SAS at Garfield High School
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.
The SAS model, which is in alignment with the California Gifted and Talented Education Program Resource Guide and the State Board of Education Recommended Standards for Programs for Gifted and Talented Students, explicitly supports the District's agreement with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). It is District policy that schools must reapply every five years for SAS designation. Independent charter schools and magnet programs are not eligible for the SAS designation.
Resident Schools must undergo a rigorous application process every five years to obtain/maintain SAS designation. SAS sites exemplify the District's expectations for high-quality GATE implementation at all K-12 Schools. SAS teachers and administrators are required to participate annually in professional development specifically tailored to addressing the unique academic and social emotional needs of gifted/talented learners.
- The Magnet program is a Court-Ordered voluntary integration program, coordinated by Student Integration Services, open to all L.A. Unified students. Some of the Magnet programs are designated as Gifted or Highly Gifted. In order to apply to one of these programs through the Choices process, students must first meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the Choices brochure.
- Schools for Advanced Studies, coordinated by Gifted/Talented Programs, Advanced Learning Options, are model GATE demonstration sites at resident schools. SAS is the GATE instructional program at designated resident schools.
- Students residing within L.A. Unified boundaries - but outside the SAS site's residential boundaries - may apply for participation through the Choices process. If spaces are available - after accommodating all students who meet eligibility criteria and who reside within the school's residential boundaries - a selection process for qualifying SAS applicants will be conducted. In order to participate in SAS, students must first meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the Choices brochure.
