Highly Capable Program

Mission Statement

Entiat School District is committed to identifying and providing for the unique educational needs of all of our students, and best preparing each and every one of them for college and career readiness.  In an individualized educational program, the needs of all children are provided for according to their specific abilities, aptitudes, and levels of performance.

Definition of a Highly Capable Student 

Highly Capable (HC) students are defined as those who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences or environments. Outstanding abilities are seen within the student’s general intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain.  We have established general guidelines based on multiple objective criteria that set a very high expectation for HC designation.  

Children who are HC may have, but are not limited to, these learning characteristics:

  • Capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding, to retain what has been learned, and to transfer learning to new situations;

  • Capacity and willingness to deal with higher levels of abstraction and complexity earlier than their chronological peers;

  • Creative ability to make unusual connections among ideas and concepts

  • Ability to learn quickly in their area(s) of intellectual strength; and

  • Capacity for intense concentration and/or focus.

WAC 392-170-035 
WAC 392-170-036

It is important to note that HC students may not be high performing. It is estimated that 25% of school dropouts may be HC. We must consider the student who shows potential yet may be bored, “maxed out” within their class or simply not engaged with school.

Description of Services

The expectation is that HC students will be given opportunities to work at an accelerated pace, and at a higher level of complexity. Ideally, HC students will be given opportunities to interact and work with their peers, which can help engage and motivate higher learning.

We will offer services from the following list of options, based on the specific needs and best interests of the student(s):

Notification, Assessment Tools, Screening, and Selection Procedures

Highly Capable MDT

State law requires that selection will be based upon screening and assessment by a multidisciplinary committee of qualified district personnel. This committee will determine, in their professional judgment, and based on data collected in the assessment process, which students may benefit from inclusion in the district’s program, consistent with WAC 392-170-055.

In response to these changes, we have established a committee including district teachers, specialists, and administration representatives.  Select members have received extensive training to gain necessary expertise. We have worked together to:

  •  Understand the legal requirements for these programs;

  •  Design a program to satisfy the WAC amendments for notifications, screening, selection and OSPI reporting, among other considerations;

  •  Develop a model that serves the most highly qualified K-12 students;

  •  Present a well-considered and complete proposal annually for board approval and submission to the OSPI

  • Report annually to the school board and the community on program progress;

  • Understand and attempt to work within current HC district and state funding allocations to prepare for and deliver services to our students.

Email us with any questions, comments, or concerns. This will reach representatives at every level of our program, and the appropriate party will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible. Written correspondence may be addressed to Highly Capable MDT at Entiat SD, and will be directed to the person best able to answer in a timely manner.