• Otho E. Stuart Middle School

    Dear families,

    My name is Trista Samet, and I am your student’s Gifted and Talented Coordinator this year. I have been the GT Coordinator at Stuart for 3 years, and this is my sixth year teaching. I currently teach English Language Development at Stuart Middle School. I have a passion for working with exceptional learners, and look forward to getting to know you and your student this year! 

     What is the role of the Gifted and Talented Coordinator? 

    My role is to create a student driven Advanced Learning Plan, and facilitate Gifted and Talented learning through core content classes. I am given the opportunity to work with students on a passion project driven by their ALP. I will meet with your student during their advisory class every other week on Tuesday mornings to monitor progress on their goal, and facilitate passion projects. 

     

    What is Gifted and Talented? 

    Gifted and Talented students have exceptional or advanced abilities that require special provisions to meet their educational needs. In 27J, we do this through differentiation and cluster grouping. Differentiation is available in all classrooms and utilizes the students' knowledge to determine appropriate teaching levels. This work may look different than peers but will have the same learning goal. Cluster grouping is a programming option that places the gifted students of a grade level together to allow for the differentiation to occur for a small group. For further information, refer to the 27J GT site here: https://www.sd27j.org/Page/9308

     

    What is an ALP?

    An ALP is an Advanced Learning Plan. The student and GT coordinator will work together to create a goal centered around the student’s interest, and what the student is gifted in (reading, writing, math etc.). 

     

    What is a passion project?

    Passion Projects encourage students to ask questions, pursue personal interests, research, and create something to showcase their new knowledge. We will work on semester-long or year-long projects where students will present what they have worked on at the end of the year. 

     

    Please feel free to contact me this year if you need anything, or have questions. My phone number at school is (720) 685-5512 and my email is tsamet@sd27j.net.

     

    Sincerely, 

    Trista Samet