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Regional Gifted Center
CPS’s Regional Gifted Centers serve academically advanced students at the elementary school level. Gifted Programs accelerate learning so that there is time for projects, term papers and group work that takes the learner deeper into the subject matter, and the curriculum includes a world language component.  Regional Gifted Centers place an emphasis on thinking, reasoning, problem solving and creativity.

The Pritzker Regional Gifted Center offers a full-time, comprehensive program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.  A differentiated and enriched curriculum is offered at an accelerated pace, affording academically gifted students the opportunity to learn and relate to others who have similar talents and interests.  Grades one through five are self-contained; grades six through eight are departmentalized.  The natural and social sciences, arts and humanities are taught via integrated interdisciplinary units, with continual focus on nurturing self-responsibility and creative, critical and independent thinking skills.  The program is structured for students to function one to two years above grade level when they reach the upper grades.

The teacher-specialists at Pritzker are selected for competence in their subject areas, techniques of curriculum differentiation, and understanding of the emotional needs of gifted children.  All teachers within the program continue to attend workshops and seminars or take additional coursework in gifted education and in their own specialized content areas.

Approximately 230 students are enrolled in the Gifted Program. Free busing to and from school is available to students living more than one and one-half miles from the center.  Tutorial assistance and counseling are offered to promote student success.  Special education services are provided for students with disabilities. Students in the regional gifted center program participate fully in the fine and performing arts programming at Pritzker.

Subjects taught by teacher specialists include:
  • Literature based language arts, social studies and civics classes
  • Hands-on science for all grades; laboratory biological and physical science in grades 6-8
  • Mathematics, pre-algebra and algebra
  • Spanish World Language enrichment classes emphasizing reading, speaking and cultural appreciation 
  • Dance
  • Drama 
  • Computer education and Internet research
  • Fine Arts in various formats; principles of artistic criticism
To visit our school and learn more about our program open houses at Pritzker are scheduled for several dates in the fall and in the spring. Please see our school calendar for up-to-date schedule information.  Tours are also available every Friday morning from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.  Please arrive as close to 10:30 a.m. as possible.  Sign in with the office staff when you arrive.

All interested students, whether they live in our attendance boundary or not, must apply to the Gifted Program and be tested for admission.