GT Professional Learning

Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, all classroom teachers *who teach core subjects* will be required to complete the initial Gifted and Talented Core 30 training course within one semester of working with students. This includes Special Education teachers.

The deadline for completion is December 2023 for all current employees required to complete the training and those hired prior to the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Extensions for special circumstances will be handled on a case by case basis in collaboration with the campus principal.

If you already completed your GT Core 30, have the certificate, and have kept it updated with yearly 6 hour GT updates, you do NOT have to repeat the course. Please ensure your professional learning portfolio in Strive reflects your completion of the GT 30 hours.

Beginning Teachers and Teachers who are completing the TEA Reading Academies will have one full school year to complete the Gifted and Talented Core 30.

The GT Core 30 is comprised of 5 Parts:

Part/Day 1: Nature & Social/Emotional

Part/Day 2: Identification, Assessment & Service Design

Part/Day 3: Models of Differentiation

Part/Day 4: Depth & Complexity/ Strategies for Instruction

Part/Day 5: Advanced Products and Performances/ Research & Creativity

The GT Core 30 can be completed through Region 10 FREE of charge.

Once the initial GT Core 30 course is complete, educators must update their learning yearly with a district approved 6 hour GT update.

All 6 Hour GT Updates can be completed through Region 10 FREE of charge.

Following the Texas State Plan for the Gifted, Administrators, Counselors, and those who make hiring and scheduling decisions for GT programs, must complete a 6 hour GT for Administrators professional learning module. This is not a yearly requirement.

Little Elm ISD is a member of the Region 10 Advanced Academics Consortium. LEISD educators can attend any Advanced Academics professional learning, online and face-to-face, through Region 10, free of charge!

Follow the directions exactly! Never pay out of pocket!!

AP Summer Institute qualifies for the final 12 hours of the GT Core 30 hours. Participants must still complete 18 hours of content related to nature and needs, identification, assessment design, and learning needs of students, covered in the first 18 hours of the training.

Other professional learning sessions can qualify toward yearly required GT updates. Prior to registering for a 6 Hour Update, be sure to check with your GT Specialist or the Director for Advanced Academics to ensure your update meets the qualifications.