High Ability - Academy for Innovative Studies High School

The EVSC is dedicated to providing a rigorous curriculum in which students in grades K-12 are challenged every day to take ownership of their learning and succeed at their maximum potential. One of the ways we meet that commitment is by providing opportunities and experiences for students who demonstrate high ability in the classroom.

According to Indiana Code 20-36-1-3, a High ability student means a student who: performs at or shows the potential for performing at an outstanding level of accomplishment in at least one (1) domain when compared with other students of the same age, experience, or environment; and is characterized by exceptional gifts, talents, motivation, or interests.

teacher working with middle school students

Mission

As part of our district mission to prepare every student to excel in our global society through world-class learning experiences, we include opportunities for our high ability learners to thrive. We prepare our high ability learners to understand themselves, develop their potential, and access the world around them.

Vision

Our vision for our high ability learners is congruent to our district vision: Empowering our students to thrive in life.

Identification Categories

In order to participate in high ability programs in the EVSC, students must meet identification criteria which include a variety of data. Students are identified for high ability services in the following areas:

English/Language Arts

General Intellect

Math

Performing Arts

high school students performing cinderella

Academy for Innovative Studies High School

Elementary

Cluster Model: The Cluster Model identifies a small group of high ability students at a grade level and places them in the same classroom at that same grade level.
Pull-out Model: Students that have been identified as G/T, M or LA are pulled from their regular classrooms to work with each other and a High Ability resource teacher to facilitate accelerated and/or enriched lessons and experiences.
Self-Contained Model: all identified students in a certain grade are placed in the same classroom.
Differentiation Model: adapting the curriculum to meet the unique needs of learners by making modifications in complexity, depth, and pacing.

Middle & High School

Honors Curriculum: Students follow an honors curriculum in English/language arts, social studies, math and science. Counselors in the middle and high schools provide specialized counseling in which they encourage all high ability students to take the most rigorous course possible. This would include participation in both dual credit, honors, and advanced placement courses.
Advanced Placement (AP) Courses: There are 35 classes endorsed by the College Board in which a secondary student can earn college credit by successful meeting criteria established by high education institutions on a nationally given and scored Advanced Placement examination. Students also earn high school credit upon successful completion of the course(s). Each AP Exam score is a weighted combination of the student's scores on the multiple-choice section and the free-response section. The final score is reported on a 5-point scale:
5 = extremely well qualified
4 = well qualified
3 = qualified
2 = possibly qualified
1 = no recommendation

The EVSC offers 22 of the 35 courses in our high schools at this time and are continuing to expand offerings.
Dual Credit: Students can earn credit at two levels while enrolled in one course. While this is usually college credit and high school credit while enrolled in a course of study, it could also apply to receiving high school credit for a course taken while in an earlier grade Dual Credit courses are offered throughout EVSC and are endorsed by the University of Southern Indiana (78 courses), Vincennes University, and Ivy Tech College (63 courses).

Formal High Ability Plan

The EVSC, like all other Indiana school districts, is required to submit a formal High Ability plan to the State of Indiana.

Formal High Ability Plan