Scaling Up Smart Spaces for Underrepresented Gifted Students Through the Response to Intervention Framework

This project works to improve opportunities for, and achievement of, underrepresented gifted students in Wisconsin. This will be achieved by

1. increasing students’ access to sustained, high-quality gifted programming by scaling up “Smart Spaces,” a research-based model of gifted instruction, and

2. leveraging this increased access to improve the students’ achievement in writing and reading.

Smart Spaces is an initiative of the UW–Madison’s Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth, which has served more than 30,000 of Wisconsin’s brightest students since 1991. Smart Spaces has effectively served low-income and underrepresented students in all locations across the state. It promises to encourage and foster communities of confident, high-achieving learners.

This project implements high-quality, challenging curriculum modules over 5 years with the goal to serve approximately 600 middle school students, each of whom will receive one 4-week and one 9-week curriculum module per year for 2 years.

Half of the students will come from approximately 10 Milwaukee public schools. The remaining students will come from Madison Metropolitan School District, Green Bay Area Catholic Schools, and rural schools in central Wisconsin.

WCER’s Value Added Research Center will conduct a rigorous evaluation of the impact of these modules on student achievement and engagement, as well as the nature of program implementation.