Quest is accepting applications for the 2012-13 school year, now through February 1, 2012. Students in grades 1-7 within the BHM School District will be given priority, but students from outside the school district are encouraged to apply. The application and information are provided below.

Quest services highly gifted students (top two to three percent in class) in grades 2-8 and is a tuition-free school within a school located at Tatanka Elementary (multi-age classrooms, grades 2-3 and 4-5) and at Buffalo Community Middle School (grades 6, 7 and 8).

The Quest program covers the core areas of English, mathematics, science and social studies within a full-time, multi-age elementary classroom for students in grades 2-3 and 4-5, and at the middle school level in grades 6, 7 and 8. In the 2012-13 school year, the program will expand to include grade 8. Students in the Quest program experience enriched and accelerated curriculum.  As part of Tatanka Elementary, Quest students will also participate in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program that will be offered throughout the school beginning in the 2012-13 school year. Instructors in the Quest prorgram receive specialized training for meeting the needs of highly gifted students.

Highly qualified students will have consistently achieved MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) or other achievement test scores in the mid 90th percentiles on both math and reading tests, and in the mid 90th percentile on the CogAT test (Cognitive Abilities Test). Younger students may not have taken the MAP test.  This assessment will be administered as part of the application process for students in First grade.  The CogAT will be administered to all applicants during February.  A committee of BHM staff, including teachers and administrators, will make final decisions about students who qualify. They will look at a variety of sources of information including test scores, as well as input from teachers and parents. The target group of students is within the top two to three percent in their class.