High Ability Program

Fall High-Ability Parent Nomination Window is Now Open:  August 26 - September 6, 2024

Parents of students in grades 1-8 who are new to Discovery this year may nominate their child(ren) to be considered for high-ability services during the 2024-25 school year. To nominate a student, please fill out the Parent Nomination form by Friday, September 6, 2024. 

The Indiana Administrative Code for High Ability Students recommends for high ability students “educational services differentiated in depth and breadth designed to meet the needs of one or more high ability students through activities such as compacting, acceleration, enrichment, problem solving, and creative thinking.” Schools are empowered to make local decisions about the best method(s) to deliver services to their students.

The foundation of Discovery Charter School’s high ability services is the availability of instruction by a teacher on staff with high ability licensure. The high ability teacher generally meets with identified students twice weekly in their area(s) of strength. He or she works to meet the needs of high ability students through curriculum which emphasizes greater sophistication in the material, encourages critical thinking skills, and exposes students to more advanced skills. Also encouraged are individual projects, learning centers in the classrooms with activities to promote critical thinking, and the use of technology (computers, iPads) to expose students to more advanced skills, additional sources of information, and additional ways to share their learning, and to track their progress.

Grade level cluster grouping is implemented in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Discovery has embraced cluster grouping as a model that benefits all students within a grade level by increasing teacher effectiveness, as it narrows the range of ability groups in any single classroom. High ability students benefit from being clustered together where the classroom teacher may provide materials or projects designed for their ability level.

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Response to intervention integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavioral problems. Discovery uses data to identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities or other disabilities.

Four Components:

  • A school-wide, multi-level instructional and behavioral system for preventing school failure

  • Screening

  • Progress Monitoring

  • Data-based decision making for instruction, movement within the multi-level system, and disability identification

Special Education

Discovery Charter School is a public school and as such we are required to comply with all Indiana laws, except those that expressly do not apply to charter schools. For example, we must comply with laws pertaining to open enrollment, special education, the unified accounting system established by the State Board of Accounts, student health and safety, compulsory school attendance, and standardized testing. The links below will provide additional information on Discovery Charter School.

mckinney-vento, migrant education, and english language learner

Discovery Charter School abides by the State and Federal laws and requirements when it comes to:

For more information on any of these programs you can click on this link. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Medley at dmedley@discoverycharter.org.