Meet the Gifted Teacher:

Mrs. Melissa Repsch

About the Gifted Program at Hershey Middle School:

The Derry Township School District provides gifted educational opportunities for qualifying students.

Students who are evaluated and identified as gifted, according to Pennsylvania Chapter 16 Regulations, may require instruction and support that is matched to their unique abilities and needs. Specially designed instruction for gifted students is individualized and may take various forms both within and outside of the regular classroom. Through collaboration between the school, the parents, and the child, the district strives to develop instruction that will challenge and enrich all learners at an appropriate level.

Students may be screened or evaluated and identified as gifted at any time throughout their school career. The process begins with a referral from within the school or a written request from parents and follows with a screening by the school counselor. If students perform well on the screening, they are recommended to the school psychologist for further evaluation under a Gifted Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation (GMDE).

When a student moves into the Derry Township School District, the process of identification varies. Gifted Individualized Education Plans (GIEP’s) written by other districts in Pennsylvania will be honored and either implemented or modified as needed to best meet the needs of the student in Derry Township. Students with identification as gifted in another state may need to undergo screening with the school counselor and/or evaluation with the school psychologist and will need to meet the criteria for identification as set by the Derry Township School District, in accordance with Pennsylvania’s Chapter16 Regulations.

Once a student is identified as gifted, a GIEP team will be convened to develop an individualized plan to address the student’s needs. The team generally consists of the child’s regular classroom teacher(s), the gifted support teacher, school psychologist, and a building administrator.

Questions regarding screening, evaluation, eligibility, due process rights, or provision of gifted education services may be directed to the school principal or the Director of Psychological Services.