TAG Communication Identification Services 2015 Fall Parent Meeting For Parents of TAG Identified Students and Those Who Are Interested in Finding Out About TAG

Goals of Our Time Together ➢ Introduce Principals, building TAG Facilitators ➢ Present information on… ● Identification timelines ● Building plans ● Instructional strategies for all students ● Individualized instructional plans-request ● District structure for services

Important Dates ➢ Second grade cognitive ability screening will not be administered this year. ➢ Deadline for TAG Identification Process Forms are due to your building TAG Facilitator– no later than November 2, Late forms will not be processed and your child will need to be nominated next year. ➢ TAG testing window- November, 2015-March, 2016

TAG ID process 1. Use Identification Process Form IDPF to recommend a PPS K-12 student for TAG identification 2. The parent and teacher fill out page one of the form, TAG Facilitator completes the rest. 3. Parent submits the IDPF form to the school no later than November 2, Testing is completed November- March 5. Once the test results have been sent to the school, the school will review the criteria and make a recommendation for eligibility to the PPS TAG Department 6. The PPS TAG Department makes the final determination and notifies families and the school

District TAG Plan ➢ Communicates how the school will address the learning environment and the needs of Talented and Gifted students. ● Identification process/ tools ● Assets – identify how the school will meet the rate and level of instruction, including depth and complexity ● Responsibility of TAG Facilitator ● Professional Development for staff ● Communication with parents and students

What Questions Should I Ask About My Child’s Instruction ➢ What can you tell me about my child’s rate and level of learning? ➢ How does my child demonstrate learning expectations? ➢ Do you use pre/post assessments? ➢ What opportunities will my child be given to learn with other students who have similar rates and levels of learning? ➢ How will you communicate the strategies used to address my child’s rate and level of learning?

What is “Level” and “Rate”? ➢ Level of learning is the student’s instructional level in the curriculum: the place where the student will be successful, but will encounter knowledge and skills he or she has not yet learned or mastered ➢ Rate of learning is a measure of the pace at which a student successfully progresses through the curriculum after being placed at the appropriate level

Strategies teachers may use to address a student’s rate and level of learning 1. Flexible grouping 2. Tiered lessons 3. Cross-grade grouping 4. Curriculum acceleration 5. Compacting 6. Independent study 7. Cluster grouping 8. High level questioning

What Do I Do If I Have a Concern About My Child’s Needs? 1.Conference with your child’s teacher 2.Consult the TAG Facilitator if you feel your questions have not been answered 3.Schedule a meeting with the school’s principal 4. Check the TAG Department’s web page for resources 5.Contact the TAG Department for additional support

When might I request an Individual Instruction Plan? ● Communicate with your child’s teacher to discuss the rate and/or level of instruction, assignments, and review the district TAG plan. ● You may request an individual plan if together with your school team it is decided the district TAG plan does not address your child’s needs.

TAG Professional Development ➢ Teachers will participate in ongoing professional development to support their work and to support students. ➢ The Department of Talented and Gifted Education endeavors to provide multilayers of professional development in the future. These multiple pathways will be accessible in a variety of ways and should address the question of how to create depth and complexity.

District TAG Support ➢ Andrew Johnson – Director of Talented and Gifted Education K-12 ➢ Heather Egan – Sr. Administrative Secretary ( ) ➢ TAG TOSAs – Cathy Daley, Palmyra McLellarn, Tessalie Schulte ➢ The PPS TAG Department is located at PPS Rice Professional Dev. Center, 6433 NE Tillamook St, Portland, OR 97213