The formal District Gifted Program, approved by the Clayton Board of Education and the State of Missouri, begins in second grade. The goals of the District Gifted Program are to ensure a transparent, fair and equitable gifted identification process, to provide an environment that enriches and develops talent and to foster an understanding of a strong sense of self and of one’s unique capabilities.  
 
As stated in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Guidelines for Gifted Programs, a gifted program is: “not designed for the typical superior student who is frequently an excellent scholar, can earn 'A' grades, and achieve academic honors. The educational needs of these students should be met by existing school programs. . . . [A gifted program is] reserved for the students who are as far from the superior student in potential as the superior is from the average student. The task is to identify these students and to provide educational opportunities that will challenge and develop their abilities.”