We believe all students have known and unknown talents and deserve to discover, develop, and refine them within our learning environments. Students should be empowered to know themselves as learners, to take ownership of their growth, and actively navigate their K-12 pathway, ultimately prepared and confident in their person, skill, and path.

Our job as a collaborative educational community is to nurture the whole child by providing a culture of learning and growth in which talents can surface. We will work collaboratively with students and families to better know our students, ensure adequate levels of challenge, and normalize productive struggle in order to further cultivate their talents.  In the areas of general intellect, academics, creativity, leadership, and visual and performing arts, we will meet the needs of students who exceed what we provide in the standard school program.

Knowing that our students develop at different rates and that their ability and potential are fluid and dynamic, we prioritize programming over identification. Programming options are intentionally designed to flexibly respond to student needs. We are committed to systematically and continuously monitoring student growth and program effectiveness and agree that talent development is an integral part of the school district’s staffing and funding plans.

During the 2021- 2022 school year, Wauwatosa underwent an audit in the area of Gifted and Talented. The results of the audit were presented in August of 2022. The information provided on these website pages are the results of the work completed to date which address the eight audit recommendations.