Enrichment Clusters truly put the schoolwide in the Schoolwide Enrichment Model; they are for everyone, including students not typically served by gifted services and with few chances to participate in the collaborative, choice-based projects that those identified as gifted and talented often have. Usually scheduled for one or two periods a week and conducted in cycles throughout the year, Enrichment Clusters allow students and teachers to work in areas of interest with others who share the same interest.

Every student is special if we create conditions that make each student a specialists in a specialized group.

1. All activity in an enrichment cluster is directed toward the production of a product or service.
2. Students and teachers select the clusters in which they will participate. All students and teachers are involved.
3. Students are grouped across grade levels by interest areas.
4. There are no predetermined lesson or unit plans. The cluster group determines the outcome product or service.
5. The authentic methods of professional investigators are used to pursue product and service development.
6. Divisions of labor are used to guarantee that all students are not doing the same thing in the cluster.
7. Specially designed time blocks are set aside for clusters.

Articles

• Using Enrichment Clusters to Address the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners.pdf
• Things You Can Do To “Academicize” the Content of Your Enrichment Clusters: A Case Study
• Implementing Enrichment Clusters in a Multiage School: Perspectives from a Principal and Consultant
• Sample Enrichment Clusters for Primary Grades
• So You’re (Thinking of) Starting Enrichment Clusters
• How to Develop an Authentic Enrichment Cluster

Forms

• Enrichment Clusters (ZIP 475.4KB)

For support on how to implement an SEM school or information on professional development on the SEM, please visit our Schoolwide Enrichment Model Outreach page or download our one-page consulting information sheet.