Marion County to pilot middle-school gifted pullout elective after board raises screening concerns

District staff presented a plan to pilot a middle-school advanced-academics pullout elective at three schools for the 2026–27 school year, and trustees used the update to push for changes to the district's gifted-identification practices.

Mr. Whitehouse, who led the update with Miss Connor, told the board the district will pilot the elective at Bellevue Middle School, Fort King Middle School and North Brand Middle School after targeted outreach to principals and families. "We have 80 students total between them," Whitehouse said, estimating the demand will create about four sections across the three sites.

The presentation described how the elective was developed with principals and assistant principals, noted alignment with state standards, and outlined supports including extension activities, shared resources between pilot schools and expanded professional-learning options to encourage teachers to obtain gifted endorsements.

Why it matters: trustees framed the pilot as a way to reduce persistent gaps in services and to broaden access without relying on lottery-based magnet programs. Several board members urged the district to combine the pilot with recruitment and professional learning so schools can sustain expansion.

Trustees focused much of their questioning on the district's screening practices. Dr. James said the KBIT screener has been used in a way that excludes students: "My own child KBIT score would not have qualified her by almost 30 points for gifted, and she's very gifted," he said. Other trustees agreed the KBIT should be one tool among many rather than a sole gate to services.

District staff explained that middle schools commonly operate an inclusion model for gifted services, while high schools use a consult model, and that the proposed pullout elective would be another delivery option for students for whom inclusion is not the best fit. Staff also said homeschooled students using the Family Empowerment Scholarship could enroll in marketplace courses and that the district could receive payment for those seats.

Board members asked for clarity about outreach and communications to families and for final language of parent-facing communications that explain legal rights and the identification process. Staff committed to ongoing updates and to returning with implementation reports after the pilot year.

What’s next: staff will run the pilot in the three schools during 2026–27, continue recruitment for teacher endorsements, and report back to the board on outcomes and scalability.