SPARK: OUR GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM
Supporting Potential & Advanced Readiness in Kids
Gifted students display a complex level of thinking that varies in acceleration and depth. Our gifted and talented program challenges gifted students’ unique and creative abilities, furthering their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Our teachers assess the student’s current knowledge and skill levels, adjusting instruction and curriculum to meet each student’s needs along their journey.
Scholars utilize various gifted-specific curriculum including Junior Great Books for literature and Beast Academy for math.
Learn more about our gifted program by viewing this excerpt from one of our open houses. To view the open house in its entirety, please click here.
After [my child's] first day in Mrs. Ferrier’s language arts class, he burst into my room, eyes lit up, so excited for the fall poetry class he had just experienced. He danced around the room, told me about the breakout rooms with friends, and recited, from memory, his poem and those of his partners. It was truly wonderful to see this type of inspiration after a class and it is one of the many reasons we are so happy to have chosen Ignite! - M. Martinez, SPARK Parent
What We Believe
- Gifted children deserve the opportunity to deeply explore areas of interest.
- Gifted children deserve to learn something new every day.
- Gifted children must be provided new, exploratory ways of learning rather than simply being assigned 'more' work.
- Gifted children need an intellectual peer.
- Gifted children have many non-academic needs and wrap-around support is needed to nurture the whole child.
Contact us to learn more about our SPARK program at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Spark Project Samples
Click the title to view the video
AMPLE AND ENGAGING OFFERINGS
Students identified as gifted and talented are afforded the opportunity to explore their interests through the core course curriculum, capstone projects, and a diverse offering of relevant and engaging foreign language, electives, and advanced courses.
Gifted students in grades K-5 participate in a self-contained gifted classroom with small class sizes and daily live classes. Students in grades 6-12 meet weekly for enrichment with their assigned SPARK teacher in addition to working individually with their teacher as they make progress toward their passion project.
Gifted students in elementary and middle school are placed in gifted-specific core courses that extend their thinking, challenge their views, and require them to think critically in the areas of math, language arts, science, and social studies. High school students may select from a variety of advanced courses and college courses through concurrent enrollment with ILA and ASU.
Students who work more quickly than their peers are able to do so in our environment to ensure they are continually challenged. Our SPARK program is designed to keep up with their pace-not the other way around! We know gifted students don’t simply need more work. Instead, they need the opportunity to explore the world around them and construct varied viewpoints, test hypotheses, and learn by doing.
Students have the opportunity to extend their learning through a variety of clubs and activities to spark curiosity and ignite their learning and passion.
LIVE CLASSES FOR GIFTED LEARNERS
Gifted students are invited to attend live classes throughout the week with their peers. Students are grouped by age and have the opportunity to interact with other gifted students as they learn about the world in which we live and about which they are passionate.
K-5th grade students in the self-contained gifted program meet daily with their self-contained SPARK classroom teacher and peers of the same age, and have additional daily opportunities to receive academic instruction in the areas of English language arts, math, science, and social studies.
Gifted middle and high school students meet throughout the week with their certified content-specific teachers in addition to meeting with their SPARK teacher for small group project-based-learning classes. High school students earn elective credit through their SPARK program achievement.
ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE
Not only do we strive to build academic excellence, we promote self-awareness and intrinsic motivation. Students will be encouraged to develop individualized thinking, investigation, and expression.
They'll develop creative problem solving when facing challenges. Students' achievements are celebrated as we continually work together to meet their personalized goals.
Contact us today to learn more about ILA's SPARK program.