Gifted and Talented Advocacy Project by Micah Rogers, Carly Bradley, and Megan Gassaway

Why Gifted and Talented?  We chose this topic to advocate for the gifted and talented programs in schools and to reach out to the students who meet the criteria of a gifted and talented student. Students who are found to be gifted and talented often find themselves bored in the classroom and lack the challenges from teachers to further their learning. We want students who meet this to be able to flourish in their educational experience and go beyond the classroom. Also, we do not want students to go throughout their school experience and be looked over for having a disability or not showing exceptionally high grades.  Advocating for gifted and talented children and making sure they receive services they need. We want students to have times set aside to be pulled into a separate classroom where the teacher challenges them. They have various subjects to broaden their learning experiences.

Statistics and Research  Gifted and Talented programs have not seen the credit I deserve. Some schools have taken away the programs and instead only count advanced placement classes as gifted and talented.  The label “gifted” in a school setting means that when compared to others his or her age or grade, a child has an advanced capacity to learn and apply what is learned in one or more subject areas, or in the performing or fine arts.  Some gifted students also have learning or other disabilities. These “twice- exceptional” students often go undetected in regular classrooms because their disability and gifts mask each other, making them appear “average.”  While AP classes offer rigorous, advanced coursework, they are not a gifted education program. The AP program is designed as college-level classes taught by high school teachers for students willing to work hard.  Offering gifted education services does not need to break the bank, a well developed program can come from sources such as community, parents and other faculty members.  students students

Working for a Cause!  Getting the message across  We will send home newsletters to parents encouraging them to nominate a student to be tested for the gifted and talented program. Also, in this newsletter we will provide information on what the gifted and talented program is and what the students will learn outside of the general education classroom.  The link to myths about gifted and talented, the newsletter and what the gifted and talented program will be covering this semester will be under the parent information page of our personal teacher websites. The parents can go to the website and look for more information on gifted and talented and what steps they can get their student into the program   

Why is this an important cause?  Micah will tell about a student who was affected by a GT program at their school.  Just What is Gifted and Talented? Just What is Gifted and Talented?

To Whom it May Concern,  View the letter we wrote to a school board stating our concern for their Gifted & Talented Program and advocating for the GT students in this district.  LETTER IS HERE! LETTER IS HERE!

“Failure to help the gifted child is a societal tragedy, the extent of which is difficult to measure, but which is surely great. How can we measure the sonata unwritten, the curative drug undiscovered, the absence of political insight? They are the difference between what we are and what we could be as a society.” James Gallagher

Get the Word Out!  View our flyer here! View our flyer here!

Collaboration With Other Groups  National Association for Gifted Children- NAGC  National Society for the Gifted & Talented- NSGT  The Gifted Child Society  SENG- Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted  Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration  Rochester SAGE- Supporting Advanced & Gifted Education  Davidson Institute for Talent Development

Opposing Views  All children are gifted  People that argue against having Gifted and Talented Education Programs often say that all children are gifted therefore it is unfair to offer special services to only a certain group of children labeled “gifted”.  To refute this stance I would begin by saying that it is unfair to not offer gifted children the services they need, under FAPE. Yes, all children are gifted in certain areas but when it comes to children’s rights to grow intellectually, fairness isn’t equal.

Opposing Views  Gifted children learn on their own  “Since gifted students quickly master the basic educational goals of the curriculum, or arrive at a particular grade level or class having already learned the basic curriculum, they present a challenge to educators. Frequently, highly able students are encouraged to work independently, and many respond well to this encouragement. But some essential questions remain: What are they learning? Are they moving forward, working alone and in isolation? Are they learning at all? And, more important, what are schools doing for these students?”  “Gifted programs provide the time and space for children to learn at their own pace, with peers of similar capability and interests, and to grow both intellectually and emotionally. It's hard to argue with that, but some do.”  From the Davidson Institute for Talent Development