Gifted and Talented Education Program (GATE)

The Gifted and Talented Education Program (GATE) of Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) is an integral part of our commitment to provide for the unique needs, interests, skills, and talents of all students. The GATE program should contribute to each student developing creative and critical thinking, leadership, visual and performing arts, and/or specific academic abilities. GATE is intended to enhance and enrich experiences in the regular classroom. The desired goals for students are:

• To develop critical thinking skills
• To develop problem-solving skills
• To develop oral and written communications skills
• To encourage and recognize creativity
• To encourage and provide opportunities for leadership development
• To develop and reinforce positive self-concept
• To provide enrichment opportunities that enhance the cultural and educational experience 
• To encourage individuals to become life-long learner

Gifted and Talented students are students at the elementary and secondary levels that have demonstrated potential abilities of high performance in academic and/or varied categories.Students who excel in creative thinking, leadership, visual & performing arts, or a specific academic ability may be eligible to participate in the GATE program. In the Inglewood Unified School District there are two pathways to enter the GATE Program: Internal Identification and Nomination Process. 

GATE program options are coordinated to guide the development of gifted students from the time they are identified through graduation from high school. Each school will form a team (including teachers, parents, administration, and community members) to determine the best options for serving gifted students at that site. Purposeful enrichment in the regular classroom, seminars/convocations, mentorships, specialized Saturday and summer programs, academic competitions, differentiated curriculum, and academic learning centers are all components of the GATE program and are designed to promote accelerated learning and provide additional rigor for students.

The progress of students in the GATE program is on-going with attention given to mastery of content, higher-level thinking skills, leadership skills and creativity. Students whose needs are not being met by current placement, will be considered for other programming options which may be more appropriate in meeting the student’s needs. While a student’s identification remains effective for the student’s tenure, services for students may change. Parents/guardians or the site identification/placement committee may initiate a change of services at any time. Changes may involve the services a student is receiving or removal from active program participation.

THE GATE ACADEMY

The GATE Academy is an in-person program that is open to GATE Certified, GATE Candidates, and high achieving students. A high acheiving student (grades 4-12), is a student that exceeds the standards on the CAASPP state exam in either Math, Lanaguage Arts, or both in one year. For students (grades 1-3), they must have scored above benchmark on Dibels for one year. Sessions are held one Saturday, each month, from September-May, with a culminating ceremony at the end of the year. Star Education provides educational, hands-on programs and activities on a variety of topics, such as: Mars Exploration, All About DaVinci, STAR Planeteers, Visual and Performing Arts, Masters of the Past, Super Scientists, Extraordinary Engineering, and many more. Grades of Green provides Academy students with projects that focus on solutions for state Green legislation for schools. For more information on the GATE Academy, contact the office of State and Federal Projects at (310) 419-2737.