The Clovis Unified School District GATE Program is designed to provide differentiated instruction and extended learning opportunities for students who have demonstrated exceptional abilities and whose educational needs may not be fully met without modifications of the regular education program. Students participating in the GATE program should and will have access to persons, experiences, relationships, materials, and ideas for expanding their awareness. Each student must be offered an educational opportunity commensurate with his or her
needs and abilities. Students shall be given the benefit of an educational program designed to suit their capabilities and encouraged to develop themselves fully.

Each of the District’s schools – elementary (K-6), intermediate (7-8), or high school (9-12) – plans and implements its own GATE program according to the needs of the students at that site. Students in grades
4 through 12 may be considered for GATE eligibility in Clovis Unified at any time.

In addition to differentiation in the classroom, most of Clovis Unified’s elementary GATE programs consist of part-time grouping providing mini courses, vertical acceleration, and broadened horizontal experiences resulting in greater depth and complexity than typically available in the regular classroom. Elementary students also work on independent study and service projects. At the intermediate level a number of different strategies are used to meet the needs of the GATE students. Special elective classes (honors) which meet on a daily basis, independent study, vertical acceleration into high school courses, enrichment in the regular classroom, mini courses in a wide spectrum of subjects, and participation in student government are offered. At the high school level the needs of the GATE students are met by vertical acceleration, Advanced Placement classes, independent study, and advanced level electives in science, math, music, art, English, foreign language, and the social sciences. Students in the 11th and 12th grade also have the opportunity to attend daily half-day classes at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART).

For more information at the site level, parents are urged to contact their child’s GATE coordinator or principal regarding the specific program at the school. In addition, news about GATE activities should appear in each school’s newsletter and on the school’s website.

For more information contact Richard Sarkisian, Administrator, Assessment  @  559.327.0680