William F. Halloran School No. 22 - Elizabeth, NJ

William F. Halloran School No. 22 houses the Gifted and Talented Program for approximately 950 of the district's second through eighth grade students. These students were selected from the entire city of Elizabeth based on their academic, performing arts, visual arts or physical education abilities. All students are engaged in a developmentally appropriate and multicultural curriculum designed to recognize their diversity and to prepare them to successfully meet the demands of our increasingly technological society. The school's rigorous instructional program emphasizes the integration of language skills throughout the curriculum. It provides hands-on opportunities in both science and math, has an applications-based technology curriculum, and develops understandings about the community, state, nation, and world. Additionally, it offers enriching experiences in the visual and performing arts, and teaches individuals responsibility for the development of their own mental and physical well-being.

Halloran's mission, along with the entire district, is to provide excellent educational experiences and services to inspire every student to think, to learn, to achieve and to care. In keeping with this mission statement, a model is used that identifies best practices and, furthermore, structures the interdependent relationship between all content areas and social-emotional learning. Classroom assignments are driven by data and collaboration with teachers with a focus on the Common Core Standards. In order to increase student attainment of higher order thinking skills, the school has designed interdisciplinary activities that infuse the performing, visual, and literary arts into the core curriculum using the multiple intelligences model developed by Howard Gardner.