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.
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.
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