• The 51³Ô¹Ï Union School District is committed to the belief that all students possess unique learning and social needs requiring personalized instruction and experiences to reach their full potential. Working together with parents and the community, teachers motivate, nuture, and challenge all students to attain their intellectual, creative and artistic potential.

    Expected student outcomes and personalized learning opportunities are based on the student's ability, needs and interests. As they demonstrate readiness, students have access to progressively more rigorous and challenging academic and educational experiences. Instructional materials, teaching strategies and technological resources are designed to raise students' conceptual levels and extend the breadth and depth of the regular classroom curriculum and experience.

    Students experience learning opportunities and assignments that promote the development and use of the critical thinking skills of inquiring, analyzing, problem solving and evaluating. Technology and community resources are used to enrich the classroom program. Creativity is enhanced through the use of problem solving and divergent production tasks. Collaborative educational experiences promote opportunities for students to grow in their understanding of self and others as we prepare them for the global society of the 21st century.

    Since the passage of the 2013–14 Budget Act, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) is no longer considered a categorical program in California. All funding for GATE programming is now included in the , which replaced the previous kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) finance system. Therefore, all funding for services and programming related to gifted and talented students is now determined at the local level.

    51³Ô¹Ï GATE identification is available starting in third grade. Students in grades 3-7 may be assessed using the Ravens2 assessment if requested by a parent or a teacher. Contact your child's school for additional information on testing dates and GATE program information. For more information on our board adopted GATE criteria, please .