ABSTRACT

Historically speaking, Hispanic/Latino students have been disproportionately underrepresented in educational programs serving gifted students. Gifted Hispanic/Latino students are the focus of this chapter; its purpose is to magnify how to identify and educate them; and to explain why it is important to acknowledge and promote their sense of belonging and identity. Strategies for the classroom and recommendations for inclusion will also be presented. The significance of this chapter also lies in the need to identify the success factors that facilitate the inclusion of Hispanic/Latino students in programs for the gifted and talented. To meet the needs of gifted Hispanic/Latino students, identification, assessment, and instruction cannot be one-dimensional. A variety of assessment strategies should be considered based on language proficiency patterns; a variety of instructional approaches should be used to challenge these students and to meet their instructional goals; and teachers should receive the professional development required to identify them in the first place. Building a programmatic infrastructure that includes these practices builds a foundation that increases the possibility that the gifts, talents, and potential that gifted Hispanic/Latino students possess will be recognized, nurtured, and honored.