Rucker Elementary provides Gifted & Talented services.  These programs are designed to meet the needs of the G/T students at their neighborhood, zoned school or Magnet school.  Vanguard Neighborhood K-12 programs provide a learning continuum that is differentiated in depth, complexity, and pacing.  The Vanguard Neighborhood program is designed for G/T students who excel in general intellectual ability in combination with creative/productive thinking and/or leadership ability.  TEA requires that all kindergarten students have the opportunity to apply for Vanguard Neighborhood during the fall semester.  If a student applies to the Vanguard Magnet program, qualifies, and does not accept a position in a Vanguard Magnet school, that student may apply to the Vanguard Neighborhood program in the school he attends.  Vanguard Neighborhood Kindergarten applicants are assessed during the fall semester and if identified, served by March 1 of that year.  The Vanguard “Entering Kindergarten” assessment transfers to Vanguard Neighborhood Kindergarten.  The Advanced Academics Department central administration office develops the criteria for admission, which is based on the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students.  Admission criteria are the same for Vanguard Neighborhood and Vanguard Magnet programs.  Each school has a coordinator and a committee that conducts the admission meetings.  Qualified Vanguard Neighborhood students who attend their zoned neighborhood school do not receive transportation.