Curriculum and Instruction

District Philosophy

We believe that GT students are a special population with differing academic and affective needs. We believe that the needs of GT students are best met through the collaborative efforts of students, community members, parents, and appropriately trained educators. We believe that GT students should be provided a differentiated curriculum, which will be accelerated, challenging, and relevant. We believe that GT students have the potential to become our future leaders and contribute to the success of our society.

State Definition of Gifted/Talented Students

A gifted/talented student is a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who

• exhibits high-performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
• possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
• excels in a specific academic field. (Texas Education Code 29.121)

Program

Students identified as gifted in SFISD will:

• develop and use critical and creative thinking skills to produce a variety of advanced-level products.
• will conduct advanced levels of research, communicating the results in appropriate modes of expression.
• develop a variety of problem solving skills resulting in creative, appropriate solutions.
• develop their potential through enrichment and acceleration.
• acquire learning skills needed to become self-directed lifelong learners.
• develop healthy self-concepts and skills of interaction, including skills of leadership.

Santa Fe ISD Gifted and Talented Parent/Student Handbook

 Click here for GT Referral Form

Advanced Academics

Dual Credit

Collegiate High School

Credit by Examination (CBE) is made available to students four times each year.  Students must take criterion-referenced exams.  To register for the CBE Exam, the CBE Registration Form must be returned to your Campus Counselor by 3:00 P.M. on one of the 4 testing window dates posted below for the 2023-2024 school year.  

CBE Registration Form

Kindergarten Acceleration

For students to qualify for kindergarten acceleration, the student must demonstrate 80% mastery or higher on both a Reading and Math assessment developed by our Curriculum and Instruction department.

Grades 1-5 Acceleration

A district shall accelerate a student in grades 1–5 one grade level if the student meets the following requirements:

• The student scores 80 percent or above on a criterion-referenced test for the grade level to be skipped in each of the following areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies;
• A district representative recommends that the student be accelerated; and
• The student's parent or guardian gives written approval of the acceleration.

Grades 6-12 Credit by Exam

A district shall give a student in grades 6–12 credit for an academic subject in which the student has received no prior instruction if the student scores:

• A three or higher on a College Board advanced placement examination that has been approved by the board for the applicable course;
• A scaled score of 50 or higher on an examination administered through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and approved by the board for the applicable course; or
• Eighty percent or above on any other criterion-referenced test approved by the board for the applicable course.

If a student is given credit in a subject on the basis of an examination on which the student scored 80 percent or higher, a district shall enter the examination score on the student's transcript and the student is not required to take an end-of-course (EOC) assessment instrument under Education Code 39.023(c) for the course.

A student may not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times.

If a student fails to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course before the beginning of the school year in which the student would ordinarily be required to enroll in that course in accordance with the district's prescribed course sequence, the student must satisfactorily complete the course to receive credit for the course.

Testing Windows

Testing window 1: October 10 – October 13, 2023

The registration form must be returned to your Campus Counselor by 3:00 P.M. on September 15, 2023.

Testing window 2: December 11- December 15, 2023

The registration form must be returned to your Campus Counselor by 3:00 P.M. on November 16, 2023.

Testing window 3: February 26 - February 29, 2024

The registration form must be returned to your counselor by 3:00 p.m. on February 2, 2024.

Testing window 4: May 20 - May 24, 2024

The registration form must be returned to your Campus Counselor by 3:00 P.M. on April 26, 2024.

For registration forms and/or further information, please contact your school counselor or call:

Santa Fe ISD 409-925-3526 

COMING SOON

ESSER III

23-24 SFISD State and Federal Grant Manual

Every Local Education Agency must designate an appropriate staff person as a local homeless education liaison and submit that person's name to the Texas Education Agency(TEA). The Homeless Liaison is available to help campuses and students with the enrollment of students experiencing homelessness. Santa Fe ISD uses a student residency questionnaire and interviews to help determine whether or not a student qualifies as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act.

For additional information contact:

• Any campus registrar
• Lois Henderson - Jones LMSW - Santa Fe ISD at (409-925-9075

SFISD Summer School Webpage

SEL 

PBIS