EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF GIFTED MINORITY KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS IN NEWARK, NJ

The overall objective of the ''Minority Gifted Children'' project is t o promote the cognitive and educational development of kindergarten th rough second grade economically disadvantaged minority gifted children from Newark, New Jersey. Prior to the inception of this project, no N ewark public schools provided gifted services for kindergarten student s, and the programs for first and second graders were serving a dispro portionately small number of children. The current report presents dat a on a screening and assessment procedure being developed to identify gifted inner city minority kindergarten students. Before the project b egan, only 0.2% of children entering first grade were identified as gi fted, in contrast to the 2% found in this sample. The method of identi fication used in this project appears to hold promise as a relatively cost efficient method of finding young minority children who are gifte d in cognitive skill areas. This work indicates that young inner city minority gifted children exist. Therefore, it is imperative that educa tion programs be provided to nurture potential excellence and achievem ent in this population.