Gifted Center

The Pittsburgh Gifted Center (PGC) provides specially designed instruction for students with a Gifted Individual Education Plan (GIEP) in grades K-8 who reside within the School District of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Public School students attend the PGC one day per week. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania determines eligibility for participation and a multi-disciplinary team of professionals makes recommendations. Students and their parents participate in the development of the GIEP.

The gifted student is challenged beyond his/her present intellectual abilities and is enriched in the arts and humanities, sciences, technology, and mathematics. These unique learning opportunities foster self-directed learning, higher-level thinking, creativity, problem solving, communication skills, and decision-making. The PGC program includes thoughtfully designed, high-interest course offerings from which students select topics to explore in depth and personalize according to their ability, strengths, and interests. In this technology- rich Center, students work as self-directed, risk- taking, problem solvers. A highly skilled teaching staff, using specially designed instruction, provides enriching and accelerated instruction based on students' strengths and interests. Multiple assessments, including rubrics, portfolios, interviews, and self-evaluations are used to assess students.

The PGC actively develops partnerships with parents, the home schools, community organizations, and universities to effectively connect learning opportunities with practical, "real world" experiences. These relationships are essential in order to meet the challenges of the future.