Advanced Learning Academy (ALA)

What is ALA?

ALA stands for Advanced Learning Academy. The ALA program operates within the school's International Baccalaureate (IB) candidate program framework to meet the need of qualifying gifted/advanced elementary students in grades 1-6 in the Ogden School District and surrounding area. The ALA has been sponsored by the Ogden School District for over 30 years. The program moved at the start of the 2022-2023 school year in conjunction with the opening of our brand new school building, Liberty Elementary. The ALA is designed to help students delve deeper into content and offer highly-challenging learning experiences that would not necessarily be afforded in a general classroom.

IB candidate school and ALA Mission
The mission of this program is to meet the needs of the advanced learner through a rigorously enriched curriculum.

Belief Statement
Our mission is based on the following beliefs:

Advanced learners crave an educational environment that will provide the greatest possible development of their abilities, thus enabling them to realize their contributions to self and society.

Advanced learners require an atmosphere which fosters higher-level thinking and self-development processes, cultivating a productive, well-rounded individual.

Advanced learners deserve a curriculum designed to help meet their psychological, social, educational, and career needs.

All students in Ogden School District are eligible to apply to the program. Students that live outside the Ogden School District boundaries are also welcome to apply to the ALA.

Academic Accomplishments

The Advanced Learning Academy (ALA) is full of rich educational opportunities where our students are challenged to reach their potential as they engage in lessons and activities that help them to become not only strong learners, but critical thinkers, problems solvers, and innovators. They learn to work and improve their personal and collaborative skills, as they become leaders in the school and community. Our students also have the opportunity to go on field trips and hear from special guest speakers throughout the year that help to deepen and extend the learning of the curriculum being taught in each of our classrooms.

Curriculum

Why Choose ALA?

The purpose of the ALA program is to provide an opportunity for advanced students to explore their abilities and interests, associate with like-minded peers, develop new skills, and receive a deeply comprehensive education that assists them in realizing their potentials as future leaders in our country.

We do this by:

  • Providing testing that assures us that they have the academic abilities that are necessary for them to be successful in our program.
  • Selecting highly skilled educators that have their gifted endorsement or are in the process of pursuing their endorsement.
  • Maintaining an awareness of where our students are academically and either assisting them in rigorous learning or extending their knowledge base.
  • Piquing their curiosity through rich guided classroom discussion, STEM projects, research, guest speakers, Chemistry Bees, History and Science Fairs, music education, drama productions, PTA Reflections Projects, and field trips.
  • Holding a high standard of excellence in academics and citizenship.
  • Giving them opportunities to learn a second language, go deeper in the sciences, and be part of an impressive performance choir.
  • Teaching them that service is a part of being in a community. We seek to serve within our school, neighborhood, and community.

Admission into ALA

There is no charge for the assessment process. Students applying to the ALA must register to participate in a two-day assessment that takes place in the spring of each year. As part of the identification process, a parent evaluation and a teacher evaluation are also completed on the student.

The testing component of the identification process consists of two tests: the IOWA Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). The ITBS is an assessment that consists of a variety of educational achievement tests.

The NNAT is a brief, culture-fair, nonverbal measure of school ability, without requiring the student to read, write, or speak. Students must rely on reasoning skills using figural designs, and not on verbal skills. The NNAT scores predict academic success and are a good indicator of a student’s general, overall ability.

Parents are notified after May 15th as to whether or not their child is accepted into ALA.

Once Accepted

Parents will be required to transport their child to and from the school.