Welcome to Gifted Education in Gadsden ISD!
In Gadsden ISD, Gifted students are identified and served from Kindergarten through 12th grade on an annual basis.
What does it mean to be Gifted?
A “Gifted” student is in Kindergarten – 12th grade, and has abilities, talents, or the potential for accomplishment that is highly exceptional and advanced in relation to other students of similar age. They require special provisions to meet their educational needs. We believe that Gifted students come from all walks of life, and our unique approach to idenfication will help us find them.
The state of New Mexico recognizes six areas of Giftedness, which are described below.
General Intellectual Ability
This means having exceptional capability or potential recognized through cognitive processes, such as memory, reasoning, rate of learning, spatial reasoning, ability to find and problems, ability to manipulate abstract ideas, and ability to make connections.
Specific Aptitude or Achievement
This means having exceptional capability in a subject area, such as having a strong knowledge base or ability to ask insightful, pertinent questions within the discipline.
Creative or Divergent Thinking
This means having exceptional capability or potential to solve a problem or reach a decision using strategies that deviate from commonly used or previously taught strategies.
Problem-solving or Critical Thinking
This means having outstanding capabilities to analyze a problem and engage in solutions-oriented performance.
Artistic Ability
This means having exceptional capability or potential in visual art, theater, music, or dance.
Leadership Ability
This means exceptional capability or potential to influence, inspire, and empower other people.
Gadsden ISD explores each of these six areas during a Gifted identification process known as a “Case Study.”
What is a “Case Study?”
A Case Study is a collection of qualitative and quantitative evidence from multiple sources that forms an individual student profile. This approach blends qualitative and quantitative evidence to get a broader, more encompassing view. Interpretation of both subjective (qualitative) and objective (quantitative) measures are not viewed independently and are blended to gain a personal, individualized perspective of each child. Combining disparate data from multiple sources is done in such a way as to identify not only those students who are in immediate need of instruction beyond the regular curriculum, but also those students who display the potential for high-level learning beyond the regular curriculum.
The Case Study has two parts:
- The collection of evidence forming the student profile
- The analysis and discussion of the case
The Case Study approach is the best way to reach our goal of finding Gifted students from all walks of life, to include English learners, students with disabilities, etc.
Gifted Identification Timeline in Gadsden ISD for 2025-2026
How Can I Tell if my Child May be Gifted?
A smart, high-achieving student may not necessarily be Gifted. There are some ways to distinguish between the two. The resource linked below provides a list of traits and how the actions might differ between a high achieving, smart student and a potentially Gifted student.
High Achiever vs. Potentially Gifted Student.pdf
Gifted Awareness Training for 2025-2026
To be the most informed leading up to a possible Gifted referral, it’s necessary to view the video below. This is a short, 16-minute introduction to recognizing high achieving students vs. potentially Gifted students. The video is availble in both English and Spanish.
Video Link (English): https://youtu.be/M34G1mYsWkM
Video Link (Spanish): https://youtu.be/HyIfg96NgeE
Please note that the narration is in English. If you need the Spanish transcript to the video, the link to that is below.
Versión en español: tenga en cuenta que la narración está en inglés. Si necesita la transcripción en español del video, el enlace se encuentra a continuación.
Gifted Awareness Training for Parents--Narration Script in Spanish.pdf
Now that I’m informed about high achievers vs. Gifted students, I want to refer a student for a Gifted Case Study. What’s next?
Case Studies take about 4-5 months for completion. The first step is to fill out an online Gifted Referral Form. This form will gather the necessary information to begin the process. The referal form will only be open during this window:
August 18, 2025-September 19, 2025
Gifted Referral Form Link: https://forms.gle/goH9M5xu7CL1Tb158
Referrals requested outside of this window will need to wait until the fall of 2026.
The flyers below will help detail this process and provide some relevant links and QR codes.
Gifted Nomination Flyer 2025-2026 English.pdf
Gifted Nomination Flyer 2025-2026 Spanish.pdf
New Mexico Gifted Resources
Gifted Technical Assistance Manual.pdf
For Gifted Education assistance in Gadsden ISD, please contact the Coordinator for Gifted Education.
Lisa Renegar
LDRenegar@gisd.k12.nm.us
(575) 882-6253
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