frustration due to their neurodivergence and/or asynchronicity which can cause them to experience the world more intensely than their neurotypical peers.

While affective challenges are not unique to gifted individuals, they tend to appear more pronounced in gifted learners and require targeted interventions for support. 

All students enrolled in Clayton schools are administered a universal screener in grades 1, 3, and 5. For students who meet the District criteria, additional assessments are administered, and those who demonstrate a learning need are eligible to begin gifted services at the start of the following semester. 

• Fall testing and qualification = Gifted services begin in January
• Spring testing and qualification = Gifted services begin in August

Listed below are the Enduring Understandings of the Gifted curriculum.  These are statements that summarize important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline and have lasting value beyond the classroom.

• Students identified as gifted are continually focusing on increasing their self-actualization.
• Students identified as gifted engage in a free and open exchange of ideas with their gifted-identified peers who may experience the world similarly.
• Students identified as gifted bravely face failure and proactively welcome challenges in order to grow and stretch their abilities.
• Students identified as gifted embrace their learning needs and advocate for themselves when warranted so they can feel confident and capable in almost any situation.
• Students identified as gifted employ strategies that support their specific learning or affective challenges to capitalize on available opportunities for learning and growth.
• Students identified as gifted elevate their problem-solving abilities through critical and creative thinking experiences that will help them uncover the best solutions to a given problem.

The curriculum for Clayton’s gifted classes is focused on developing a student’s demonstrated talent for metacognition (thinking about one’s thinking), mainly focusing on critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. Students also explore social-emotional learning skills like anxiety, intensities, perfectionism, procrastination, imposter syndrome, identity, social skills, and more. This work aligns with the District’s Profile of the Graduate.

Gifted Program Curriculum Map

What advanced offerings do children in the gifted program receive? 

The goals of the District’s gifted program are to support students socially and emotionally in the areas of critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. While many students may have advanced academic needs, these are addressed through differentiated instruction in the classroom.

If my child was identified as gifted in another district, does that transfer to Clayton?

No. Unlike IEPs, gifted services do not transfer from district to district. All students who receive gifted services in Clayton must qualify using our district’s criteria. If your child was identified as gifted in a previous district, they are eligible to bypass our screening process. They will move forward for individual evaluation the semester they begin in Clayton. Proof of previous gifted services is required (transcript, qualifying letter, report card, etc.). If a student is new to the district in middle school and was not previously identified as gifted, they will need to wait one school year from enrolling to be screened. New middle school students who were identified as gifted in their previous district may bypass the screener and move forward with testing the semester they enroll in Clayton.

How are gifted services structured (grades 2-12)?

• Elementary Services - 150 minutes of pull-out instruction per week
• Middle School Services - Elective class that meets every other day for 85 minutes
• High School Services - Elective class that meets every other day for 80 minutes

What does the Gifted Specialist do?

Gifted Specialists plan and teach lessons for their gifted classes; provide materials and support for learning in the regular classroom (as needed); provide information for the school faculty about the needs of gifted learners. Gifted Specialists are also responsible for testing and identifying gifted students.

What do I need to do to prepare my child for testing?

The building gifted specialist will email you to let you know when your child has been scheduled for testing. It is important your child has a good night’s rest and eats breakfast before testing. It is not necessary to prepare your child in any other way for testing. *If a child demonstrates coaching and/or preparation specific to the tests being administered, we will not be able to proceed with testing.

Should I tell my child they’re being tested for gifted services?

These assessments are designed to provide insight into your child's innate creative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. It can be tricky to know what to say to your child about the testing process should you choose to do so. To quell any added pressure/anxiety your child may put upon him/herself, we suggest NOT mentioning that the testing is to identify whether your child is gifted. However, if they already intuit that is the intent of the test, it is okay. But you might want to share that many kids (adults too, actually) think this means that the test is to see whether they are "smart" or not. This is NOT true. Giftedness is a complex thing that encompasses much more than just academic performance.

To introduce the testing, we suggest saying something like: "The teachers at your school are always trying to determine the learning needs of their students. During this process, you'll participate in learning experiences so that the teachers can get even more information about you, your thinking, and your needs. This experience is just one of many pieces of the puzzle that make up YOU as a learner! It's perfectly normal to feel a little anxious, nervous, or excited about the experience; new or out-of-our-normal-routine experiences can sometimes cause those feelings. But there is no need to worry, and there is nothing you need to do to prepare.”

What is the difference between artistic ability and creativity?

While art is incredibly important to expression, communication, and culture, a goal of the gifted program in Clayton is to support a student’s capacity for creative thinking. There is some overlap between creative thinking and artistic ability, but they are not the same and require different supports. Artistic ability is a person’s skill for making something tangible using at least one of the five senses. In this way, art is limited to what we can see, feel, taste, touch, and smell. 

Creativity, on the other hand, exists on an intellectual plane and is not restricted by physical limitations. Ideas, and thus creativity, can be experienced across all areas of human existence. Creative thinking can be applied in business, relationships, health, technology, and more. Setting up a business, for example, is a more modern example of high-level creativity. Sourcing the materials, hiring the right staff, and developing a brand are all aspects that require a serious amount of innovation and creative expression. While these endeavors may not be ‘artistic’, they still require a significant amount of advanced cognitive skills. To be a creative thinker means to use mental imagery to conjure up an idea, business, solution, or product that didn’t exist in that form before. This is one type of thinking the gifted program in Clayton supports.

What work is done for social-emotional learning in gifted classrooms?

Gifted Specialists work on a wide variety of Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies for students. Often, these are shared through intentional lessons for a whole class. Additionally, the Gifted Specialists work individually with students to provide directed coaching specific to a child’s needs at the moment. View the specific SEL topics covered in our gifted classes, as well as links to several parent resources.

What are some common myths about gifted children?

There are a wide variety of myths that surround giftedness, but the most common is that gifted children are good at everything, and that is simply not true. Gifted children tend to excel at certain subjects or skills, often at the cost of others. This uneven development of skills is known as asynchronicity and is a hallmark of gifted learners. For more myths about gifted children, check out the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) article.

My child was excited about gifted testing but didn’t qualify for services. What should I tell them?

While it can feel frustrating or disappointing to not qualify for gifted services, it is helpful for children to be reminded that giftedness is not simply about ‘smarts’; Children who demonstrate a learning need for gifted services may or may not excel in different subject areas. Giftedness is not actually about content/subject knowledge at all. Rather, it is about having a neurodivergence. This means gifted brains are wired differently than neurotypical brains. While everybody’s brain is unique, a person identified as “gifted” experiences life in a significantly different way - often intensely! - sometimes, we see this show up on the outside, but sometimes it’s only on the inside, so it can be hard to see.  But this intensity can bring some profound frustration which is why gifted intervention is needed. The goal of education is for every child to get their learning needs met so they can reach their fullest potential. If a child does not qualify for gifted services, their learning needs can most likely be met within the classroom.

Aren’t all children gifted? 

While all students have unique gifts and talents, not all students can have their advanced learning needs met in the regular classroom. While using the word “gifted” to describe these learners can cause problems for some, it is a state-designated term used by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is why the School District of Clayton uses it. Students identified as gifted in Clayton have shown a learning need for gifted services because they have demonstrated through testing that they are advanced critical thinkers, creative thinkers, and problem solvers. While gifted students are eligible to receive additional instruction from a Gifted Specialist to support their advanced learning needs, they are no better or worse than any other student. 

The English Language Development Specialists of the School District of Clayton believe that learning English is a social process that develops as a result of meaningful and motivated interaction with others. In our schools, we help multilingual learners (MLs) develop language skills while they learn academic content. We believe this happens best within a community of learners where MLs are valued and encouraged to participate.

We believe that linguistically and culturally diverse learners are a unique asset of the School District of Clayton, enriching the experiences of all of our learners and educators. Having multilingual learners in our community provides opportunities for all learners to acquire cultural competence and to develop communication and collaborative skills across cultures.

We believe that content-area teachers and English Language Development Specialists can address the needs of multilingual learners through a collaborative instructional model that includes evidence-based decision-making, multiple assessments to monitor progress, reflection, and feedback to improve student learning. We believe that co-teaching and collaboration provide opportunities for promoting and scaffolding academic language development for all students.

Multilingual learners in our district are a diverse group of students with different educational experiences, languages and socio-emotional needs. While growth in English proficiency is an important goal of our program, we believe in supporting the success of the whole child, understanding how each individual student learns best, and honoring each child's cultural and language experiences.

The School District of Clayton English Language Development Program is designed to help multilingual learners (MLs) acquire English to a level of proficiency that maximizes their capacity to engage successfully in academic studies taught in English. The program provides language instruction and educational experiences in these ways:

• Teach the skills required for Multilingual Learners (MLs) to achieve an advanced level of academic English language proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
• Help MLs meet the academic achievement standards expected of all students.
• Support the successful acculturation of students and families.
• Promote parent engagement in the child’s learning and in the school community.

Listed below are the Enduring Understandings of the English Language curriculum.  These are statements that summarize important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline and have lasting value beyond the classroom.

Enduring Understandings

• Language is communication that reflects and shapes cultures, identities, and perspectives using cultural, verbal, and non-verbal symbols.
• Language acquisition is a dynamic and gradual process that builds on meaningful interactions.
• English learners thrive when provided with multiple opportunities to engage in speaking, listening, reading, and writing with challenging content and individualized support.
• A student's primary language is a valuable asset that supports English acquisition, fosters literacy, and enriches identity and cultural awareness.

 The School District of Clayton English Language Development Program also affirms WIDA's Guiding Principles of Language Development.  

The state of Missouri and the School District of Clayton have adopted the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards. These represent the social, instructional, and academic language that English learners need to engage with peers, school staff, and the school curriculum. The WIDA standards include examples of how language is processed or produced within a particular context through Model Performance Indicators (MPIs). These can be viewed or downloaded from the WIDA Resource Library. Listed below are the Clayton ELD learning targets for each grade cluster, and the WIDA Can-Do's, or descriptors of what learners can do at each proficiency level.

 The WIDA English Language Development Standards, 2020 Edition

ELD Learning Targets

• Kindergarten ELD Learning Targets
•  Grades 1-2 ELD Learning Targets
• Grades 3-5 ELD Learning Targets
• Grades 6-8 ELD Learning Targets
• Grades 9-12 ELD Learning Targets

WIDA Can-Dos

• Student Friendly Can-Dos K-12 
• Kindergarten Can-Dos  
• 1st Grade Can-Dos
• 2nd & 3rd Grade Can-Dos
• 4th & 5th Grade Can-Dos    
• 6th-8th Grade Can-Dos 
• 9th-12th Grade Can-Dos

Visit the International Families webpage for resources, support, and more.

What does the acronym EL and ML stand for?

EL stands for English Learner and ML stands for Multilingual Learner.   Both are acronyms for students learning English in K-12 schools in Missouri.  Other acronyms are ELL (English Language Learner), LEP (Limited English Proficient), ESL (English as a Second Language), ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language).

What is the definition of English Learner (EL)?

An EL is a student whose home language is not English and whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing or understanding the English language are sufficient to require support to learn successfully in an English-speaking-only classroom.

How is the Clayton English Language Program structured?

The K-12 Clayton EL Program provides EL services based on a student's level of English language proficiency. An EL teacher is assigned to each school and may have additional support depending on numbers and proficiency levels of students. EL teachers provide support for students and teachers in the regular classroom. EL students also come to the EL classroom for individualized or small-group instruction in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The EL Program also organizes parent education programs, coffees and social activities for international families. The EL Program promotes and facilitates student and family engagement in school activities.

How long does it take to achieve English language proficiency?

It takes English Learners one or two years to achieve basic social English, and five to seven years to develop academic English.

What does the EL teacher do?

EL teachers plan and teach English lessons; provide extra materials and support for learning in the regular classroom; help students and parents adjust to and participate in the new school culture; provide information for the school faculty about the EL's level of English language proficiency and necessary background information; act as a liaison in home/school communication; help provide interpreters upon request; and can provide data, research and resources related to English language learning issues. EL teachers are also responsible for identifying EL students, measuring academic and language growth, and administering federal- and state-mandated English language assessments.