The handbook provides a model for beginning and operating programs for talented/gifted students in rural schools, K-12, based on a program developed in Shasta County, California, in 1976-77 and disseminated nationwide in 1978-79. The model produces individualized programs planned by a committee composed of the student, classroom teacher(s), resource specialist, and parent(s) to meet student needs through an expanded curriculum emphasizing creative productivity, psychomotor development, use of visual and performing arts, leadership, and academic achievement. Eight major components are delineated: (1) identifying students through preassessment activities and testing in appropriate areas; (2) determining student needs through teacher assessment, parent and pupil inventories, and group and individual profiles; (3) indentifying instructional staff and writing job descriptions for all personnel involved; (4) training the staff; (5) determining management alternatives for scheduling and budgeting; (6) selecting curriculum design alternatives to fit individual needs; (7) conducting evaluation activities; and (8) revising activities according to evaluation results. Separate sections provide detailed information, examples, and forms for implementing each model component. Issues of implementation are listed at the beginning of each section in terms of what to do, how to do it, decision to make, and what one must know to make the decisions. (NEC)