Pickens County Advanced Studies and Gifted programs include Advanced Placement, and Gifted courses. We address the needs of the unique learning characteristics, interests, personal needs and capabilities of children who are advanced and gifted.
Gifted Instruction
The program emphasizes the gifted students’ need for interaction with intellectual peers. Emphasis on the individual highlights the fact that there are differences among gifted students and a need for specialized educational experiences to meet these differences.
We acknowledge that no one teacher, resource, or instructional method can meet the needs of students who are gifted. Education for the gifted is viewed as a cooperative endeavor characterized, facilitated, and realized by the efforts of numerous individuals in the schools and community.
Authorities, parents, and educators have long recognized that intellectually gifted students require specialized educational experiences that promote the development and expression of their potential. If gifted individuals—as children, youths and adults—are to experience fulfilling lives and if society is to derive optimal benefits from gifted individuals’ uncommon potentials, an educational program must be structured to develop more fully their exceptional and varied abilities, interests and talents.
These goals are accomplished in Pickens County Schools by providing the universal curriculum to identified gifted students in the regular classroom, adjusting the rate and depth of their learning and using a variety of appropriate teaching methods. A gifted coordinator at each school site arranges additional enrichment experiences for children who are gifted to further enhance their education experience.
Helpful Links
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program of college-level courses taught in the high school setting by high school teachers. All AP courses have been approved by College Board, and provide students with the opportunity to seek advanced coursework leading to advanced placement and/or college credits through successful completion of a College Board AP examinations. All students taking and passing AP courses are expected to take the AP examination unless they follow the opt-out process. The purposes for taking an AP course are to learn a subject in greater depth, to develop analytical reasoning skills, and to develop disciplined study habits appropriate for continued success at the college level. Compared with regular high school courses, AP courses are more demanding, requiring more time and work outside of the school day, including the summer prior to the start of a course. Research shows, students that complete AP classes are better prepared for the demands of college.
Advance Placement College Board
| AP Courses |
|---|
| AP English Language and Composition |
| AP English Literature and Composition |
| AP Calculus |
| AP Statistics |
| AP Biology |
| AP Environmental Science |
| AP Chemistry |
| AP Psychology |
| AP Microeconomics |
| AP U.S. History |
| AP European History |