K-8 Highly Capable Program Review

Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) will implement key shifts in Highly Capable services to align with recommendations from the K-8 Highly Capable Program Review Committee, current research on effective practices and additional stakeholder feedback.

Key shifts in the service model to start Fall 2025 include:

• Transition to classroom-based services (CBS)
  The transition of K-5 Highly Capable (K5HC) services to classroom-based services (CBS). K5HC services will shift from 30-minute weekly pull-out sessions to in-class differentiated learning provided by general education teachers.
• Phasing out Pull-Out Quest (POQ)
  Current LWSD-enrolled POQ students in grades 2-5 will transition fully into FTQ/MSQ services starting Fall 2025, and will be fully enrolled students in FTQ/MSQ next year. This program will be discontinued after the 2024-25 school year.
• Continuation of Full-Time Quest (FTQ) and Middle School Quest (MSQ)
  FTQ and MSQ services will remain in their current structure, with ongoing evaluation and stakeholder engagement to inform future refinements.

Starting Fall 2025, LWSD will provide K-5 students with single and dual-domain Highly Capable support in math and/or literacy through classroom-based services (CBS) and comprehensive, multi-domain support through FTQ services. 

This shift in service models is the result of extensive collaboration and planning between multiple departments and stakeholders, with a focus on enhancing the student learning experience, aligning with district curriculum, ensuring standards-based learning, and ensuring students experience positive social emotional learning.  The goals also include more equitable access to learning, a strong sense of belonging and differentiated learning opportunities within general education classrooms.

Historical Context and Review Process

The K-8 Highly Capable Program Review Committee began its work in Fall 2023 to address historical inequities and to design a service model that aligns with LWSD’s values of equity, inclusion and excellence through high-quality instruction, as well as ensure compliance with new Washington State laws regarding Highly Capable programs. The process engaged focus groups of students, families, principals, program and general education teachers and staff, and building and central administrators. The process also involved detailed evaluations of student needs, service effectiveness and stakeholder feedback.

Updates and general recommendations were shared with our community and staff through direct and district-wide communications, district and program websites, focus group and forum meetings, as well as Board presentations. The plan was developed to implement key elements of the recommendations from the committee, address a variety of challenges in all service models, including our current practices, and to integrate differentiated services into general education classrooms.

Key milestones in the review process included:

• Focus group sessions with students, families, teachers and administrators.
• Drafting and refining recommendations through Committee work, collaboration with multiple departments and incorporating stakeholder feedback.
• The development and integration of new and ongoing professional development for teachers and resource planning to support implementation.

Benefits for students and teachers

This updated Highly Capable service model creates enriched and inclusive classrooms where students can thrive and have access to rigorous instruction. By supporting advanced learning opportunities within the general education setting, students remain connected to their peers while accessing differentiated instruction tailored to their strengths. This consistency fosters a sense of belonging and minimizes disruptions, allowing students to fully engage in their learning.

For more information, please read the FAQs for the Accelerated Programs model shift.

Informational Sessions

Families and staff are invited to attend sessions: 

• January 28 recording:
  

   

• February 10 recording:
  

These information sessions will be in webinar form, be hosted remotely in partnership with the Gifted Education Advisory Council (GEAC) and are meant to address common questions and provide detailed information about service changes. Accelerated Programs will also respond to frequently asked questions submitted by families. Email: accpro@lwsd.org.

Question submission form

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The K-8 Highly Capable Program Review Committee will provide findings and recommendations for current and future K-8 Highly Capable Program design in the areas of state compliance and district alignment. Specific areas of focus will include:  

• Program eligibility 
• Affective domain 
• Program effectiveness 
• Curriculum and instruction 
• Professional development 
• Resource and finance 
• Contract implications 

The K-8 Highly Capable Program Review Committee will analyze current practices, challenges and opportunities in LWSD’s K-8 Highly Capable program and identify potential systemic improvements that are research-based, effective practices and supported through rigorous dialogue with community stakeholders. Stakeholders will engage in the exploration of evidence-based best practices, gap analysis with existing programs and quantitative and qualitative data analysis, to develop a set of findings and recommendations for the program moving forward. The committee will build consensus recommendations and considerations for systemic changes to our current programs to improve program policies, practices, eligibility, and design and lead to more equitable and effective practices. The recommendations will be delivered in the form of a final report and presentation to the superintendent or designee.

2023-2024 data: 

• 2961 students in Highly Capable services.
• 10% of LWSD population.
• Legislature emphasizes accelerated learning as basic education for qualified students.

Over time changes in legal requirements to Highly Capable programs resulted in:   

• Three service programs in elementary: K5HC, Pull-out Quest (POQ), and Full-time Quest (FTQ).
• One service program at the middle school level: Middle School Quest (MSQ).
• 2022-23 Middle School Quest Program Review, approximately 20 members.
  • Integration of students receiving MSQ services into general education science courses with differentiation in the general ed classroom as the service model.

2023 legislation required: 

• Universal screening at two grade levels.
• Use of multiple points of data for eligibility.
• Districts prioritize the equitable identification of low-income students.

Enrollment issues:  

• Considerations, over time, have resulted in complex and often overlapping curricular scopes and sequences.
  • FTQ may alternate years of curriculum to address a class of split students (ex. 2/3 FTQ)  .
  • Adds to the complexity and sometimes inconsistency of services  .
• Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color (BIPOC) students and students in free and reduced programs significantly underrepresented in the program.