Frequently Asked Questions
- General
- Identification
- Program Options
- What is the magnet program and where are they?
- What is the International Baccalaureate program?
- What is the class size at the magnet program?
- What program option is available if my child does not attend the magnet program?
- If I elect to have my child stay at their home school, can my child enter the magnet program in another year?
- If I send my child to the magnet program, will my other children be able to attend the same school?
- Is transportation provided to the magnet school?
- Curriculum
ANSWERS
GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) is a state-funded program for highly capable students. Each district develops identification procedures and designs programs to meet the needs of their gifted and talented students K-12.
Students are identified on the basis of a combination of factors: standardized ability test, standardized achievement test, student portfolio, gifted student characteristics, and impact factors. Students are currently identified beginning in third grade for program choices that begin in fourth grade. For more specific information click here (link to Program – GATE identification).
Students identified as gifted, with parent permission, remain identified while attending the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.
GATE is not a mandated program in California. Therefore, each district develops its own criteria for identification. The files of students identified as gifted in another state or district will be reviewed when the student enrolls. To be eligible for the GATE program in Placentia-Yorba Linda USD, students must meet the identification criteria established for the GATE program in Placentia-Yorba Linda.
Private assessments are not accepted as part of the identification process because the state of California requires that identification of gifted students be equitable to all students in the district.
The elementary and middle school magnet programs offer GATE-only classes beginning in fourth grade. Elementary GATE magnet sites are Tynes Elementary School (for Melrose, Morse, Rio Vista, Ruby Drive, Tynes, and Van Buren Elementary Schools) Golden Elementary School (for Brookhaven, Golden, Lakeview, Linda Vista, Mabel Paine, Rose Drive, Sierra Vista, Topaz, and Wagner Elementary Schools) and Woodsboro Elementary School (for Bryant Ranch, Fairmont, Glenknoll, Glenview, Travis Ranch, and Woodsboro Elementary Schools). The middle school GATE magnet for all district middle school GATE students is Kraemer Middle School. At the high school level, the GATE magnet is Valencia High School. Valencia High School also houses the International Baccalaureate program in which students are accepted into the program based on an application process.
International Baccalaureate (IB) is an academic program taken during a student’s junior and senior years in high school. Students must complete an intense course of study that includes a course in Theory of Knowledge, requires a 4,000 word essay on a subject of each student’s special interest, and culminates in six internationally graded exams from the following subject areas: Language A1 (Language Arts), Language B (Foreign Language), Individuals and Societies (Social Science), Experimental Science (Biology, Chemistry, etc.), Mathematics, and Arts and Electives (Computer Science or any other course from Individuals and Societies or Experimental Sciences).
Pre-IB is the program taken during a student’s freshman and sophomore years in high school. Pre-IB courses are designed to prepare students for the IB program.
Class size limits are set by the district and are the same district-wide.
At the elementary level, GATE students attending their school of residence are grouped in clusters of five to nine students. At the middle and high school levels, honors classes challenge GATE and highly capable students. High school students also have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement (AP) classes for college credit.
Yes, students may enter the magnet program at any time beginning in the fourth grade on a space available basis.
Efforts are made to accommodate in-district transfers, but such transfers are offered on a space-available basis through the Child Welfare & Attendance Department.
Because GATE funds are limited, parents must provide transportation to the magnet school.
The homework policy for GATE students is the same as for other students. At the secondary level students should be prepared to spend an average of thirty minutes of nightly homework for each required course taken. (Board policy 6154)