The Schoolwide Enrichment Model

Based on the desired outcomes of the BCPSS Systemic Gifted and Talented Education Program, a review of the literature, and program models, the BCPSS’s Division of Curriculum and Instruction recommended the implementation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) for its systemic approach to gifted educational services.   SEM is a detailed blueprint for total school improvement that allows each school the flexibility to develop its own unique programs based on local resources, student demographics, and school dynamics as well as faculty strengths and creativity. Although this research-based model is focused on highly successful practices that originated in special programs for the gifted and talented students, its major goal is to promote both challenging and enjoyable high-end learning across a wide range of students in various types of schools serving different grade levels and demographic differences.

The idea is to create a repertoire of services that can be integrated in such a way as to support the premise of a “rising tide lifts all ships" approach.  Not only has this model been successful in addressing the needs of students who have been under-challenged, but it also provides additional important learning paths for students who find success in more traditional learning environments. The model has been in use in urban and rural school districts for over 25 years, in locations including New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Connecticut, Texas and Michigan.  In Maryland, Howard County and Harford County are using SEM and have been recognized by MSDE for having outstanding gifted programs.

At the heart of the SEM is the Enrichment Triad Model  (Renzulli, 1976) developed in the mid-1970s and initially implemented by school districts primarily in Connecticut. The Enrichment Triad Model was designed to encourage creative productivity on the part of young people by exposing them to various topics, areas of interest, and fields of study, and to further train them to apply advanced content, process-training skills, and methodology training to self-selected areas of interest. Accordingly, three types of enrichment are included in the model – Type I, Type II, and Type III (Figure 1).

 

Figure 1 – Enrichment Triad