Extended Learning Program (ELP)

                                             

MAGNET EXTENDED LEARNING PROGRAM ASSESSMENT INFORMATION FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

Magnet ELP Online Application Windows:

For Students Currently in Pre-K4:  Online Application is closed.

For Students Currently Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades 6 and 7:   Online Application is closed.

For Students Currently NOT Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades K, 3, 6 and 7:  Online Application is closed.

Magnet ELP Assessment Windows:

New-to-District Students in Grades 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 will be assessed within the first few weeks of school.

Students Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades K and 3 will be assessed March 2024.   No application is required.

---

MAGNET EXTENDED LEARNING PROGRAM ASSESSMENT INFORMATION FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR

Magnet ELP Online Application Windows:

For Students Currently in Pre-K4:    Online Application opens November 2023.

For Students Currently Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades 6 and 7:    Online Application opens November 2023.

For Students Currently NOT Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades K, 3, 6 and 7:    Online Application opens November 2023.  

Magnet ELP Assessment Windows:

Pre-K4 Students who have a completed online application will be assessed March 2024.  Dates TBD.

Students Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades 6 and 7 and have a completed online application will be assessed March 2024.  Dates TBD. 

Students NOT Enrolled in a SLCSD School in Grades K, 3, 6 and 7 and have a completed online application will be assessed March 2024.  Dates TBD.

Students Attending a SLCSD School in Grades K and 3 will be assessed March 2024.   No application is required.

---

Upcoming Grade-Wide Screeners:

No application is needed.  All students in the following grades enrolled in a Salt Lake City School District school will be assessed at their neighborhood school as follows:

• New-to-District in Grades 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 -- August/September 2023
• All Students in Grades Kindergarten and Grade 3 -- March 2024

---

Three pathways to identification for the Extended Learning Program:

• Universal Screenings

  • Kindergarten and 3rd Grade

• Application/Opt-in

  • Preschool

  • Kindergarten, 3rd and 6th Grades (not enrolled in a SLCSD school)

• Identification Outreach

  • Kindergarten through Grade 8

---

Gifted/Talented and High Ability Services

Is your child a rapid learner who put thoughts together quickly?

Does your child have an excellent memory or an unusually large vocabulary?

Does your child have an advanced comprehension of word nuances, metaphors and abstract ideas?

If so, the district’s Extended Learning Program may be a good fit for your child. 

The Extended Learning Program provides academic services for identified gifted and high ability students who are found eligible for services through an assessment process.

Summary of the Extended Learning Program

What is ELP?

Extended Learning Program services are provided to meet the needs of identified gifted/talented and high ability students. ELP services offer students the opportunity to engage in learning with greater depth, complexity, and rigor through differentiated curriculum and instruction. ELP coursework is extended beyond the general education classroom and is more abstract and complex, giving students greater depth of understanding. Skill development with higher order thinking skills in both critical and creative thinking is an important part of the students' experiences. Certified teachers with a Gifted and Talented Endorsement teach ELP classes.

The Extended Learning Program serves gifted/talented and high ability students in elementary and middle schools with two service models, Magnet ELP and Neighborhood ELP. Visit us on the ELP website for more information.

Magnet ELP

The Magnet Extended Learning Program (MELP) is a district administered program in which students are identified by national normed assessment measures. Eligibility is determined at the district level. 

Elementary Magnet ELP

• MELP serves students in a full day program at Emerson (1-6), Hawthorne (K-6), Washington (4 and 6), and Whittier (K-6) schools, taught by certified teachers who also have or are receiving a Gifted and Talented Education Endorsement.

• Students are found eligible for Magnet ELP through an assessment process.

• Application dates and assessment dates are posted on the ELP website.

Middle School Magnet ELP

• MELP serves students in up to four core subjects at Clayton, Glendale, Hillside, and West High School. 

• Students are found eligible for Middle School Magnet ELP through an assessment process.

• Application dates and assessment dates are posted on the ELP website.

Neighborhood ELP

The Neighborhood Extended Learning Program (NELP) is in all Salt Lake City School District elementary and the following middle schools: Clayton, Glendale, Hillside, and Northwest.

Elementary Neighborhood ELP

• NELP serves students in a pull-out program in grades 4-6 in a student’s neighborhood elementary school for up to 3 hours per week.

• Students are found eligible for Elementary Neighborhood ELP through an assessment process.

• All students new-to-district students in grades 4, 5 and 6 are assessed at their neighborhood school at the beginning of the school year.

Middle School Neighborhood ELP

• NELP serves students in several core subjects.

• Students are found eligible for Middle School Neighborhood ELP through an assessment process. Neighborhood schools that offer NELP are Clayton, Glendale, Hillside, or Northwest.

• Application dates and assessment dates are posted on the ELP website.

ELP Philosophy

The Extended Learning Program supports the mission of Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD) to cultivate a love of learning in a diverse and inclusive school community, committed to educational excellence and integrity. In collaboration with families and community we hold high expectations for all students, respond effectively to individual needs, and provide a safe, healthy environment in which every student can learn the academic, problem-solving and social skills required for success in college, career, and life. The district has designed and implemented an Extended Learning Program to meet the cognitive and affective needs of identified gifted students. Through ELP, a continuum of program options provides a beneficial learning environment and curriculum designed to meet the needs of gifted/talented and high ability students.

ELP Motto

Discovering Through Depth and Complexity

Depth: understanding a topic beyond surface knowledge. Depth encourages students to venture further, deeper, with greater elaboration, through quality of subject matter, rules and ethics, language, and patterns. It involves learning from:

• Concrete to abstract

• Familiar to unfamiliar

• Known to unknown

• Literal to symbolized

Complexity: understanding a topic with more abstract thinking. Complexity helps students make connections and identify relationships and associations between, within, and across subjects and disciplines. It focuses on:

• Varying perspectives

• Issues, problems, and themes

• Conceptual learning