The Titan Hill Program provides extended learning opportunities for Titan Hill students at three levels:
Inclusive (open to all students, interest-based) Selective (try-outs, performance) Highly Selective (performance, invitation only)
Inclusive Programming
Invention Convention
2nd through 5th-grade students have the opportunity to solve a problem by creating an invention. Information is
distributed in November. Students work independently outside of school. Inventions, inventors' logs, and display boards are exhibited in competition in December.
Woodmen Oration Contest
Interested 5th-grade students prepare and present a speech about a given topic. Students receive information in early February. Weekly practices and the speech contest at the end of March are held during school hours.
Selective Programming/Academic Teams
Belin-Blank Exceptional Talent Search
4th and 5th-grade students who score at or above the 95th percentile on subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills receive information inviting them to take a standardized test that compares their academic skill levels to those of students at a higher grade level. Information is printed on eligible students' Iowa Assessment results. The Saturday morning test is taken at an assigned Council Bluffs location.
Math League/Math Olympiad
Math League/Math Olympiad is offered for students in 2nd through 5th grade with strengths in comprehension, reasoning, and computation. Interested students try out by taking a practice test consisting of five to six difficult word problems. Weekly practices and monthly competitions are held during the school day.
Word Masters
Word Masters is a vocabulary competition based on completing analogies. This program develops verbal reasoning abilities, addresses higher-order thinking skills, and emphasizes logic and reading comprehension. Meets are held at Titan Hill three times per year.
Highly Selective
Highly selective programming addresses areas of exceptional academic strength. Students whose performance on district standardized measures indicates that they are not at the top of the grade level, but well beyond it, are invited to participate. Sessions with the TAG strategist have a mathematical and linguistic base, giving students the opportunity to interact with content beyond that which is normally available in the classroom. Differentiated learning plans may be written.
Acceleration/Grade-Skipping
A student, parent, or teacher may request a meeting to consider acceleration. Step one is a "consideration" meeting. Parents, teachers, students, the building principal, and program facilitators meet to share information and review current programming and acceleration procedures. When the group decides that acceleration should be given serious consideration, the Iowa Acceleration Scale process is initiated. A parental signature is required before the individualized testing required in the process begins.
For more information about the District TAG Plan regarding identification procedures and services offered to students, click on the following link:
