Highly Able Action Plan Frequently Asked Questions

Child with projectWhat is a Highly Able Action Plan?

A Highly Able Action Plan is an action plan that includes instructional resources and strategies to meet the needs of students needing additional challenge and rigor.  A plan is created for a student who is considered to be an outlier in one or more curricular areas.  An outlier is defined as 1-3% of students in a grade level population who are performing well beyond grade level expectations.  These students require further enrichment/extension of the curriculum on a consistent basis.

How will the instruction of a child with a Highly Able Action Plan look different?

Your child will be provided additional challenge and enrichment within the classroom setting as detailed in the plan.  The strategies will be shared with you during a conference with the teacher.  For example, in Language Arts, a special book box that contains books of different genre and at your child’s comprehension level might be provided.  A research project based on a topic of your child’s interest is another example.  In math, after a pre-assessment of standards, a math contract may be used to include more advanced problem solving in place of classwork they have already mastered. 

My child is in the top group.  Why doesn’t he/she have a plan?

If a teacher has a group of students who are performing at the same advanced level, the teacher can enrich and extend the curriculum through classroom instruction for the whole group.  Plans are designed for students who do not have academically similar peers.

My child had a plan last year. Why doesn’t he/she have one this year?

The need for a plan is determined each school year based upon groupings and student need.