Should highly capable students go to different schools? Seattle changes its approach

Seattle Public Schools is phasing out its highly capable cohort (HCC) model – where advanced learners go to a handful of elementary, middle and high schools in the district with curriculum that is one or two years ahead of their grade depending on the subject. 

Instead, starting next school year (2024-25), the district’s replacement, called the “highly capable neighborhood model,” will be available at every school. 

Under this “whole classroom” approach, teachers will be tasked with personalizing lesson plans for individual students.

Seattle Public Schools says that the current model, where kids are separated, raises equity issues, because it serves a larger share of white and Asian students than the general student population, but parents question whether additional support will materialize under the “neighborhood model.”

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