TAG 101 meeting Wed., May 8

Families of newly-identified students - 

TAG 101 at Marshall High School is on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 from 7-8:30 PM. 

Director of Instruction Dr. Kimberly Matier will introduce parents to district staff, discuss what services to expect in the classroom, and discuss rights and responsibilities. TAG 101 will be more hands-on than in past years, with opportunities to try out examples of TAG lesson strategies.

ALSO - 

Dr. Matier and the TAG parent advisory council are planning something new - meetings for ALL families that will, we hope, help increase understanding of how TAG instruction should work within PPS. Dr. Matier is working on a new 'menu' of TAG services - both school-day and enrichment - and a plan to address rigor & lesson relevance. (Think of the new meetings as "TAG 201"...) More details early next fall.

New York Gifted & Talented Exam Scoring Errors

Here's an update on Pearson test scoring errors in NY, which has many public gifted & talented programs and several schools that require 97% scores.

"According to Pearson, three mistakes were made. Students’ ages, which are used to calculate their percentile ranking against students of similar age, were recorded in years and months, but should also have counted days to be precise. Incorrect scoring tables were used. And the formula used to combine the two test parts into one percentile ranking contained an error."

Calculation errors affected 4,735 students - Click here for the complete NY Times piece.

Free 'App Camp' for Middle School Girls this Summer

Know a middle-grade girl with an interest in technology? There's a new camp launching  - App Camp For Girls. Here's the info. on the camp and their free beta week this summer.  After June 28, the camp will cost $300 to $350 per session.

We are doing a "beta" (or trial run) of App Camp For Girls in order to test our program. No one has tried to teach girls how to make iPhone apps in one week before!
The Beta session will take place June 24 - 28, 2013, at TaborSpace on S.E. Belmont near Mt. Tabor. It's a wonderful space for creative endeavors and we are looking forward to working there. The schedule is 9 am to 4 pm.http://www.appcamp4girls.com/app-camp-beta/

Misunderstood Face of Giftedness Article

This article by the director of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) got lost in the shuffle when it appeared earlier in the month. It's well worth your time so I'm reposting - click here.
SENG spoke at last year's TAG 101, and their website (at right under Links) has many useful resources.

ACCESS moving to Rose City Park

ACCESS Academy will move to the Rose City Park building next year. Details here.

TAG 101 Meeting - Mark your Calendars

Families of newly-identified students - 

TAG 101 at Marshall High School is on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 from 7-8:30 PM. 

Director of Instruction Dr. Kimberly Matier will introduce parents to district staff, discuss what services to expect in the classroom, and discuss rights and responsibilities. TAG 101 will be more hands-on than in past years, with opportunities to try out examples of TAG lesson strategies.

ALSO - 

Dr. Matier and the TAGAC are planning something new - meetings for ALL families that will help increase understanding of how TAG instruction will work within PPS. Dr. Matier is working on a new 'menu' of TAG services - both school-day and enrichment - and a plan to address rigor & lesson relevance. (Think of the new meetings as "TAG 201"...) More details early next fall.

TAG Advisory Council meeting tonight

TAG advisory council meeting tonight:
Tuesday, 4/9 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Location:
BESC (District admin. building) at 501 N. Dixon St, 97227 Mazama Room (second floor)

We have a packed agenda that will include clarifying Dir. of Instruction Dr. Matier's plans for TAG curriculum and TAG enrichment 'menus,' schedule for principal/TAG coordinator TAG training,  TAG 101 and the district's position on ACCESS' size and location.

Please join me! Visitors, new members and questions you'd like me to share with TAGAC are welcome.

-Amy 

Amy Mason Doan, amasondoan@gmail.com

TAG News and Coverage

The O's Amy Wang covered some TAG news, including the recent survey results - click here

the director of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) wrote a thoughtful article for The Huffington Post  - click here

and...

Families of newly-identified TAG students, please remember to mark your calendars for TAG 101 May 8 at the former Marshall High School, 3905 S.E. 91st Ave. (time TBD)

ACCESS on OPB Think Out Loud April 2

ACCESS will be featured on OPB tomorrow at 12:06p.m., and my understanding is there will be some discussion of TAG in neighborhood schools. Here's the show promo post -

http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/gifted-kids-access-program-must-move/
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The talented and gifted (TAG) program in Portland Public Schools known as ACCESS has been struggling for years now to try to meet the demand for space in its unique program. Students who get into the program must score in the 99th percentile and prove their academic needs are not being met elsewhere.
The last round of changes in the Jefferson cluster of schools originally directed ACCESS to move from Sabin School to King School, but that plan fell apart. As of this writing, there's no word about where they might go for the fall, leaving parents of current and waitlisted students in the dark.
Is your child a TAG student? Are their needs being met? Are you one of the roughly 220 ACCESS students? What's your experience at ACCESS?