District 52 offers an advanced core class in the area of Math for students in Grades 4-8 and an advanced core class in ELA for students in Grades 6-8. Students are placed in these classes based on test scores and performance in the area of Math or ELA and teacher recommendation. In Grades 6-8 students have Advanced Math or Advanced ELA as their core instruction and they have this built into their daily schedule. In Grades 4-5 there is one teacher in each grade level that teaches the advanced math group. During the core Math instruction time for the grade level, the students in the Advanced Class are grouped together.

The Advanced Classes provide students more opportunity for growth, grasping concepts at a quicker pace and deepening thinking with application and reasoning. The teachers differentiate instruction based on students’ range of knowledge and abilities in specific areas of math and language arts content as well as problem solving and reasoning skills or real-world application. The advanced curricula include similar objectives to the grade level standards, but instruction allows students to dig deeper into each objective.

The criteria for Advanced class placement is reviewed at the end of each school year to recommend placement for the following year. A student is not “grandfathered” into the program. Circumstances may arise which would require a student be removed from the advanced class. Examples include a student having substantial difficulty understanding the work, repeated failure to complete assignments, quality of work below standards, or behaviors that are inappropriate or disruptive to the enriched learning environment. If these concerns are present, the teacher will schedule a conference with the parent to discuss the circumstance. If the situation continues after the conference, a dismissal from the program would be considered. If a student is dismissed from the advanced class, he/she would not be able to re-qualify and re-enter until the next school year. Please know these will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Math Enrichment in Grades 1-3 during Grade Level Intervention time will continue to be provided.