Student Services

504

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal civil rights law passed in 1973 that protects the rights of persons with qualifying disabilities. This law directs that recipients of federal funds are to make programs and activities accessible to all persons with disabilities. 

Section 504 has three areas of emphasis: employment, facility accessibility, and requirements for preschool, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education programs/activities. 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects persons from discrimination based on their disability status. A person is considered to have a disability, within the definition of Section 504, if he or she:

  • Has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of the individual’s major life activities;
  • Has a record of such impairments or
  • It is regarded as having such an impairment

Contact your child’s principal or school counselor if you have questions or would like to request an evaluation for a 504 plan.

Carrie Clark

Carrie Clark

  • Director of Teaching & Learning
  • District
  • 515-232-3744

English Language Learners (ELL)

Gilbert Community School District’s commitments:

  • Student identification and assessment: Home language survey as part of the registration process. If the answers to the home language survey indicate the prominent use of another language in the home, the student is assessed using the ELPA21 screener. If a student does not score proficient on the screener assessment, the student is determined to be an English learner and will be assessed annually.
  • Staffing: Teachers in an English as a second language (ESL) program will possess a valid Iowa teaching license and an ESL endorsement. 
  • English learner placement: Systematic English language instruction designed to allow meaningful access to the educational programs. Programs will be research-based and grounded in sound language acquisition theory. 
Spanish handbook

Extended Learning Program (ELP)

Mission

The Extended Learning Program (ELP) within the Gilbert Community School District is committed to offering intellectually stimulating and tailored challenges to academically talented and gifted learners. Our programs are designed to be engaging, motivational, and differentiated to meet the diverse needs of our students.

Identification

Teachers, parents, or guardians are encouraged to initiate the identification process for gifted services within the GCSD Extended Learning Program (ELP) at any point during the academic year. The ELP committee convenes regularly throughout the year to assess various sources of information to facilitate this decision-making process. These sources may include parental and teacher surveys, Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) scores, Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) scores, FastBridge Adaptive Assessments (FAST) scores, and other relevant data selected by the ELP team. Whole-grade screening for identification takes place in the Spring of first grade, Fall of third grade, and Fall of sixth grade.

Iowa Seal of Biliteracy

A seal of biliteracy is an award given by a district to recognize students who have attained proficiency in two or more languages, one of which is English, by high school graduation.You can find more information HERE.