In Wisconsin, talented and gifted students are defined as, "Students enrolled in public schools who give evidence of high performance capability in intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or specific academic areas and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided in a regular school program in order to fully develop such capabilities."

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Wisconsin Statute 118.35

The School District of Janesville strives to:

• Provide a coordinated Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program that ensures continuity of objectives and curriculum
• Provide TAG students access to a support system that meets their social, emotional, and academic needs
• Identify, support, and serve TAG students from diverse populations
• Provide TAG students with differentiation that includes enrichment and rigor and extends portions of established curricula
• Provide a nurturing environment for TAG students that encourages problem solving, critical and creative thinking, innovation, and affective education
• Provide TAG students with experiences that go beyond the structures of the institution

Specific Academic

• Math
• English
• Language Arts
• Other:

Intellectual

Artistic/ Performing Arts

Artistic/Visual Arts

Creative Thinking

Leadership

Specific Academic

• Math
• English
• Language Arts
• Other:

Intellectual

Artistic/ Performing Arts

Artistic/Visual Arts

Creative Thinking

Leadership

The mission of TAG advocates is to develop and grow talents and abilities by meeting students' needs. The SDJ TAG program is supported by at least one Talented & Gifted (TAG) Advocate in each building. Please contact your child's main office to inquire about their assigned school advocate.

• lead the identification process
• facilitate parent communication
• support teachers in providing differentiated opportunities in the general education classroom based on student needs

The mission of the Challenge Program is to provide eligible students with a unique opportunity for cognitive and affective growth.

The Challenge Program:

• offers the district’s most advanced students an opportunity to learn with their same-age, intellectual peers for extended periods of time
• invites the top 5% of students, selected through a strategic process based on multiple assessments and data points (All 2nd- and 5th-grade students are assessed with the CogAT tool, which is used as one of many data points considered.)  
• Accelerates the curriculum a full year in language arts and math, 
• provides instruction at a deeper and more rigorous level in science and social studies, and 
• tailors instruction to the academic and social-emotional needs of intellectually advanced learners. 

*The Challenge Program is housed at Roosevelt Elementary School, Edison Middle School, and Marshall Middle School. Once invited, participation in this magnet program is a parental choice.

CHALLENGE Magnet Program Selection Process

1. Administration of CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test). 
   • The CogAT is administered to all district students in 2nd and 5th grades, but can be administered at other times if warranted. 
2. For students scoring in the top 5-10% of disaggregated groups on the CogAT, additional data is reviewed and/or collected. Students should consistently score at or above the 95th percentile in reading and math on standardized tests, as they are accelerated in those subjects. 
3. Teachers may be interviewed to verify the ability, performance, and/or potential consistently observed in the classroom.
4. An invitation to the Challenge Magnet Program is sent to families of selected students. 

*For those students invited, families have the final decision as to whether their student will be served through the Challenge Magnet Program or their home school. 

*Students typically enter the Magnet Program in 3rd or 6th grades. However, students can join at any time between 3rd and 8th grade if they meet the entrance criteria and there are openings in the program.