Beach Park District #3 recognizes gifted and talented children, and children eligible for accelerated placement are children who consistently excel or show the potential to consistently excel above the average child in one or more of the defined areas of giftedness defined by the state of Illinois. 

Gifted, Talented, and Accelerated placement refers to the placement of a student in an academically appropriate instructional setting with an appropriate level curriculum that may include, but is not limited to, a child entering kindergarten or first grade early, a child accelerating in a single subject, and a child accelerating through grades.

Eligible Students: The child must live within the Beach Park School District 3 boundaries. Proof of residency will be required prior to Early Entrance considerations. Please contact Beatriz Bahena at registration@bpd3.org to submit residency documents. Along with your child's birth certificate, Parent/Guardian IDs, and any relevant school assessments. Upon receipt of these items, your child's Early Entry Assessment will be scheduled. 

Request Submission Timeline:  Parents must submit the paperwork by April 1st, prior to the school year start date, to initiate the process (no exemptions).

• Early Entrance into Kindergarten:  This term applies to a student whose 5th birthday is on or between September 2nd - December 1st.  The regular cut-off date for entering kindergarten is September 1st.

• Early Entrance into 1st Grade: This term applies to a student whose 6th birthday is on or between September 2nd - December 1st. The regular cut-off date for entering first grade is September 1st.

• District personnel will contact parent/guardian with June Testing information

• Student is assessed using multiple aptitude and ability tests

Assessment results will determine early entrance placement. For students to be considered for  early entrance to kindergarten and first grade, students need to score in the 91%+ in various aptitude tests and be ready emotionally/socially.

Our Gifted and Accelerated Program is designed to nurture student learners who are ready for new challenges, deeper exploration, and opportunities to grow both academically and personally. BPD3 believe in supporting the whole child, and BPD3 are committed to helping your child thrive in an environment where their talents are celebrated and their curiosity is encouraged.

Students in this program will have the opportunity to:

• Engage in more advanced and challenging learning experiences

• Explore topics of personal interest through creative projects and problem-solving

• Work alongside peers who share similar passions and abilities

• Develop critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration skills

• Receive support for their social-emotional growth as gifted learners

Note: Our elementary program is held at Newport Elementary School. To help make things as easy as possible for families, transportation will be provided. Students in the Gifted and Accelerated Program (and their siblings) will have a bus available to take them to and from Newport each day.

 BPD3 uses the Cognitive Abilities Test (Cogat test) which is a standardized test that measures verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative reasoning abilities in students as our screening tool. BPD3 administers the CoGat test for all students in the district in both second and fifth grade. In order to receive the gifted/accelerated identification, students has to achieve:

•  a stanine 7 or higher on the Cogat Test

And meet at least 2 of the follow 4 categories:

• 80% or higher nationally in ELA or Math I-ready diagnostic tests

• 80% or higher nationally in ELA or Math Fast Bridge diagnostic tests

• Exceeds in one category or more on IAR tests

• Teacher recommendation/ class grades

 If a student does not meet the initial requirements, no further screening is done. BPD3  will screen new students to the district/ students that we don't have CoGAt scores for by request of parents, teacher, and admin if they have i-ready or fastbridge scores that meet the criteria.