5
GIFTED PROGRAM
The Gwinnett County Public Schools gifted education program serves students
in grades K-12 by providing academic challenges for students intellectually
advanced. The gifted program is called FOCUS at the elementary level,
PROBE at the middle grades and Gifted Program at the high school level. Any
responsible person who has knowledge of a student’s intellectual abilities may
refer a student to the local school’s gifted referral committee. The classes offer
accelerated learning and enriched academic curriculum experiences that focus
on and extend Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Academic Knowledge and
Skills. Students are identified and placed in gifted education based on criteria
established by the Georgia General Assembly and the Georgia State Board of
Education. Students who transfer from gifted education programs within the
state of Georgia have reciprocity into the Gwinnett program providing the
original placement was correctly completed. Students who transfer from out-of-
state must meet Georgia requirements. Parents should notify the school when
registering their child that he/she was identified as a gifted education student in
their previous school. NHS offers gifted level courses in some core subject
areas at all grade levels. Students who are in the gifted education program may
take Gifted Directed Studies or Gifted Internship as electives during their
Junior or Senior year. These programs allow students to pursue their own
interests in an academic setting. Any questions about the gifted education
program should be directed to the Gifted Education Teacher.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA
The International Baccalaureate Diploma program at Norcross High School is
one of two in Gwinnett County Public Schools and is for highly motivated,
college-bound students. The IB program includes two years of Middle Years
(MYP) honors or higher level courses that challenge the student and leads to
two rigorous years of IB curriculum in 11
th
and 12
th
grades, culminating, at the
highest level of participation, in the IB Diploma. The IB Diploma, which is
received in addition to the Norcross High School diploma, is recognized in over
2000 schools worldwide and is structured to meet entrance requirements of the
best universities. A directory of credits and university acceptance is available
in the IB Office at Norcross High School or at
.
Level of Participation in the IB Program:
The principle goal of the IB
Program is to have earned the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma
at the end of the four- year program. However, there are three levels of
participation in the NHS IB Program.
Middle Years Participation:
All freshman and sophomore classes at
NHS are MYP classes. Teachers design MYP units of study at all levels
of instruction that are designed to foster relationships between school
subjects, the student as an independent learner, and the community. These
instructional units culminate in activities that are assessed by the IB MYP
achievement rubrics. Students are offered the opportunity to earn a MYP
Certificate at the end of their sophomore year if they have completed two
years of a modern language, the MYP Personal Project, and meet other
criteria.
