Poster Presentation 1 — Identification Practices That Increase Program Diversity — Beth Winton
Monday, May 20, 2024, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Student Union Ballroom, Rooms 330/331
Significant efforts have been made in the Columbia (MO) Public Schools to diversify its gifted program. The Missouri Department of Education allows for identification plans targeted to underrepresented categories based on data analysis. Applying this targeted identification plan, the district’s gifted program has increased the percentages of students from underrepresented races (not white or Asian) from 8.3% to 15.2% and those living in poverty (as identified by qualifying for free/reduced price meals) from 10% to 16.9%. Meanwhile, the percentage of white students decreased from 84% to 73%.