Welcome to CLUE901!

The mission of our gifted and academically talented program is to provide a nurturing, accepting environment where the unique intellectual, creative, social, and emotional needs of gifted and talented students are fulfilled. Meeting these needs can best be accomplished through an individualized differentiated curriculum and an environment specifically with intellectual peers, both of which will enable gifted and talented students to develop their potential and participate effectively in society as citizens and leaders. We are proud to serve the gifted and talented students of Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tennessee.

What is CLUE?

CLUE Strategies & Skills

CLUE (Creative Learning in a Unique Environment) is the gifted and talented program in Shelby County Schools. Since its inception in 1970, the program has expanded to include over 4,000 students in preschool to high school.  The foundation of the CLUE program is a differentiated curriculum with these key characteristics:

• Intellectually challenging learning experiences
• Learning based on characteristics, needs, abilities, and interests rather than on a predetermined curriculum
• Activities requiring abstract thought and higher-level thinking processes
• Time for in-depth inquiry, active exploration, and discovery
• Extensive opportunities to develop and apply creative and critical thinking skills
• High expectations for independence and task persistence
• An emphasis on developing self-understanding and self-evaluation
• Opportunities to acquire and demonstrate leadership abilities ​

1. CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING – Students work individually or in groups to solve actual or hypothetical problems using a systematic approach that consists of four steps: think, evaluate, decide, and act.
2. BRAINSTORMING – This technique promotes the development of divergent thinking and fluency whether it’s used independently or as a preliminary activity for problem solving, creative assignments, or group discussions.
3. BRAINTEASERS - LOGICAL THINKING – These activities provide a stimulating challenge to think logically, critically, and creatively in order to discover an answer when working puzzles, considering questions, or solving problems. Some types of brainteasers are logic puzzles, cryptoquizes, quotation puzzles, timeless timelines, hink-pinks, etc…
4. RESEARCH – Research is a tool for building knowledge, understanding issues, testing the validity of claims, and improving literacy skills. Students hypothesize, gather information from a variety of sources, evaluate sources, discern the relevant facts, organize information, and summarize findings into creative, informative products.
5. GROUP DYNAMICS – Learning to work effectively in a group is part of life in school, in a career, or in the community.
6. INTROSPECTION - This is a continual process where students identify, express, and compare their ideas, opinions, and feelings.
7. CRITIQUE – Critique is a means of self-evaluation where students identify the purpose of an activity and the strategies utilized, recall newly learned facts, identify strengths and areas to improve, and evaluate their overall participation and performance at the completion of an activity or unit of study.
8. VISIBLE THINKING ROUTINES - Harvard’s Project Zero’s visible thinking routines are used to enrich learning, engage students, and foster their intellectual development. These routines make students’ thinking visible to themselves and others so they can improve it.
9. REGIONAL EXPLORATIONS - The CLUE classroom is not confined to the building. There is always hands-on learning connected to our travel, so regional explorations are a vital part of our curriculum.

Hide not your talents. They for use were made.
​What's a sundial in the shade? – Benjamin Franklin