OSSD Connections Program

The Ocean Springs School District provides programming for students who meet the criteria for intellectually gifted services in second through sixth grades. The program is called CONNECTIONS.

Mission

The mission of the Ocean Springs School District program for intellectually gifted is to create a learning environment that fosters and encourages thinking, creativity, metacognition, healthy enriching relationships and appropriate expectations, and understanding of self.

Goals

To provide a qualitatively, differentiated curriculum through in-depth enrichment and extension of core curriculum in order to develop and maintain our students’ commitment to the love of learning as a lifelong process.

To help students understand themselves, develop social interest and feeling of belonging in order to assist them in reaching their intellectual potential.

Definition

The state of Mississippi defines “Intellectually Gifted Children” and “Gifted Education Programs” as follows-

“Intellectually Gifted Children shall mean those children and youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of intelligence as documented through the identification process.”

“Gifted Education Program (GEP) shall mean programs of instruction for intellectually gifted children within Grades 2 through 12, programs of instruction for academically gifted children within Grades 9 through 12, and programs of instruction for creatively and/or artistically gifted children within Grades 2 through 12 in public elementary and secondary schools of this state. Such programs shall be designed to meet the individual needs of gifted children and shall be in addition to and different from a regular program of instruction provided by the district.

Purpose

To identify those students who demonstrate unusually high achievement and/or potential for unusually high achievement. Because of their unusual capabilities, they require uniquely qualitatively differentiated educational programs not usually available in the regular classroom. These uniquely different programs are required to enable gifted students to realize their potential contributions to self and society. Programming is offered through a pull-out program resource program. Mississippi regulations require that intellectually gifted students be provided services by the properly endorsed teacher in a resource room for a minimum of five hours per week.