The ESE team is diligent in servicing a variety of Exceptionalities, including:

• Speech Impaired (SI)
• Language Impaired (LI)
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH)
• Specific Learning Disabled (SLD)
• Gifted (GIFT) (see page 4)
• Hospital/Homebound (HH)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Occupational Therapy (OT)
• Physical Therapy (PT)

The School Based Team for Academics or Behavior:

• follows a structured problem solving process,
• promotes the use of a diverse representation of instructional support staff,
• identifies effective interventions, and provides support and follow up to students and families in need.
• In 2004, School Based Teams were mandated at every school
• In 2008, the School District implemented Response to Intervention (RtI), which is an approach that promotes a well-integrated system connecting general and special education to provide high quality, standards-based instruction and evidence-based interventions.

Members may include:

• Administrators
• Guidance Counselors
• School Psychologists
• School Nurses
• Exceptional Student Education Staff/504 staff
• Multicultural staff
• School Police
• Parents
• other related service providers

The Gifted Program

Program Eligibility Criteria
Students are eligible for the Gifted Education Program through Plan A if they meet the following criteria:

• A need for the program as demonstrated by evidence of a majority of characteristics of gifted students as scored on a District Checklist; and
• A score of 90th percentile or higher on either the math or reading portion of an individually administered achievement test; and
• A score of 130 or higher on an individually administered Intelligence Quotient Test

Binks Forest is one of the gifted cluster sites in Wellington. The program is enriched and focuses on higher-level critical thinking, problem solving skills, and creativity. Teachers in the classes for the gifted are able to compact the curriculum, based on Florida State Standards. Once the curriculum is mastered, teachers differentiate using specialized instructional strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Is there a cut-off date for enrollment into the gifted program?
  No—being a public school, children can be enrolled at any time.
• Can I request a teacher that my other child had?
  No—requests are not given for specific teachers.
• Who will test my child if the student is not yet enrolled in a public school?
  The child would have to be tested privately by a psychologist. Once enrolled in the school district, the school psychologist could administer the evaluation.

***Only evaluations completed after January 1 of the calendar year that the student enters Kindergarten will be accepted for consideration for gifted eligibility.***

Characteristics of a gifted student:
A gifted student MAY exhibit some of the following characteristics:

• Uses an enriched vocabulary
• Asks deep questions
• Expresses unusual ideas
• Has a wide range of interests
• Uses complex sentences
• Acts independently
• Displays curiosity
• Possesses leadership traits
• Works at a high-energy level
• Has a long attention span
• Reads at an early age
• Understands the concept of time
• Likes self-directed activities
• Is sensitive to other’s feelings
• Has a keen sense of humor
• Is able to conceptualize
• Learns skills rapidly
• Enjoys learning
• Reasons well
• Is a perfectionist
• Prefers older companions