At Harding Charter Prep, we believe that all students are capable of extraordinary achievement. As a college preparatory district, we offer a rigorous curriculum that challenges every learner, treating all students as if they have been identified as gifted and talented. While some students may be formally identified as gifted, we recognize that giftedness can manifest in diverse ways and is not limited to traditional academic metrics. We also believe that a traditional approach to gifted and talented education encourages mediocrity and fails to recognize the important part that hard work plays in achievement and success.
Giftedness refers to exceptional abilities that significantly surpass age-related expectations. It may be evident in areas such as academic achievement, creativity, leadership, critical thinking, or the visual and performing arts. Importantly, gifted students come from all backgrounds—they can be found in every student group, regardless of gender, disability, English language proficiency, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or cultural heritage. We understand that gifted children do not fit into one mold, and it is our mission to nurture each student’s unique strengths and potential, helping them excel in our academically challenging environment.
While we provide a gifted and talented program for all of our students, we also formally identify students as gifted and talented. We formally identify students as gifted and talented in order to participate in specific federal programs. However, instead of excluding students who are not formally identified as gifted and talented from exceptional programming and enriching activities, we continue to offer a high-quality educational experience to all students.
All students in Kindergarten to 12th grade who are new to our district are screened in order to formally designate qualifying students as gifted and talented. These students are screened using the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT3), which is a culturally neutral assessment of general abilities for diverse populations. Students may also be identified as gifted or talented based on a matrix, the content of which varies depending on the age of the student. If a student is screened and not identified as gifted and talented, a parent may request the school screen their student again the following year.