PEP/SAGE: Highly Capable Programs for Elementary

BY KRISTINA BLACKBURN

SAGE/PEP Teacher at Challenger/ Newcastle Elementary

Cultural Bridges (CB): What are the PEP and SAGE programs? Are they the same or different programs?

Kristina Blackburn (KB): PEP stands for Primary Enrichment Program and is for grades kindergarten through 2nd grade. One time a week for 30 minutes in kindergarten. One hour a week in 1st and 2nd grades. In all elementary schools, there is a SAGE/PEP teacher who provides support for these services. In PEP, students work on special enrichment projects that incorporate a high level of cognitive demand. Besides math, students are also working on reading and writing components based on their needs. At the start of our lessons, we focus on Social Emotional components with a variety of read-aloud literature.

SAGE is under the same Highly Capable umbrella but stands for Special Approach to Gifted Education and serves grades 3rd-5th. Besides grade levels, another difference from PEP is that students qualify in either Math or Reading or both Math and Reading. SAGE students experience challenging activities designed to develop and enhance their problem-solving, creative-thinking, and process-thinking skills. Students also develop their social/emotional skills in the areas of collaboration, confidence as a learner, responsibility, and quality of work.

In SAGE Reading, students work in book clubs, conduct research projects, and complete independent projects or STEM projects. The teacher mini-lessons are based on student needs and homeroom teacher input. Guided reading groups provide students the opportunity to read materials and receive instruction on comprehension strategies based on their individual instructional reading levels.

CB: Tell us a little about your position and what you do on a day-to-day basis as a SAGE teacher.

KB: Each week, I work with grades K-5 in small groups. Students come from their classrooms to my SAGE room. In my SAGE room, we focus on growing our math communication with a variety of Math Talks: number talk images, 3-Act math problem-solving, etc. Students are working on collaboration and problem solving with group STEM activities.

As a SAGE team, we also support teachers by creating menus of math enrichment activities to have students complete when they have shown mastery of the content. We also go into classrooms to share best practices of math enrichment with classroom teachers and students.

SAGE teachers also support guided reading groups through book clubs and provide push-in support with math games, problem-solving, reading ideas, etc. SAGE teachers also lead Professional Development meetings for classroom teachers to provide resources on how they can differentiate in their classrooms.

CB: Is there a formal district-wide PEP/ SAGE curriculum?

KB: There is not a formal district-wide curriculum for PEP/SAGE. The SAGE team looks at grade-level standards to create units that go deeper with the content. Students are taking the content knowledge from their classroom and applying that learning in a different way through our units. SAGE teachers center their units around a PBL (Project Based Learning) framework. A PBL is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.

CB: What are the benefits that PEP/ SAGE students will get from it?

KB: The benefits include: Expansion of academic attainment and intellectual skills; Stimulation of intellectual curiosity, independence, and responsibility; Development of a positive attitude toward self and others; Development of originality and creativity.

CB: Any interesting stories that you would like to share?

KB: This year, we are more intentional with trying something we are not sure is going to work. When we are solving math problems, I am always asking students to solve in a different way, to try something outside the box that may result in a wrong answer. From those mistakes, learning is happening. During one math talk, one of my students made a “mistake,” and instead of getting upset, they said, “let’s add it to our Epic Failure wall.” That was such an inspirational moment because that student celebrated that “mistake” and was able to turn that “mistake” into a positive moment.

CB: Is there any regular curriculum learning loss during SAGE time? What do parents need to do to make sure there is no learning gap?

KB: Students who get into SAGE learn quickly, and they do not need as much instruction to understand concepts. They can miss some class time, and it does not impact them in a negative way. SAGE students also learn how to self-advocate for themselves. If they are missing an assignment that requires a grade, they will talk with their classroom teacher to see when they can make up that missed assignment while they are in SAGE. They can find another time in their day to complete that missed assignment.

CB: For the books that the Mandarin Playground’s B4CC program (Books 4 Cultural Competence) donated to you that used in your curriculum, could you please share your experience and how it beneficial your SAGE program.

KB: Each year, I use the cultural books for our 3rd grade Reading Unit, Notice and Note. In this unit, students are introduced to the strategy: 6 signposts for close reading. Within these signposts, students ask questions as they read to determine the theme of the text. At the end of the unit, I use the collection of books with my students. They each choose one book from the collection (Mandarin Playgrounds as well as books from the school library) to look for a signpost(s), backing it up with evidence from the text. As teachers, we are always looking for ways to bring more cultural backgrounds into our classrooms. Books are a great way to show all types of cultures, so students see themselves in literature.

Student Experience with SAGE Program

QUINN M.

5th Grader at Newcastle Elementary

I really like the SAGE program; it is something I look forward to every week. What I like most about the SAGE

program is that it’s not just about finding answers to problems but more about how you can solve a problem and why a strategy works. Mrs. Blackburn may give us a simple math problem and ask us how many different methods we can use to solve that problem instead of just asking us for the answer. This helps us think of different approaches when facing a difficult problem.

One suggestion I could give to other students entering SAGE is to not be afraid to speak your mind. Even if your idea isn’t the final answer, sharing ideas may inspire others to speak their mind too, and help the team come up with a solution. You cannot come up with a wrong idea. 