Talented and Gifted Program

Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program

The P-CCS TAG Program provides highly motivated, academically gifted students with an opportunity to realize and develop their exceptional intellectual and creative abilities. The program accelerates in some areas while teaching grade-level curricula in others. It emphasizes higher-order thinking, deep knowledge, substantive conversations, and making connections to the world beyond the classroom. TAG students have a qualitatively different school experience, which results from their interactions with each other in an engaging classroom.

Nominations for the 2025-2026 School Year are now closed!

Talented and Gifted Program (TAG) Qualification Information for 2025-26 school year

Contact

Anthony Ruela, Executive Director of Middle Schools & PK-12 Student Support
Program eligibility requirements

Michelle Bauer, Data and Assessment Coordinator
Qualification information, nominations, testing schedules, or score reports

Gallimore Elementary
8375 N. Sheldon Road
Canton, MI 48187
Phone: (734) 416-3150
FAX: (734) 416-7670

Aimee Bell, Gallimore Elementary Principal
Elementary Program (grades 3-5)

East Middle School
1042 S. Mill Street
Plymouth, MI 48170
Phone: (734) 416-4950
FAX: (734) 416-4949

Ted Younglas, East Middle School Principal
Middle School Program (grades 6-8)

any text here

Current research indicates that students with exceptional academic abilities gain substantial benefit from contact with their peers. For some academically gifted students, the TAG Program may be the first time they encounter like-minded classmates, who share their love of learning and motivation for high level academic work. In TAG classrooms students are also expected to work metacognitively--to think about their own thinking and to critically evaluate their work as they learn district curriculum. Through classroom interactions with their peers and teachers, TAG students learn to appreciate their own abilities and the talents of others, as well as to develop the skills needed “to achieve personal excellence and to become a productive contributing citizen.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED CHILDREN

Programs
P-CCS TAG Program FAQ

Programs

Elementary School Talented and Gifted Program

The elementary TAG program was expanded in the fall of 2012 and is housed at Gallimore Elementary School. There are approximately 350 students in grades 3 through 5. Class sizes range from 27 to 30 students. Mrs. Aimee Bell is the principal at Gallimore Elementary School and works collaboratively with Dr. Denise Lilly, Director of Elementary Education, to make decisions for the elementary program. Students who enter the Elementary TAG program will continue in the Middle School TAG program at East Middle School.

Middle School Talented and Gifted Program

The middle school TAG program is housed at East Middle School. Students in the TAG program are enrolled in Honors Language Arts, Honors Social Studies, and Honors Science classes. Math placement is based upon student test scores and performance in prerequisite courses. Elective classes such as music, art, foreign language, physical education, and health are scheduled school-wide.

Each classroom has approximately 30 students, for a total of approximately 330 TAG students at the Middle School Level. Mr. Ted Younglas is the East Middle School Principal and is in charge of the middle school TAG Program. The middle school TAG Program continues the upper elementary’s focus on supporting student growth in becoming invested, organized learners. At the middle school level, students are required to become increasingly responsible for their own learning. The ultimate goal is to promote the maximum level of individual success while encouraging personal responsibility for academic growth.

High School

At high school, the needs of advanced learners are met through elective course offerings. Plymouth-Canton's Educational Park (P-CEP) offers a large number of advanced placement and honors courses to meet the needs of students. For detailed course descriptions, please visit the Program of Studies page.

In addition, three academies are open to all students. The academies are the International Academy, STEM Academy and the Arts Academy. Academies at the Park represent an innovative response to the national and global demand for highly skilled, highly creative and highly competitive graduates who are capable of succeeding in a rapidly changing, global marketplace. For more information on the Academies, please visit Academies @ The Park

P-CCS TAG Program FAQ

What is the TAG Program?

The P-CCS Talented and Gifted Program focuses on meeting the academic, emotional and social needs of our advanced learners. We are committed to helping our students achieve their greatest potential by providing engaging, appropriately challenging curriculum and instruction. The TAG Program provides acceleration in some areas while teaching grade level curricula in others. The program emphases higher-order thinking, deep knowledge, substantive conversations and making connections to the world beyond the classroom. TAG students are provided with a qualitatively different school experience, which results from the gifted students' interactions with each other in an engaging classroom.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED CHILDREN

How is the TAG classroom different from a same-grade classroom at the home school?

This is a difficult question to answer because there are many fine classrooms in our district with teachers that care about and work hard to provide the right challenge for each student. In many ways, the TAG classroom is the same. Children work, play and socialize within four walls. There are celebrations, specials classes such as art and music and recesses. Students break rules and make new friends like all other kids. TAG children are also achieving at different levels and have diverse learning styles and needs, even though they all have performed at top levels on standardized tests. For some academically gifted students, the TAG Program may be the first time they encounter peers who share similar interests, their love of learning and motivation for high-level academic work. The pace and depth of lessons in the TAG classroom often requires students to improve their time management and organizational skills.

How are students transported to the center-based TAG Program?

The transportation department has dedicated twelve buses to transport Elementary TAG students to and from school. The district map is sectioned off into twelve quadrants and TAG students are assigned a bus route number with times for pick-up and drop-off. This information is entered into each student's profile on MIStar and can be viewed by parents when logging in with their assigned user name and password.

Middle School TAG students pick up a bus in their neighborhood and are transported to their home middle school where they will board another bus to transport them to East Middle School. Likewise, students will be transported back to their home school to board a bus back to their neighborhood each afternoon. Currently, the district is looking at other options for more efficient middle school transportation for the next school year.

Where and when can I nominate my student?

All nominations for the TAG program are completed online and must be completed during the specific nomination window announced and posted on the P-CCS district website each year. Please refer to the TAG QUALIFICATION page for more information.

Do students attending a P-CCS school need to be nominated? No. All 2nd through 7th grade P-CCS students will be assessed on the NWEA MAP Growth in the Fall and Winter terms. Students that earn a qualifying score on the NWEA will be notified via email. Please refer to the TAG QUALIFICATION page for more information.