Gifted education funding restored in federal budget bill

From Edweek -

Gifted Education, Special Education See Funding Increases in Federal Budget Bill

"The federal budget bill is being lauded by early childhood education supporters for its large boosts to Head Start, but the bill is also receiving praise from gifted education advocates for restoring funding to the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, which was defunded by Congress in fiscal 2011.

Congress set aside $5 million for the program, which supports applied research to develop classroom strategies for identifying and serving gifted students. The money has been used for such projects as: identifying preschool students from racial and ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in gifted education; developing appropriate programs for gifted students with learning difficulties; and improving professional development for teachers.

However, the funding for the act has been on a downward slide since its peak of $11.25 million in 2002 until it was finally zeroed out, so the renewed interest in the program has been welcome, said Jane Clarenbach, the director of public education for the National Association for Gifted Children, in Washington. "

OATAG presentation in Woodburn on Jan. 15

The Oregon Association for Talented and Gifted and the Woodburn School District are sponsoring a free presentation about TAG student underachievement on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at the Woodburn High School. Call 503-983-4290 for an interpreter.

You do not need to be a Woodburn resident to attend.

6:30 to 7:20 PM English
6:30 to 7:20 PM Russian
7:30 to 8:20 PM Spanish

Noche de padres de estudiantes de alta capacidad y los talentosos y dotados

http://www.oatag.org/Resources/Documents/Meet-ups/2014-01-15-Woodburn/Woodburn_2014-01-15.pdf

TAGAC meeting Tues. night - all welcome

The next TAG parent advisory committee meeting is Tues., Jan 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Blanchard building - 501 N. Dixon.

New members will be appointed and Director of Instruction Kimberly Matier will brief the committee on the TAG professional development set for this year. Subcommittees (differentiation, equity, curriculum and communication) are working on a recommendation report that will be delivered to PPS and the board at the end of the year.

TAGAC is still looking for members as the committee can have up to 18 (it's now at less than 10). If you cannot attend the monthly meetings, you can still help. Please spread the word and contact Mark Feldman at ppsmark@feldmark.com if you are interested or know someone who is.

Guests are always welcome at TAGAC meetings!

Edweek article on gifted learners & Common Core

This Edweek article on differentiation & Common Core came out before the holidays --

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/10/30/10cc-gifted.h33.html

"Common Core Needs Tailoring for Gifted Learners, Advocates Say"

ACCESS application period

From ACCESS Academy -

2014-15 application season coming soon. ACCESS will experience significant growth next year, particularly at 3rd and 6th grades. We expect to accept at least 80 new, highly-gifted ACCESS students next year, compared to this year’s 63. We will have at least some openings at each grade level 1-8 next year. 

Applications and more info. will be posted by Jan. 17 at http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/access/

District single subject acceleration policy

The PPS single subject acceleration (SSA) policy is now up on the district website -

http://www.pps.k12.or.us/departments/tag/1394.htm

Some testing requirements have changed to address Common Core. The requirements for single subject acceleration differ from the one for whole grade acceleration. Schools are required to treat all acceleration requests - including SSA - individually (i.e., schools cannot dismiss requests due to scheduling challenges). The current policy allows SSA decisions at the beginning or end of the school year.

It's important to give teachers and admins time to gather information to support an SSA request (June or Sept. are not ideal). Thanks to the TAG parent advisory council and Dr. Kimberly Matier for posting the policy.