Elementary NEAT Framework

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools supports gifted and advanced learners through the NEAT Framework, a flexible and inclusive approach designed to meet students’ academic, intellectual, social, and emotional needs in grades K–5.

NEAT stands for Nurture, Enrich, Accelerate, Thrive, the four key elements that guide how students are supported and challenged throughout their learning experience.

At its core, the NEAT Framework ensures that advanced learning opportunities are embedded within the school day, not added on as extra work. Classroom teachers and AIG teachers collaborate to provide differentiated instruction that is responsive to each student’s strengths, needs, and potential.

• Nurture: All students are given opportunities to develop their strengths, build confidence, and grow socially and emotionally while building strong thinking and problem-solving skills that support advanced learning.
• Enrich: Students engage in deeper, more complex content and tasks that promote critical and creative thinking while enhancing the core curriculum.
• Accelerate: When appropriate, students move beyond grade-level standards through advanced content, complex texts, and challenging tasks that extend and deepen learning. Opportunities may also include Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) in math, a targeted approach that builds on what students have mastered, provides exposure to advanced concepts, and prepares them for success in higher-level coursework.
• Thrive: By combining nurturing, enrichment, and acceleration, students are empowered to maximize their potential and growth while engaging in meaningful, challenging learning experiences.

The NEAT Framework reflects our commitment to serving the whole child. It provides consistent opportunities for growth across classrooms and schools, focuses on demonstrated student needs rather than labels, and ensures that every learner has access to challenge, support, and opportunity.