Elementary Gifted Resource Room:

• Grades 3, 4 and 5
• Superior Cognitive Identification Required or Reading and/or Mathematics Identification Required

Students receive instruction from a Gifted Intervention Specialist within the resource room located at Xenia Preschool. See the X.T.A.R. section below to learn more about the curriculum and student expectations. 

Gifted Services for Grades 6-12:

Gifted services are provided to gifted students in grades 6-12 through a variety of options, including:

• Advanced/Honors Courses
• AP Courses
• CCP Courses
• Early Graduation
• Flexible Credit

All programs are evaluated annually.

X.T.A.R., which stands for Xenia's Talented Academic Resource, is the district’s elementary gifted program.

Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade who are identified in superior cognitive ability, math, or reading are invited to participate in the program. The State of Ohio Department of Education determines eligibility for gifted identification. Once a child is identified gifted in an area, they are ALWAYS identified gifted in that area. Students are bused from their home school (Arrowood, Cox, McKinley, Shawnee, Tecumseh) to Xenia Preschool one day a week, where they will participate in a variety of educational activities. Students will return to their home school at the end of the day for dismissal.

During the course of your child’s educational journey, they participated in some type of standardized testing that identified them for gifted services. 

Xenia Community Schools conducts whole-group screening for gifted education in the spring of second grade and the fall of fourth grade using the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). These tests are used to screen for gifted identification and measure cognitive ability. Based on the results of the CogAT, students are then screened for Creative Thinking identification.

Whole-group Gifted screening and identification based on the MAP assessments in grades 2-8 may result in gifted identification in reading and mathematics. Qualifying MAP tests are given in mathematics and reading three times during the school year for grades 2-10. A cognitive abilities assessment is given in 2nd grade and 4th grade The State of Ohio Department of Education determines the qualifying score needed for identification.

Learn more about testing at XCS on the Curriculum page for their grade.

Students may also be nominated for possible gifted identification at any grade level; the district conducts small group testing twice a year for this purpose.

DOWNLOAD the Printable Nomination Form

To learn more about Gifted Screening and Identification in Ohio, visit ODEW Gifted Screening & Identification.  

Xenia Community Schools offers a variety of services available to students identified as gifted or high achieving. These educational opportunities are available to students who meet specific criteria. For more information on these options, please contact a building administrator, school counselor, or the gifted coordinator. 

Continuum of Services:

• Early Entrance to Kindergarten
• Single Subject Acceleration
• Whole Grade Acceleration
• Resource Room- XTAR       (Grades 3-5)
• Resource Room- Mathematics (Grades 3-5)
• Resource Room- Reading (Grades 3-5)
• Advanced Language Arts (Grades 6-8)
• Advanced Mathematics (Grades 6-8)
• Algebra Offered for High School Credit (Grade 8; must meet additional requirements)
• English 9 Offered for High School Credit (Grade 8; must meet additional requirements)
• Honors Classes
• AP Classes
• Obtaining College Credit While in High School Through Dual Enrollment
• Early Graduation
   

All gifted education services provided to a student are guided by a Written Education Plan (WEP). The WEP should describe the services to be provided to the student, identify who will provide these services, establish learning goals and evaluation methods, and set a date by which the WEP will be reviewed for possible revision. This document identifies goals the gifted intervention specialist, or a regular classroom teacher- who has participated in gifted professional development- hopes to accomplish with the students in their classroom. For elementary gifted students, the WEP is written solely for gifted services received at X.T.A.R.

To learn more about Written Education Plans, visit ODEW's WEP page. 

1. The STUDENT will be responsible for learning NEW MATERIAL that was presented to the class during his/her absence. The REGULAR CLASSROOM TEACHER will provide the opportunity for learning this material through teacher explanation, student explanation, and/or short study assignment. The teacher may tape record or videotape the instructional presentation and make it available to the student. 
2. The STUDENT will be responsible for completing LONG-TERM ASSIGNMENTS, such as book reports or research assignments that fall due on the day the student is at XTAR. The assignment SHOULD be turned in the day before, that morning, before the student boards the bus to XTAR, or the next day. The STUDENT should make appropriate arrangements with the regular classroom teacher. 
3. The STUDENT is required to make up TESTS which are given in the student's absence, unless the classroom teacher excuses the student from the test. The STUDENT has ONE day to make up any regular classroom work, deemed necessary by the regular classroom teacher, which was done on the XTAR day. It should be understood that not all students will necessarily receive the same assignments.

*This policy has been approved by the XCS school board and a copy is shared each year with classroom teachers.