The GATE Program

What is the GATE Program?

GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education.

The Cutten School District recognizes that gifted learners’ needs are highly complex and diverse and that it is important to provide services that not only challenge their special aptitudes but address their social and emotional needs as well.

GATE identified students at Cutten are served through a combination of classroom differentiation (which means adding breadth and depth to the regular curriculum), and a pull-out program taught by GATE teacher, Julie Van Sickle.  The pull-out program provides an opportunity to work with other students with similar abilities.  Lessons move quickly, are cross-curricular, and are designed around breadth, depth, and complexity.   

How are students identified to participate in the GATE program at Cutten?

Students can be recommended for assessment for the GATE program by classroom teachers, parents/guardians, or other school staff when they are in the 4th grade or beyond.  Assessment for GATE is completed in the Fall (generally in October or November).  The assessment is given at Cutten and consists of eleven subtests.  This assessment differs from most in that it is designed to measure not what the student has learned, but how the student learns. High scores on the assessment indicate giftedness  – learning abilities far beyond those of chronological peers.  Once a student qualifies for the GATE program they remain eligible throughout their stay at Cutten School.  If you would like to request a student be assessed for the GATE program during the next testing window email Cutten GATE coordinator and teacher, Julie Van Sickle.

The National Association of Gifted Children provides this list of Traits of Giftedness 

GATE Teacher:      Julie Van Sickle       jvansickle@cuttensd.org