Schools for Advanced Studies

Gifted/talented students demonstrate evidence of high achievement in an identified area and need specialized services and support to fully develop their potential and support their academic success. Gifted/Talented Programs, Advanced Learning Options, is committed to ensuring that the unique academic and social-emotional needs of gifted/talented learners are met in every K-12 District school, including local schools of residence. Each L.A. Unified school with identified gifted learners, regardless of program type, must cluster-group gifted learners for instruction and provide meaningful differentiated learning opportunities that challenge students to achieve beyond grade-based standards and expectations.

Schools for Advanced Studies demonstration sites receive the SAS designation for their exemplary Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) implementation. The Schools for Advanced Studies designation, initially implemented in the 1998–1999 school year, was created to acknowledge exemplary school models of innovative, equitable and effective GATE practices districtwide. By providing high-quality differentiated instruction with an emphasis on depth, complexity, acceleration and novelty, SAS sites offer high-level academic opportunities that meet the unique educational needs of K–12 gifted learners, identified in the Intellectual Ability, High Achievement Ability, Specific Academic Ability, Creative Ability and Leadership Ability categories or verified based on critical thinking/achievement. Resident schools must undergo a rigorous application process every five years to obtain or maintain the SAS designation.