Academically Gifted Program (AG)
The AG program incorporates enrichment activities/units that encourage higher level thinking skills, analysis and are product oriented.

Students are identified at the end of third grade by:

• Student performance on the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills which is an achievement test) and the Cog-At (Cognitive Aptitude Test which is an IQ test);
• Student performance on high level thinking skills as seen in the regular class and small groups with the AG resource teacher which focus on various higher levellanguage arts activities and math problem solving;
• Teacher and parent checklists;
• Student classroom academic behavior and performance;
• Interest and motivation

After identification, students are served in fourth and fifth grades through differentiation in the classroom as well as through specific resource units in reading and math offered by the AG specialists. Consultation and planning are integral parts of differentiating for these students.

Consultation and small group enrichment are available for K-2 teachers who have high achieving students. In the AG Room (134) there are a wide variety of materials arranged by grade levels that can be checked out by any teacher that would like to differentiate instruction.

AG also sponsors a Chess Club each morning in Room 134 between the two morning bells. Two days are designated for K-2 students and two days for 3-5 students. Each teacher may send 4 students at a time. All ages may come on Fridays when Dr. Berry, our faithful volunteer Chess Master, teaches chess strategies. It's a great way to encourage high-level thinking!!

Art
In the art room, students will work to:

• Develop critical and creative thinking skills;
• Develop skills necessary for understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes;
• Organize a work into a cohesive whole using principles of design and art elements;
• Evaluate a range of subject matter and ideas to communicate meaning in artworks;
• Understand the visual arts in relation to history and cultures;
• Reflect upon and assess the characteristics and merits of their work and others;
• Perceive connections between visual arts and other disciplines;
• Develop an awareness of art as a profession.

Counseling Program
The goal of the counselor is to help children understand themselves and others, to prevent problems from developing, to help identify children with special needs, to coordinate or facilitate efforts of community help, and to provide crisis intervention. Our Counseling and Guidance department has one full time staff member and includes the following services:

• Consulting with teachers, parents, administrators and other professionals about resources, programs, individual and family problems;
• Planning and coordinating parent workshops;
• Explaining test results to help students and parents understand and use this information appropriately;
• Helping parents understand how to help their children achieve their fullest academic, social and emotional potential;
• Teaching students about the consequences of their behavior (including teaching social skills, character traits, conflict resolution, self-esteem building, and exploring other ways to facilitate changes);
• Referring students and parents to community agencies such as family services, mental health and medical services, religious organizations, etc. when needed;
• Listening to students, parents, teachers, etc. with concerns about curriculum, rules, family issues, etc.

English as a Second Language Program (ESL)
English as a Second Language (ESL) is a program designed to serve the diverse needs of students who speak a native language other than English. Morrisville Year Round Elementary School offers a pull-out ESL program which meets with students 45 minutes a day. Students' ESL times rotate between ESL class and in-class consultations. ESL instruction includes development of English language oral production, as well as, receptive, literary, and written language skills. ESL teachers have a unique role as advocates for students. As newcomers to our country, ESL students and their parents may not be aware of school processes and procedures. ESL teachers help to facilitate communication between ESL students and their families and teachers and administrators. As written in the New ESL Teacher Survival Guide, ESL teachers assist in many important areas, some of which include

• Grade placement at registration;
• Individual student schedules at appropriate levels;
• Transportation problems;
• Responding to student concerns;
• Medical needs: requesting sight and hearing exams, dental care and assisting school nurse with updating immunization information;
• Communication with classroom teachers about student needs and assignments, and school placement when reassignment occurs;
  

Instructional Resource Teacher (IRT)
The purpose of the IRT position is to support the classroom teachers and specialists, coordinate staff development, and connect individual classrooms with Wake County Curriculum initiatives and innovations.

Some ways that the IRT can support the Morrisville teachers:

• Collaborating and planning with individual teachers or teams;
• Providing resources and materials to support curriculum and instructional plans;
• Teaching sample lessons to model an instructional technique or approach;
• Providing specific feedback on effective teaching practices based on formative observations;
• Analyzing assessment and test data for instructional planning;
• Integrating technology into curricular planning;
• Meeting with each grade level team twice a month in order to share information gathered at the twice-monthly IRT meetings and to assist in curriculum integration
  
  Some ways that the IRT can connect Morrisville classrooms with WCPSS C&I:
  
• Keep teachers informed of County initiatives, supported programs, and assessments through grade level meetings and staff meetings;
• Assist teachers in utilizing the curriculum resources provided by Wake County;
• Be a liaison between classroom teachers and the Curriculum and Instruction Dept.

Literacy Support Program
The goal of the Literacy Support Program is to provide reading and writing supplemental instruction to identified students in grades K-5 and to provide support as needed to classroom teachers in order to improve student achievement. Students will meet individually and in small groups to meet specific reading and/or writing needs. Staff includes literacy teachers for K-2 and 3-5 as well as Literacy tutors. Teachers will identify students performing below the expected achievement levels of reading and/or writing.
Students are identified using:

• Alternate class rankings;
• Morrisville Achievement Benchmarks;
• K-3 and 3-5 Literacy Assessments;
• End-of-Grade Tests in Reading;
• Teacher recommendation

Music Program
Performing, creating and responding to music are the fundamental music processes in which humans engage. Students in grades K-5 learn by doing. Singing, playing instruments, moving to music, and creating music enable them to acquire musical skills and knowledge that can be developed in no other way. Students gain unique insight into the form and structure of music and at the same time develop their creativity as they engage in improvising and composing. Broad experience with a variety of music enables them to begin to understand the connections and relationships between music and other disciplines.

Physical Education
Physical Education students will use a variety of physical, mental, and manipulative tools to investigate and problem solve within structured learning situations. Classes will focus on lifetime wellness, activity, and healthful living. Upper level students will collect and maintain data that will be used in cross curricular studies, while lower level students will refine and build upon skill based movement and cooperative learning. Students will experience a broad base of activities that can be used outside of the structured physical education classroom.

Special Education Resource Program
Cross Categorical Resource (CCR) is a federally mandated program that serves students under the IDEA legislation. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires specialized instruction for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

The goals of the Morrisville Resource program are to:

• Work in conjunction with the classroom teachers, staff, and parents, to assist students with their academic progress;
• Teach students to take responsibility for learning in order to generalize what is learned in CCR to the regular classroom setting;
• Teach students to become familiar with their own learning styles and strengths;
• Provide diagnostic/prescriptive instruction related to specific student needs;
• Interact as partners with the regular education and support staff to promote effective instruction for students with special needs

Speech Program
The speech therapy program is responsible for children with articulation, language, voice, fluency, hearing, and oral motor difficulties. Kindergarten and first grade children receive hearing screenings by the speech pathologist at the beginning of the school year. However, hearing screening referrals are made when educational testing is recommended or if a hearing problem is suspected. Referral to Wake County schools audiology department is pursued when a child fails a hearing screening twice and the parent agrees to an audiological evaluation

For articulation (sound production) disorders, these errors must show an impact upon the child either socially or educationally. If neither criterion is met, then the referral processes cannot proceed.

A new area that speech pathology is pursuing is identifying children who lack phonemic awareness skills. The latter is defined as an "understanding that spoken language is composed of small units of sounds referred to as phonemes and being able to manipulate those phonemes in words." Phonemic awareness is related to how well a child reads, writes, and spells. It has been shown to be the "best single predictor of reading ability in kindergarten, followed by knowledge of letter names and kindergarten teacher predictions" (Share, Jorm, MacLean & Matthews, 1984). Approximately 20-25% of children have difficulty learning to read due to their not having adequately developed phonemic awareness skills.

Student Support Team
The purpose of the Student Support Team is to develop and implement a holistic, collaborative intervention plan to support and strengthen students, which includes strategies that are school based and/or community based.

The Student Support Team will:

• Act as a mechanism for proactive problem solving;
• Provide assistance to staff in addressing the needs of students;
• Support the integration of all identified strategies into the classroom instructional program and at home;
• Foster collaborative, supportive relationships among parents and staff;
• Coordinate the utilization of community resources to promote student success

Technology Program
Morrisville continues as a leading "Technology Connections" school. State of the art technology allows students and staff to work productively. Students are empowered to select and direct their own inquiry learning, becoming "knowledge navigators". They use technology independently and in all subject areas, viewing technology as one of many tools available. Both students and teachers make use of multi-media for the purpose of interactive presentations and instruction. Staff members search for new ways to integrate technology and participate in ongoing technology training. Some of the technology available to staff are laptops, Palm Pilots, Smart Boards, scanners, software, LCD projectors, and projection TVs. School, home and community are linked through technology based information sharing and communication such as Internet access to school newsletters, calendars and email messages.