Students must have a qualifying cognitive test score in the 95th percentile or above to become magnet eligible. 

After becoming eligible through testing, families must go through the School Choice process to select preferred schools and go through the lottery process for admittance.

Magnet Eligibility (ME) status does not expire and students may apply to magnet sites at any point in their time in DPS.

ME students do not receive an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) until a full HGT identification has been made. However, they are eligible for support services.

Once eligible, ME students will never need to be retested with a cognitive assessment for the purposes of magnet eligibility. Additional achievement testing may be conducted for the purposes of a full identification.

Magnet site enrollment is not mandatory. Magnet site placement is a decision made by the family. ME students are still eligible to receive support services at their neighborhood school through the GT teacher. The decision to attend a magnet site should be based on whether a child’s academic and social needs are being met. HGT programming will varies from site-to-site.

The DPS Gifted and Talented department and the division of Academics have been reviewing best practices and aligning standards more closely with recent guidance from the Gifted and Talented Department in the Colorado Department of Education. A review of these practices and scores have resulted in a policy change. 

Students scoring at the 95th percentile or above on cognitive assessments (e.g. CogAT, NNAT, WISC, DAS, KABC, and WPPSI) are now considered Magnet Eligible (ME) as of fall 2022. This applies to all scores received prior to 2022. All student files have been updated and communication sent to affected families. 

Elementary and Middle School Gifted Magnet Program (HGT)

The Gifted and Talented magnet program provides an educational option for students who have been designated as magnet eligible (ME) or identified as Highly Gifted (HGT). This educational option is provided to address the extreme needs of students with exceptional intellectual ability.  Magnet Eligible students benefit from a higher concentration of intellectual peers at a magnet site which supports their unique social needs and promotes friendship building.

This program is designed for the students whose cognitive ability is in the top 5th percentile or above, demonstrating the most extreme needs which cannot be met in a traditional classroom. This program is not specifically designed for students with abilities in the arts, leadership or creativity, although cognitively gifted students may also have these strengths.

In order to access this program, a family must go through the School Choice process when a student has been designated as magnet eligible (ME) or Highly Gifted (HGT) with a cognitive test scored in the 95th percentile or above.

Please contact the HGT magnet schools with questions regarding the school specific programming.

Current HGT Magnet Sites

Morey Middle School (6th-8th)

Archuleta Elementary (1st-5th)

Cory Elementary (1st-5th)

Stephen Knight Center for Early Education (Cory's Kindergarten)

Edison Elementary (ECE-5th)

Gust Elementary (ECE-5th)

Polaris Elementary (1st-5th)

Teller Elementary (ECE-5th)

Currently there are no HGT Magnet High Schools

Reach out to the school's GT teacher for more information about programming at their school.

Information About School Choice & the GT Department

Magnet eligible students are able to apply to any of the magnet sites listed above for the following school year. 

Magnet eligibility does not guarantee placement at a magnet site. Families must apply with Choice and Enrollment Services to be considered for magnet placement. 

• First Round School Choice: The application typically opens in January and closes in mid-February. Following the nomination deadline, the DPS GT Department receives a list of applicants and applies the HGT priority for the lottery. School Choice will run the lottery and send out the results to families. 

• Second Round School Choice: The application typically reopens in March/April and closes in August. The second round does not function on a lottery, but rather on a first-come, first-served basis for the seats remaining at the school from the first round. Applicants will appear on a waitlist until the GT Department receives the applicant lists from Choice and applies the HGT priority.

The GT Department cannot place students directly and does not influence placement at any school.