For Highly Capable students in third through fifth grade.
The elementary programs include JAWS (pull-out enrichment), SAIL (full-time self-contained) and GATE (multi-age classroom).
JAWS (Joining Ability with Subject Matter) pull-out enrichment program for students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.
The JAWS program is designed to meet the needs of students who have exceptional ability by offering challenging and enriching learning experiences through differentiated instruction. Challenge comes from an advanced content, interaction with intellectual peers, and projects and activities that create a need for organization, and study skills. Teaching strategies include an emphasis on problem-solving, critical thinking skills, creativity skills and the development of research skills.
Students attend their home school four days a week and their JAWS learning enrichment classroom one day a week. The JAWS enrichment classrooms are located in several elementary schools throughout the district. Bus transportation is provided from the student’s home school to their JAWS site. Students are bussed back to their home school before the end of the school day.
JAWS enrichment pull-out programs are currently located at the following schools:
- Browns Point
- Fawcett
- Lowell
- Skyline
SAIL (Self-contained Advanced Individual Learning) full-time self-contained program serves students in 4th and 5th grade.
Students are enrolled in a self-contained classroom all day, five days a week. The full-time program is designed to meet the needs of students who have exceptional ability by stimulating curiosity and developing higher-level thought processes. Basic learning objectives found in the regular classroom are compacted, allowing for in-depth extensions of the curriculum and creative expression.
The curriculum in the full-time program includes:
- Literacy
- Math
- Social studies
- Science
- Health
- Arts
SAIL classrooms are differentiated from a traditional classroom by:
- Intellectual rigor
- Accelerated pace
- Autonomous learning
- Greater depth and breadth of content
- Structured inquiry
Students who are placed in the SAIL program must enroll full-time at their assigned SAIL school. Those students who reside within district boundaries are provided district transportation to their SAIL school site. Students residing outside the district must provide their own transportation. Programs are housed at the following district elementary schools:
- Lister
- Pt. Defiance
- Browns Point
GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Program, multi-age classroom serves students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.
A school centered program is offered as part of the Highly Capable program in Tacoma Public Schools. It is called GATE (Gifted and Talented Education). This program has many benefits:
- Recognition of the talents of children beyond what the current assessments for SAIL and JAWS reveal about our students.
- It is housed in student’s neighborhood school.
- The educators who know our students well are the ones who make the final selection regarding placement.
- Students will benefit from working with the same teacher for up to three years. They will study thematic units on a variety of topics, and the teacher will encourage the liberal use of the arts.
This Program is at Downing Elementary and North East Tacoma Elementary at this time. Information about application and placement can be obtained by calling the main office. The decision for placement is done by the individual school and appeals will not be accepted at the Tacoma Public School Administration Highly Capable office. The purpose of the program is to use formative, summative and anecdotal information that can only be obtained from day to day knowledge of student performance.
Contact Downing at 253.571.7100 or North East Tacoma at 253.571.6933 for more information.