Three fundamental differences distinguish the gifted from more typical learners: learning at faster rates; finding, solving, and acting on problems more readily; and manipulating abstract ideas/making connections more easily.
(VanTassel-Baska, J. and Stambaugh, T., 2006).
1. Why does the Academy offer a Partial Enrollment Option for Homeschooling Families?
There are many reasons that families homeschool their children, sometimes including the need to address and support advanced, gifted, and twice-exceptional learning needs. AcademyACL seeks to serve our community, and this includes homeschooling families with gifted educational needs. Some families may benefit greatly from weekly time with other students who have experienced the same ups and downs that ‘out-of-sync’, advanced development brings, and appreciate the opportunity to discuss ideas with gifted education specialists.
2. What is the focus of AcademyACL’s Partial Enrollment option?
AcademyACL’s entire school design focuses on the unique academic and social/emotional needs of gifted, twice-exceptional, advanced and creative students. We want homeschooling families that have experienced these needs to have the opportunity to become part of our AcademyACL community. The focus is on providing a partnership and support network for families who are homeschooling in a way that supports each family’s unique circumstances.
3. What does the Partial Enrollment option include?
Colorado law requires that partially-enrolled students participate for a minimum of 90 instructional hours (lunch, recess, and passing periods not counted) each semester in the public school of partial enrollment. This translates to a little over an hour a day; AcademyACL has a range of seven to nine hours a week attendance as a partial enrollment target. AcademyACL has a block scheduling system that includes math and language arts instruction in the morning, each at 90 minutes, and scientific and historic inquiry, Spanish, Art, and Music in the afternoons (with Physical Education to be added as the school grows; all students have a thirty-minute block of physical activity/health focus in the morning). Fridays will typically have an all-school assembly and opportunities for students to share projects they have been working on with extended time to start developing new projects. Frequently, expert-led workshops will be scheduled on Friday mornings.
All partially-enrolled students are invited to join class field trips and community-building school events, and every student will also have a Personal Learning Plan and five family-teacher conferences each year. The Academy Director will meet with every family of one or more partially-enrolled students to discuss the types of needs that the family would like to meet with the partial-enrollment option. The weekly schedule will be set with these needs in mind, and with a priority for ensuring that AcademyACL class sizes are not adversely affected with too many additional students. The current cap on partial-enrollment for any one Divisional class is two additional students, with consideration for the type of class/subject and the number of attendance days for the partially-enrolled student. Some families may find that attendance on Fridays is sufficient for their needs; others may be looking for a combination of times or a particular class.
Partially-enrolled student’s families will still be expected to attend new family orientation and all five family-teacher conferences, and to sign family contracts as well as complete partial enrollment paperwork that must be filed with District 11. Volunteer time from partially-enrolled families is very welcomed, but does not have a minimum requirement. Students in Divisions III (at least 3rd grade) and higher will be expected to participate in CSAP testing per Colorado requirements and all students may participate in other assessments according to the requirements of each Personal Learning Plan. Parents will be expected to follow all guidelines concerning home attendance and curriculum records, and can arrange to access AcademyACL curriculum materials for areas in which they are homeschooling as appropriate and available. AcademyACL anticipates growing the program over time to add more options and available slots as needed.
All partially-enrolled students are invited to join class field trips and community-building school events, and every student will also have a Personal Learning Plan and five family-teacher conferences each year. The Academy Director will meet with every family of one or more partially-enrolled students to discuss the types of needs that the family would like to meet with the partial-enrollment option. The weekly schedule will be set with these needs in mind, and with a priority for ensuring that AcademyACL class sizes are not adversely affected with too many additional students. The current cap on partial-enrollment for any one Divisional class is two additional students, with consideration for the type of class/subject and the number of attendance days for the partially-enrolled student. Some families may find that attendance on Fridays is sufficient for their needs; others may be looking for a combination of times or a particular class.
Partially-enrolled student’s families will still be expected to attend new family orientation and all five family-teacher conferences, and to sign family contracts as well as complete partial enrollment paperwork that must be filed with District 11. Volunteer time from partially-enrolled families is very welcomed, but does not have a minimum requirement. Students in Divisions III (at least 3rd grade) and higher will be expected to participate in CSAP testing per Colorado requirements and all students may participate in other assessments according to the requirements of each Personal Learning Plan. Parents will be expected to follow all guidelines concerning home attendance and curriculum records, and can arrange to access AcademyACL curriculum materials for areas in which they are homeschooling as appropriate and available. AcademyACL anticipates growing the program over time to add more options and available slots as needed.
4. What about Special Education needs?
AcademyACL will have a full time special education teacher who will be available to consult with the family on special educational needs during conferences, and classroom teachers will be able to accommodate basic needs during participation in regular classroom activities, but the responsibility for overseeing the total education of these students belongs to the family in accordance with Colorado law.
5. How does the lottery affect partially-enrolled students?
All families will be entered into the lottery system, with two spaces per classroom reserved for partial-enrollment in addition to regular enrollment slots. Other partial-enrollment families will be placed on a waiting list prioritized by the lottery, and will be contacted if there are additional openings in the schedule for a particular class or time period.
