Gifted & Talented Program

New Kent County Public Schools offers a continuum of differentiated instructional programs and services designed to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of gifted learners from kindergarten through twelfth grade which allow students to develop more fully and to appreciate their abilities and talents.

Goals of the Gifted and Talented Program:

• To identify through multiple criteria those children in K-12 who, by virtue of outstanding abilities, are capable of superior performance.

• To find and promote ways to honor students' strengths, talents, interests, learning styles, creativity, and affect needs.

• To provide differentiated programs that will enable gifted students to develop to their fullest potential.

• To provide for the selection of qualified teachers and to provide continuous staff development in gifted education.

• To promote an understanding of the gifted program by developing and maintaining a working relationship with parents and community members.

Identification Process:

Referral

The referral of students for gifted identification may be made during the first month of each semester to the Screening Committee by school personnel, parents or guardians, community members, peer referral or self-referral of those students believed to be gifted. Students from all cultural and socio-economic groups are considered in the process of gifted identification. To initiate the referral process, teachers and parents are encouraged to contact one of the gifted resource teachers and express the interest in referring during this period.

Screening

A pool of potential candidates is created annually through a review of available screening indicators and students who have been referred. These indicators may include classroom grades and performance, work samples, SOLs and other assessment results, results of the Primary Educational Thinking Skills (PETS) tool (K-2), and results from the NWEA MAP assessment administered to all students in grades 2-8. Students who have been identified for gifted education services in other school divisions are placed in the screening pool and will continue through the identification and placement process. The Screening Committee will determine if additional information is required to continue with eligibility determination. If additional testing information is required, written parental /guardian permission is required in order to proceed. This process will culminate in a Gifted Identification meeting, which is held within 90 school days of the parent’s written permission to test the student.

Identification

Each school establishes and maintains a Gifted Identification Team consisting of a building administrator, gifted resource teachers, the gifted program coordinator, and a classroom teacher. The team meets three times per year to review information for each student referred for identification. The Gifted Identification Team determines eligibility for placement. A case study approach is used to review each child's profile with the committee seeking to reach a consensus through consideration of multiple criteria. The decision-making process in each school is designed to reflect sensitivity toward the unique strengths and needs of individual students from all populations and is determined by a consensus or by majority rule. No single instrument, score, or criterion will be used to determine which students qualify or are denied access to programs for the gifted.

Parents are welcome to attend Gifted Identification meetings so that they may share their observations however, the determination of gifted identification is made by the Identification committee.

If the student is found to not be eligible, the parents are notified that the student was evaluated and found to not be eligible. They are advised that they may appeal the committee’s decision and may request a copy of the Appeals Procedure.

The Gifted Advisory Council, comprised of parents, teachers, administrators, and community representatives, assists in the development of plans to meet the needs of the gifted.  The Council meetings are held periodically throughout the academic year.  All parents of identified gifted students are welcome to attend council meetings.  The agendas/minutes will be posted here following each meeting.

The Governor's School program is designed to provide students with enrichment opportunities beyond those available in a traditional school.  New Kent students have the opportunity to apply to attend both summer regional governor's schools, summer residential governor's schools, and academic year governor's schools

Summer Regional Governor's Schools

Students in 3rd through 8th grade may apply to attend the Middle Peninsula Summer Regional Governor's School in the month of August. This school is located at the Glenn's Campus of Rappahannock Community College. The application process takes place during the spring of the school year. At that time a link to the application may be found here. 

The 2025 Middle Peninsula Summer Regional Governor's School will take place from June 23-27, 2025.

Academic Year Governor's Schools

Chesapeake Bay Governor's School

CBGS is a half-day program that serves students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Ninth-grade students who are enrolled in New Kent High School and who meet the minimum admission criteria are eligible to apply. New Kent students who are accepted attend CBGS at the Rappahannock Community College - Glenns campus in the morning and return to New Kent High School for their afternoon classes. 

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government & International Studies

MLWGS is a full-day governor's school that serves students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.  Eighth-grade students who are residents of New Kent County and who meet the minimum admission criteria are eligible to apply. Applications may be obtained from the guidance office at NKMS or by contacting the Gifted Program Coordinator. 

MLWGS Admissions Site

Summer Residential Governor's Schools & Foreign Language Academies

The Virginia Department of Education sponsors summer residential governor's schools every summer at colleges and universities across the state. Summer Residential Governor’s Schools provide gifted high school juniors and seniors with intensive educational experiences in visual and performing arts; humanities; mathematics, science, and technology; or through mentorships in marine science, medicine and health sciences, or engineering.

Each Summer Residential Governor’s School focuses on one special area of interest. Students live on a college or university campus for up to four weeks each summer. During this time, students are involved in classroom and laboratory work, field studies, research, individual and group projects and performances, and seminars with noted scholars, visiting artists, and other professionals. In the three mentorships, students are selected to work side-by-side with research scientists, physicians, and a variety of other professionals.

For more information and applications, please visit the VDOE website for the Summer Residential Governor's Schools.