Special Education Service Delivery Model in the OCDSB: A Guide for Parents Of Students With Giftedness
Program Description
The Ministry of Education currently describes the exceptionality of Giftedness as:
“An unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability that requires differentiated learning experiences of a depth and breadth beyond those normally provided in the regular school program to satisfy the level of educational potential indicated.” (Special Education in Ontario: Kindergarten to grade 12, 2017)
Students with a Giftedness exceptionality may demonstrate some of the following characteristics:
- quick mastery of new skills and concepts
- advanced vocabulary
- superior judgment and reasoning abilities
- a strong sense of ethics and values
- original, flexible and fluent thinking
The OCDSB supports students demonstrating giftedness in both regular class environments as well as in specialized program class environments. At the Elementary level, the OCDSB specialized program for Giftedness offers classes for those students who, in addition to targeted Tier 1, 2, and 3 interventions while in the regular program, would benefit further from a specialized program class. At the Secondary level, the partially-integrated Gifted credit program provides an opportunity for students with a Giftedness exceptionality to access learning in certain core subjects to a greater degree of depth and breadth.