Can a Pull-Out Program Work for Gifted Learners?

What Is a Pull-Out Program?

Simply put, it is a regularly scheduled block of time where students are pulled out of their regular classroom to be with their intellectual peers. The amount of time spent and the frequency of their meetings vary widely from one school or district to another. For some, it is a daily occurrence for an hour or more, while for others it may be something that happens a few days a week or even once a week, and the time block can range from 30 minutes to the entire day.  Generally speaking, the more frequently they meet, the less time they have for each meeting.  Often pull-out programs do not serve students below second or third grade, and one teacher may be shared by two or three schools, severely limiting the amount of time available for each group.

In a pull-out program, the curriculum is also dependent on your school or district’s policy. It may be used to replace the instruction from their regular classroom for certain subjects, such as math or language arts, or it may be used as an enrichment opportunity.  When the gifted program replaces a subject from the regular classroom, it usually takes the approach of teaching advanced content at an accelerated pace.  Enrichment often means that an interesting topic will be studied in-depth, or that a skill set will be developed, such as problem-solving skills.

Pros

• Students gifted in one subject area but struggle in another have their unique needs met
• Some portion of every week is spent with intellectual peers
• Curriculum will very likely be at an appropriate level, regardless of whether it supplants a core subject or is an enrichment opportunity

Cons

• Students will still be in the regular classroom for other subjects, which may mean they are not appropriately challenged
• Highly gifted students may even be at a level beyond the gifted curriculum for their grade, making them continue to be unchallenged, just in a different environment
• Sometimes students are expected to be responsible for the work they missed in the regular classroom in addition to the work their gifted teacher has assigned

Questions to Ask the Gifted Teacher or Principal – If your child has been accepted into the gifted program