Highly Capable Program (Hi-Cap)

Highly Capable Program – In accordance with Washington State Law, Wahkiakum School District identifies and serves Highly Capable Students.  As a district we have created a Highly Capable Plan with a continuum of services that ensure all students, K-12, are making adequate growth.  All second and fifth grade students are tested in addition to any student nominated for the program by teacher or parent referrals.  Referral packets are available in both the high school and grade school/middle school offices.  Completed referral packets are due to the building principals by April 2nd. We do screen all students at the second and fifth grade unless a parent wishes to “opt” their student out of being tested.

HCP Program Plan Overview  & Parental Permission Forms
 

Rationale for the Program

In a total educational program, the needs of all children are provided for according to their specific abilities, aptitudes, and their levels of performance. Children who have outstanding abilities are capable of exceptional performance and warrant opportunities that meet their needs. The most highly capable students require an intensified and varied curriculum as well as an opportunity to share interests and experiences with other children with like abilities.

The Hi-Cap Program is designed to place greater emphasis on the more advanced levels of learning and abstract concepts, while recognizing these student individual needs of diversification which brought them to this program.

Definition, Identification, and the Serving of Students Who Are Highly Capable

WSD students who are highly capable perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments. Outstanding abilities are seen within students' general intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain. These students are present not only in general populace, but are present within all protected classes. For district identification purposes, students who score in the 97th percentile or above on a norm-referenced and standardized intelligence quotient assessment will be identified for the Highly Capable program.

As a key component of its highly capable program identification and selection process, WSD will make it a priority to qualify students from various racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups. Wahkiakum School District typically serves about ten students each school year.

Knowing that the most highly capable students have the ability to acquire knowledge and produce significantly beyond the standards, the WSD has provided a differentiated curriculum, for those students, designed to develop and offer deeper critical and analytical learning opportunities. These learning alternatives will meet the individual cognitive as well as the affective needs of the most highly capable students. (WAC 392-170-035, WAC 392-170-036)

Annual Notification, Referral, Assessment, and Selection

Annual Notification: Annual public notification of parents and students shall be made before any major identification activity. The notice shall be published or announced in multiple ways in appropriate languages to each community in school and district publications or other media, with circulation adequate to notify parents and students throughout the district. (WAC 392-170-042)

Annual Referral Process: Anyone may refer a student for testing for the Highly Capable Program. Referrals can come from parents, teachers, school specialists, friends, family, community members, or even the student themselves, by downloading and completing the Highly Capable Referral Form.

All parents (if not the originator of the referral form) must complete a Referral Form and Complete the Testing and Placement Permissions Forms for the student to be tested and potentially placed in Highly Capable Programs.

If you are a teacher or school specialist with WSD, please stop by the Elementary School or High School Office to pick up the Teacher Referral Packet.

Selection Process: For in-depth details on screening, testing, notification, curriculum components and goals by grade, and many other details about WSD's Hi-Cap Program, click on the links to the documents at the top of this page.

Questions? Need More Information?

For any other questions you may have about WSD's Hi-Cap Program, please contact Stephanie Leitz, Wahkiakum High School Principal, or call 360-795-3271.