Gifted Education

Colonial Heights Public Schools is committed to an educational program that promotes the social, emotional, and academic growth of all students by recognizing their unique needs and abilities. The Colonial Heights school division believes it has a responsibility to seek and identify gifted students from a variety of social, economic, and cultural backgrounds who demonstrate high performance capabilities in general intellectual aptitude. Flexible programs respond to unique student needs and help to develop productive, complex, abstract and higher level thinking skills.

Gifted Education in CHPS is led by Dr. Joe Douglas who can be reached at joe_douglas@colonialhts.net.

Local Plan

The Regulations Governing Educational Services for Gifted Students outlines the components school systems are required to include in their local plans for educating identified gifted students. School divisions are required to submit their local plan to the Virginia Department of Education for approval every five years.

A complete copy of the Local Plan for the Education of the Gifted can be obtained at the Colonial Heights School Administration Office or by the button here.

Our Gifted Ed Local Plan

Our Programs

Elementary

The goal of the Promise program is to identify students in grades K-2 who demonstrate high academic ability and, thus, have the potential of being identified as gifted. The Promise program focuses on nurturing and further developing these students' cognitive abilities. At the end of grade 2, all Promise students will be tested for participation in the Create gifted program for the following year.

The emphasis of the Create program in grades 3-5 is on the learning processes which will enable each gifted student to reach their academic potential and to become contributing members of the larger society later in life. Progress reports are sent home at the end of each semester. Both programs consist of four components: cluster grouping, in-class activities, pull-out services, and differentiated classroom programs which are designed by the classroom and gifted resource teachers.

Middle

Identified gifted students are cluster grouped in middle school honors classes. Two Create resource teachers work with students and honors teachers to ensure courses are firmly grounded in instructional practice best for the gifted learner. The gifted resource teachers use push-in and pull-out models to differentiate instruction for regular education and identified gifted students. The Create resource teachers also work with identified gifted students to ensure their individual needs are met.

Create students take Honors-level courses as well as a Create elective course. In these courses, students use higher-level thinking to complete projects and assignments that focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity.

Create students work with the resource and classroom teachers to set individual goals and to Create a personalized Differentiated Education Plan (DEP). DEPs guide student learning throughout the school year.

High

At the high school level, the gifted resource teacher advises identified gifted students in grade 9 on issues surrounding career planning, academic coursework, and personal counseling. While gifted students in grades 10-12 receive counseling services from other high school counselors, they meet with the gifted resource teacher frequently throughout the year.

Students' academic needs are met through honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and dual-enrollment classes. Dual-enrollment classes are organized through local colleges and universities. AP courses are college-level classes for which most colleges and universities grant transcript credit, provided the student receives a passing score on the AP final exam. Any student who meets the school's criteria for enrollment may participate in these courses without formal gifted identification. The highest quality of student performance is expected in all honors and AP classes.

Identification & Selection

Every year, all incoming kindergartners are screened for participation in the Division's K-2 Promise program. In addition, transfer students and/or non-participating students may be referred for evaluation for admittance to the program. Classroom teachers, parents, peers, and other adults who are aware of students' abilities are able to refer children for testing. Furthermore, students are permitted to self-refer. Any student may be referred for formal identification at any time during the school year. At the end of grade 2, all students are screened for potential gifted identification. Based on the screening scores, some students not in the Promise program, as well as all students in the Promise program, will be tested for participation in the gifted program for the following year.

The screening process uses the following criteria to determine eligibility:

  • Nonverbal ability and achievement tests

  • Teacher Assessment Scale

  • Individual interview

  • Creative products

Evaluation for the Create program is a continuous process designed to identify students from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The identification process is the joint responsibility of 1) the school counselor, 2) the gifted resource teacher, and 3) the classroom teacher who will review the following:

  • Achievement test data

  • Ability test data

  • Superior student creativity products (based on professional judgment)

  • Teacher Assessment Scale to indicate those students who demonstrate behaviors indicative of giftedness.

Gifted Advisory Committee

The Gifted Advisory Committee is composed of eleven voting members, parents and community members representing each school, who are appointed for rotating four-year terms. Ex-officio members include the gifted program coordinator, the full-time teachers of the gifted, a secondary gifted student, and a representative from each school's faculty who is involved in the education of the gifted.

The purpose of the Gifted Advisory Committee is to coordinate school and community support in developing and promoting gifted education.

The Gifted Advisory Committee meets a minimum of four times per year and will elect officers at the first meeting. All interested persons are invited to attend and to apply for membership on the Committee. For more information, please contact Joe Douglas, Coordinator of the Gifted Programs, at 804-524-3405 x 4138.

Meeting Dates

Unless indicated otherwise, meetings start at 6:00 PM and are held in the CHHS Media Center.

  • Middle School Focus Night: 10/22/25 (meeting location change: Colonial Heights Middle School)

  • High School Focus Night: 2/12/25

  • Elementary Focus Night: 5/13/25

Committee Members

Members of the Gifted Advisory Committee are elected to serve a three-year term. Colonial Heights Policy prohibits members from serving more than two consecutive three-year terms.

Remus James (Principal, TES)

Jackie Stuller (Parent, CHMS)

Beth Christy (Community Representative) Chair

LeighAnne Boisseau (Parent, CHHS)

Rachel Kennedy (Parent, TES)

Jennifer Burt (Parent, LES)

Kelechi Gabriel (Parent, CHMS)

Jamie Young (Parent, CHHS)

James Zatowski (Parent, CHMS)

Shelby Sanderson (Parent, LES) Vice Chair

Chris Martin (Parent, CHMS)

Ex-Officio Members

Darby Wheeler, CHHS

Deanne Barnett, CHMS

Molly Slack, LES

Tammy Young, NES

Christina Neece, TES