Gifted and Talented Academy Session 6 May 13, 2016

Agenda Day 6 Welcome/Warm Up Staff Allocations Qualifications Job Descriptions Comprehensive Programming: Points and Questions to Consider Work Time Celebrate Accomplishments

Warm Up Review plan components developed so far (e.g., V/M/B/CA, identification, differentiated program, program goals, inservice design) Consider barriers from our discussion last time and if/how any impact your plan and services What barriers could be addressed through professional development? Large group sharing

Do you have a program of quality? Complete checklist Discuss how Academy learning might lead to greater quality.

Program Goals Review your program goals in terms of Alignment Validity Comprehensiveness Clarity These traits are found on p. 64-5 of your Purcell & Eckert text. Reference those pages for more details and make adjustments to goals accordingly. Remember these should include both student outcome goals the goals and those you set to assure quality gifted and talented programming is provided. They must be measurable!! Be sure to check Chapter 59 regarding the areas in which program goals are required.

In-service Design …whatever teachers become professionally, the process is not finished when they complete their teacher education program at age 21. Learning to teach well is a lifetime endeavor. The growth of understanding and skill in teaching terminates only when we do. --Eisner, 2002 Discuss how this applies to your school/district and the teachers in it. Do you and they, on the whole, approach professional learning in this way or is it seen as a necessary evil? Some teachers very much live out this quote; they are eager to learn new things and improve their professional practices. There are also those are the antithesis of this way of thinking; they are the 25 year veterans who have taught the same year 25 times and swear there is absolutely no benefit to them from any professional development activity. Create a continuum of behaviors – things you would see and hear – that might illuminate where on this spectrum teachers might fall.

In-service Design for Gifted What does it currently look like in your district? Format Time Participants What does the word “design” imply? In what ways might an effective in-service design align with and support all other plan components?

In-service Design for Gifted Review the Guiding Principles on p. 185 Discuss and complete the self-assessment “Guiding Principles for Gifted and Talented In-service Design” What needs to improve about your in-service design? (Develop a program goal?) The self-assessment is found on the Wiki. You might also consider looking at the Inservice Design section of the Self-Audit/Reflection Tool found on the Heartland Web site at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/gifted/SART.html

Staffing Patterns/Schedules What are the total FTEs for gifted and talented in your district? How are they distributed K-12? Who develops the schedule? What programming components have been identified? How is the teacher’s time allotted to implement those components effectively? What needs to change? Make connections to funding, inservice design, and advocacy. What works about your schedule? In a perfect world, what would your schedule look like? Where does practical reality meet Utopia?

Job Descriptions Do you have a job description? If so, in what ways does it accurately reflect what you do? What guidance should/would the written g/t plan provide and vice versa? What are the key elements of your job? What should you be doing that your currently aren’t? Rough out a job description that includes duties, dispositions, etc.

GT Teacher/Administrator Agreement What is the value in an agreement? How does it align with programming and with job description? What do school counselor agreements look like? Do you need an agreement with administrators? Time to discuss

Readiness Survey Review the survey Where have you grown? What areas for growth? How might you address those areas?

Work Time Use this time to develop and/or refine sections of your written gifted and talented plan.

Processing Time Individually identify Discuss with your team/table One area of team growth this year One area of personal growth One team goal for next year One personal goal for next year Discuss with your team/table Develop one team goal for future work and share.

Required Submissions Your written comprehensive program plan sections Vision/Mission/Beliefs (at the minimum a mission or philosophy) Identification – including target population Differentiated Program Program Goals and Performance Measures In-service Design Staffing Provisions & Qualifications of Personnel Administering the Program These may be shared as Google docs (be sure to share with me) or as a Word document. My email is mschmidt@heartlandaea.org

CELEBRATE! Thanks for your hard work, flexibility, and dedication this year. I look forward to seeing you next year in Gifted Academy II.