Meeting highlights 
28 parents attended the meeting
Alameda TAG coordinator Pamela Van Der Wolf presided until 6:30.
Building TAG plan
Alameda has a building TAG plan, but any parent can request an individual TAG plan.
Ms. Van Der Wolf needs two parents to assist in drafting next year’s building TAG plan. Email her at pvanderw@pps.net or call her at (503) 916-6036 if you can offer input.
She is especially interested in improving -
1.     Questioning within the curriculum.  While the training focus is often on improving the questions teachers ask TAG students, TAG students can benefit from learning to ask higher-level questions themselves.
2.     Lesson tiering
TAG Blog and Late Start Enrichment
Amy Mason will set up an Alameda TAG parent blog by midsummer. We can share ideas on improving the classroom experience for rapid learners & on enrichment activities. I’ll post an example of a filled-in individual TAG plan.
Schools including Llewellyn and Laurelhurst offer TAG enrichment  (graphic novel, museum docents) during late-start days. and we will aim to offer some next year. Per Ms. Van Der Wolf, these would need to be open to all students.
District TAG advisory council
I've attended three meetings and will continue as the school’s district TAG advisory council parent liaison through Dec. 2012. I encourage any parents to attend the TAGAC meetings (next is in July), as there are many changes looming related to testing, teacher training and access to higher-level math. We have pressed for better communication and clear information on TAG teacher training.
PPS has a TAG website & new leadership has committed to updating it more frequently.
It’s at http://www.pps.k12.or.us/departments/tag/
As of June 2012, PPS is required to submit a districtwide TAG plan to the Ore. Dept. of Education.
District TAG director Pat Thompson’s half-time position has been eliminated in the budget cuts. Melissa Goff and Kimberly Matier of the district’s office of teaching & learning will head TAG services beginning in mid-June.  Ms. Matier has a particular interest in TAG; as Forest Park principal, she did some innovative things with TAG services.
The new PPS TAG leaders will send out a survey to all district TAG parents this month. Please take the time to offer plenty of detail on what works and where you’d like to see improvement.
Alameda TAG Parent Survey
Maggie Beam, Alair MacLean and Lisa Towne will create and analyze a school TAG survey by Sept. so that we can prioritize actions for 2012-2013. Many parents expressed interest in bringing back Challenge Math or something similar. Others would like to give their kids chances to socialize with peers who share their interests.
One parent made a well-received suggestion – to ease ability grouping in large classes where teachers struggle to tailor curriculum, TAG parents could take turns leading small groups in certain subject areas.
Many excellent questions – why Walk to Read only in certain grades? Is TAG more than just a form in a file? Etc.
Next meeting
We will meet again in Sept.
PPS’ TAG Mandate –
In compliance with the Oregon TAG Mandate for gifted education, Portland Public Schools focuses its services on meeting the student's instructional level and rate of learning every day in the classroom across the curriculum. Classroom teachers assess a student's level and rate in all subject areas and modify the instruction to provide appropriate content challenge and instructional pacing.
To facilitate this approach, the principal is responsible to oversee the identification process, arrange staff development and parent meetings, and act as an on-site resource for gifted education in the school.