How CCPS is redefining gifted education
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
For many adults, the word gifted brings back a familiar image: a small group of high-achieving students leaving class once a week for enrichment, then quietly returning to “regular” school.
According to CCPS Gifted Coordinator Michelle Cason, that image no longer reflects what gifted education looks like, or who it serves.
“If you really want kids to reach their potential, you have to allow them to pursue what they're interested in and passionate about," she said. "When we design better systems for our most divergent learners, it strengthens instruction for everyone."
In her fourth year with the district, Ms. Cason has helped transform the gifted program to better serve students whose abilities don’t always fit neatly into traditional classrooms.
A Program Built to Grow
In addition to overseeing identification, testing, record-keeping, state reporting, and ensuring compliance, Ms. Cason is helping shift the CCPS vision.
Rather than relying on a traditional weekly pull-out class, CCPS champions flexible, interest-driven services designed to meet students where they are.
This school year marks the first time the district has three gifted teachers serving students districtwide.
Alongside Ms. Cason are Rachel Michel, now in her second year, and Jerrica Whitaker, a first-year gifted teacher.
"The most rewarding part is when I see that they feel seen, heard, and understood. These moments spring from conversations about special interests, talking about being gifted, problem solving, coming up with creative solutions, being challenged, and seeing them start to understand how much potential they have."
-Teacher Rachel Michel
“When I first started, I was doing everything — teaching and coordinating,” Ms. Cason said. “That model wasn’t sustainable. Now we’re building something that lasts."
That sustainability matters. Gifted programming in Kentucky is tightly regulated, requiring formal identification procedures, documentation, and reporting. But within those requirements, Ms. Cason saw opportunity.
“The law is clear that gifted services should be based on individual needs, interests, and abilities,” she said. “That gives us freedom to do this differently.”
Currently, 648 students in the district are identified as gifted across 12 areas of giftedness. Those areas include not only academics, but also creative and divergent thinking, leadership, and the arts.
Research shows gifted learners fall into multiple profiles, including students who are twice exceptional, neurodivergent, or creatively gifted but academically inconsistent. These are often the students who struggle most in traditional systems.
“If you’re a divergent thinker, the system isn’t built for you,” Ms. Cason said. “You’re not off-task; you’re thinking differently.”
From Testing to Understanding
Gifted identification in CCPS now begins earlier and reaches further.
Formal identification begins in fourth grade, but students can be recognized earlier through the Primary Talent Pool program in grades K–3. Identification is not limited to test scores alone.
“We have special considerations,” Ms. Cason explained. “If a student doesn’t test well, has an IEP, or is underachieving, there are other ways to show giftedness.”
School-level gifted committees — made up of teachers, administrators, and specialists — review multiple data points, referrals, and observations. Parents and even students themselves can initiate referrals.
“Our goal is equity,” Ms. Cason said. “We want to find the kids we’ve historically missed. Gifted is not just academic. It can be spatial. Mechanical. Nonverbal. The system isn’t naturally built for those learners.”
"The most rewarding part of working with our GT students is witnessing their curiosity come to life. They ask thoughtful, complex questions and aren’t satisfied with surface-level answers, but they want to dig deeper, make connections, and explore ideas in creative ways."
-Teacher Jerrica Whitaker
Students may participate in pull-outs, seminars, project-based learning, and interest-based groupings. Gifted teachers collaborate with classroom teachers to support differentiation in meaningful ways.
Students also have choice. They can opt in or out of services without losing their identification status.
Programming often aligns with student interests, from Appalachian folklore research to technology initiatives and STLP projects.
“We focus on depth,” Ms. Cason said. “Interdisciplinary connections and real-world application.”
At the heart of the program is the belief that struggle is part of growth.
Students are given safe spaces to fail, reflect, and try again. “Gifted students still need to learn persistence,” she said. “Challenge builds resilience. That’s how real learning happens."
Ms. Cason’s advocacy comes from lived experience, which shapes how she works with students who feel unseen.
“I know what it feels like to grow up in systems that don’t fit you,” she said. “So we teach students how to navigate those systems, and how to advocate for themselves within them. Some people won’t understand how your brain works. That’s not a reflection of you.”
Looking Ahead
Ms. Cason is the first to admit the work isn’t finished. Leadership and arts identification remain areas for growth in an arts-rich community.
“I want kids to feel seen and valued for whatever they bring to the classroom," she said. "All kids deserve to have their needs met.”
And gifted education in Clark County Public Schools is a place where that can happen.
