Canyon Crest Parents/Guardians of 4th and 5th Grade Students,

The intent of this correspondence is to let you know about upcoming assessment that will be provided for the purpose of identifying students for Provo City School District’s (PCSD’s) Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS) program.

Next week, March 24-28, is our testing window for the NWEA Science assessment, which will be used (along with other assessment outcomes) to determine eligibility for PCSD’s CAS program. Please see a more detailed description about CAS below.

If you are interested in having your child participate in the NWEA Science assessment and considered for PCSD’s CAS program, please contact our instructional coach Mrs. McKenzie Holden at mckenzieho@provo.edu. Additionally, please contact Mrs. Holden if you have any questions.

Note: If a student qualifies for and is invited to the PCSD CAS program, parents have the decision whether or not to enroll their child into the program or keep their child at their current school.

Best, Canyon Crest _

The Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS) is a full-time gifted magnet program for students in grades 4-6 from across the district, which was created to address the unique instructional needs of academically gifted students. It serves about 180 gifted students who have demonstrated high proficiency in mathematics, science, and language arts.

It provides the opportunity for gifted students to move beyond the core curriculum, as they have demonstrated mastery of grade-level curriculum. CAS provides unique enrichment activities that are particularly appropriate for students who learn at a more rapid pace, and desire to delve deeply into curricular topics and work as practitioners in various fields of study. The flexible and more rapid pacing in the CAS classrooms meets the needs of gifted students. The CAS students become a close-knit group, as they have opportunities for many friendships with intellectual and social peers. The students learn to respect the differences, gifts, and achievements of peers.

The gifted magnet classrooms are located at Provo Peaks Elementary School (665 East Center Street) and Sunset View (525 S 1600 W). Students that live within district boundaries and/or are enrolled in Provo District schools will be considered first for placement in this program.