Accelerated Placement Program (APP)
Curriculum & Instruction
WHAT IS ACCELERATED PLACEMENT?
Accelerated Placement, is the placement of a student at the instructional level that best matches that student’s needs by allowing access to a curriculum that is usually reserved for children who are older or in higher grades than the student. Students, whose academic needs are not sufficiently met through differentiation may request consideration to the D44 Accelerated Placement Program. Participation in the D44 Accelerated Placement Program is not limited to students who have been identified as “high achievers”, but is open to all children who demonstrate high ability.
Eligibility for the Accelerated Placement Program is open to all currently enrolled D44 students regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, English language proficiency, or socioeconomic status.
Accelerated Placement Team Members
When evaluated if a student is eligible for accelerated placement, the following adults are part of the evaluation process:
The Parent or Legal Guardian
Building Administrator
Grade Level Teacher/Team Leader
Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Team Member
EL, Special Education Teacher
School Psychologist
APPLICATION PROCESS AND PROGRAMS
The application window opens on January 1st and closes on March 15th.
A student’s parent or guardian may apply and request consideration to the Accelerated Placement Program, or on behalf of the student the classroom teacher or building administrator may apply and request consideration to one of the following District 44’s Accelerated Placement Programs. No outside requests will be considered.
Early Entrance to Kindergarten or First Grade
Residential District 44 families who have children that will reach age 5 after September 1 may apply and request consideration for early entrance to kindergarten. This process begins by parents contacting their residential elementary building principal, in writing, by March 15th to state their intent to apply and begin the Early Entrance Application Process. Students will participate in a thorough Readiness to Attend School testing and assessment process to determine eligibility for early entrance.
To Apply: Contact resident building principal in writing between January 1st - March 15th. The completed application must be turned in to the resident building principal by April 1st.
Checklist: The following checklist can guide parents who may be considering pursuing this process:
The child demonstrates skills and abilities that are well above age peers.
The child demonstrates strong and mature social interaction skills.
The child demonstrates independence and motivation to learn.
The child has a long attention span.
The child has an extraordinary memory.
The child demonstrates strong mathematical understanding.
The child demonstrates early verbal ability, e.g., early use of complex sentences and advanced vocabulary; may be an early reader who understands what he/she reads.
Areas of potential assessment:
Early math and literacy skills.
Cognitive learning potential.
Adaptive behavior functioning.
Social-emotional functioning.
Functional performance in the school setting.
Individual Subject Acceleration
Students, whose academic needs are not sufficiently met through differentiation may request consideration for Individual Subject Acceleration Program.
Students who are highly advanced in either English Language Arts (ELA) or Mathematics may apply and request consideration for Individual Subject Acceleration. The first part of the Individual Subject Acceleration Request process will involve a review of 1) the individual student’s readiness to accelerate, 2) the student’s desire to accelerate, 3) and if the student’s academic needs are not being sufficiently met through differentiation.
To Apply: Contact resident building principal.
Criteria:
Consistent universal screening scores in the upper tiers for Math
Consistent universal screening scores in the upper tiers for Reading
A comprehensive review of the student’s current academic progress.
The student’s readiness to accelerate.
Whole Grade Acceleration
Students, whose academic needs are not sufficiently met through differentiation may request consideration for the Whole-Grade Acceleration Program.
This is an option for students who are highly advanced in all core curriculum subject areas. This process will begin with a review of 1) the individual student’s readiness for whole-grade acceleration, 2) the student’s desire for whole-grade acceleration, 3) and if the student’s academic needs are not being sufficiently met through grade level differentiation. When it is determined that differentiation may not be sufficient to meet the child's learning needs, a thorough review of the child will be conducted.
To Apply: Contact resident building principal.
Criteria:
Consistent universal screening scores in the upper tiers for Math.
Consistent universal screening scores in the upper tiers for Reading.
A comprehensive review of the student’s current academic progress.
Readiness to accelerate.
The student’s desire to be accelerated.
Very superior or extremely high verbal comprehension and expression skills.
Very superior or extremely high visual or non-verbal reasoning skills.
In accordance with ISBE 105 ILCS5/14A-32, copies of this policy are available at each school building as well as published on the District 44 website.