HIGHLANDS ELEM SCHOOL (PK - 4)

To obtain an endorsement as a Gifted Education Specialist, a candidate must:

• Hold an Illinois professional educator license endorsed in a teaching field

• Present evidence of two years of teaching experience on the Illinois professional educator license or a comparable out-of-state license involving the education of gifted students

• Hold a master's degree or higher awarded by a regionally accredited institution of higher education

• Complete a state-approved K-12 gifted education specialist program at a regionally-accredited institution of higher education (use form 73-05GPDF Document to verify program completion)

• Includes clinical experiences with five or more students in both PK- grade 8 AND grades 9-12, and work with at least one student enrolled in PK-grade 8 and one student enrolled in grades 9-12.

• Pass the Gifted Specialist content test (312)

To obtain an endorsement as a Gifted Education Teacher, a candidate must complete:

• 18 semester hours of credit with coursework in each of the following areas:

  • characteristics of the field of gifted education as it pertains to gifted children, including their cognitive, creative and affective development

  • the wide range of ways in which a child is gifted; issues and practices in identifying and serving gifted children; and the manner in which assessment data shape decisions about identification, learning progress and outcomes

  • theoretical and research-based data necessary for the development of programs, curriculum and instructional sequences for gifted children, especially those serving gifted students from diverse populations

  • A Practicum

• Gifted Education (NES) (312) test