• PACE stands for Plano Academic and Creative Education and is the cornerstone of the district's gifted and talented education program serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade. PACE is more than a course; it is a motivating and challenging experience that lasts over multiple years of a student's education. The PACE program provides a learning environment that nurtures the unique academic and social-emotional needs of students requiring gifted and talented services.

  The PACE program focuses on gifted academic experiences and personal development. Although many PACE students also possess artistic or musical talent, courses exist outside of the PACE program for students talented in speech, the performing arts, and/or the visual arts.

Students participate in PACE based upon the results of standardized tests and observation/performance in the classroom. Parents, teachers, and/or students may make referrals for PACE assessment by completing the appropriate grade level referral form by the stated deadline. No referral is declined unless it is unsigned by a parent or submitted after the published deadline. Elementary students are assessed late in the first semester for services beginning in early spring. Middle school students are assessed in the spring for participation the following fall. High school students who are new to the district are assessed at the start of the 9th grade school year for immediate participation.

While all students requiring gifted and advanced services receive differentiated lessons in the general education classroom, the elementary PACE program is a pull-out program. Beginning in the second semester of kindergarten, participating students step out of the general education classroom for a defined period of time that increases as the student moves through the grade as follows:

• Kindergarten = 30 minutes each week
• First through third-grade = Two hours each week
• Fourth through fifth-grade = Three hours each week

During this time, students are exposed to district designed curriculum based on the academic and developmental needs and attributes of the individual. The PACE Specialist is the campus gifted specialist for all grade levels and is trained in the nature, needs, and social and emotional development of students requiring gifted services.

In the general education classroom, PACE students are clustered together in groups of 4-10 students and are taught by teachers trained according to state standards for general education teachers of students requiring gifted services. PACE students and any other student who shows the need for specific advanced learning experiences have the opportunity to experience differentiated curriculum at advanced levels in math, language arts, and the integrated curriculum (science and social studies).

PACE serves students who, based upon a preponderance of evidence gathered during the assessment process, perform at or show the potential to perform at or above the second standard deviation from the mean on standardized ability and achievement tests. After reviewing the data and information for each candidate, decisions are made on an individual basis by a trained campus committee. The district does not place a 'cap' on PACE enrollment. Plano ISD is unable to use assessment conducted outside of a school environment such as that conducted by a private counselor or clinician when making decisions for Plano ISD students.

Elementary students are assessed in the first semester for services beginning in the spring semester.

K-5 Important Dates and Deadlines for 2024-2025:

Week of August 12, 2024	Referral link goes live
October 11, 2024	Referrals due 5 p.m.
January 31, 2025	Parent notification of results
February 14, 2025	Appeal process inquiry deadline
March 14, 2025	Appeals due to campus PACE specialist

The gifted education page on the Plano ISD website provides more detailed information.