Back by Popular Demand, the California Association for the Gifted Santa Lucia Region will offer a Breakfast Workshop on meeting the needs of gifted & talented students for principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and district office administrators.
Attendees will receive a free guidebook for administrators (The Leadership Challenge: A Guide-book for Administrators) that will guide school leaders in meeting the basic requirements of the California rec-ommended standards for gifted education.
Read more, or print out the flier
(379 KB
)
There is a clear national need to develop the talent of the more than 3 million gifted and talented learners in the U.S., whose performance is falling behind that of students in other industrialized nations. It is well documented that gifted and talented students have special learning needs requiring specialized educational services if they are to reach their potential.
Unfortunately, a lack of federal investment in this population means that availability and access to these services depends solely on state and local funds, which is highly variable and unpredictable. This underinvestment in excellence is exacerbated by the singular focus on low-performing students under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and has resulted in a new achievement gap-the gap between minority and economically disadvantaged students who are gifted and talented and their more advantaged, high-ability peers. Researchers have documented a growing gap on both statewide assessments and on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) that, at current achievement rates, will take decades to close. Limited federal leadership, coupled with a singular focus on grade-level proficiency, has resulted in an educational system that too often fails to address the unique learning needs of gifted students and those who could become high achieving with appropriate supports.
Success in the 21st century requires a commitment to developing student talent as early as possible. To address this urgent need, gifted education supporters have introduced legislation to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to provide responsible federal leadership in meeting the needs of gifted and high-ability students. To Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation's Teachers (TALENT) Act, which replaces the Javits Act, has four key emphases:
CAG and NAGC urges support of the TALENT Act to systematically ensure that all high-ability students, regardless of their zip code, are able to maximize their potential. The nation cannot afford to delay.
Students present workshops on their favorite subjects; other students attend these workshops! Open to all students grades 3–12 in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Benito and San Mateo Counties. You do not need to be a GATE-identified student in order to attend the conference, or to present a workshop. Everyone is welcome to this FREE conference!
Are you wanting to add Depth and Complexity to your lessons?
Looking for ways to refine your questioning techniques and strategies?
Thinking about rigor and meeting a wide range of learning needs?
The Depth and Complexity Icons meet these needs and are easily applied to
any content area or topic, K–12!
We are the regional task force of the California Association for the Gifted: a group of teachers, parents, administrators, and others who meet regularly to promote quality instruction for gifted and talented students in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey Counties (the “Santa Lucia Region”). We support one another in improving programs for gifted students. Our GATE Advocates Meetings are open to all interested people—Please Join Us!
Following our pattern of last year, our first few Advocates meetings will be held at Hobbee’s Restaurant in Los Gatos. We very much want to see more involvement from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, and can move the meeting location south to encourage such participation. See our Upcoming Events page for more information.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 8:30–11:30 am
Hobee’s restaurant in Los Gatos (See location description to left, under Coordinators’ meetings)
Read more about this event.
Saturday, May 8, 2010 1:00–5:00 pm
Merrill College, University of California at Santa Cruz
Students present workshops on their favorite subjects; other students attend these workshops!
Open to all students grades 3–12 in Santa Cruz,
Santa Clara, Monterey, San Benito and San Mateo Counties. You do not
need to be a GATE-identified student in order to attend the conference,
or to present a workshop. Everyone is welcome!
Saturday & Sunday, April 17 & 18, 2010 ~
10 am – 6 pm
Splash! is a program that brings students grades 7–12 (ages 11–18 if home schooled)
to Stanford’s campus for a two-day learning extravaganza. Read more and learn
how to register on the Splash! flier
(34 KB .pdf
).
An Op-Ed piece in the Sacramento Bee (Thursday 8/27/09) discusses what Jack O’Connell and other educators should do to improve the education of our advanced students. www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2142102.html or www.sacbee.com/opinion/v-print/story/2142102.html (printable version).
A GATE Certification training was held July 27–31, at the Campbell Union School District Office, and presented by Marilyn Lane, Nora Ho and Andrea Tracy. Workshop materials & teacher-created standards-based lesson plans are now available from this training.
Steve Kahl is the new Educator Representative for the Santa Lucia region of CAG. He is the GATE Coordinator at Mountain View High School, as well as AVID Coordinator there. He has taught English in the Bay Area for 24 years. He makes presentations to elementary and high school teachers throughout California on differentiating instruction for gifted students, and he has published articles on the subject. You may reach him at steven (dot) kahl (at) mvla (dot) net or by calling him at 408-395-0002.
Campbell Union School District, Campbell, CA
Read more!
12:30–4:30 pm, Silver Creek High School, 3434 Silver Creek Rd., San Jose, CA 95121
The California Association for the Gifted (Santa Lucia Region) cordially invites you to attend a workshop on differentiated instruction methods for K–12 teachers on Saturday, May 9th from 12:30–4:30 pm at Silver Creek High School in San Jose. At this engaging session, teachers will learn how to use the depth and complexity icons creatively to adjust instruction for a variety of student readiness levels. This interactive workshop will be a repeat of the extremely well attended event held at Mountain View HS last fall. As we could not accommodate everyone who wished to attend that event, we decided to schedule another one for the spring.
The cost is $20, payable on site, which will cover the expense of the very cool depth and complexity icon magnets you will receive for subsequent use on your classroom whiteboard. To reserve your space, simply contact steven (dot) kahl (at) mvla (dot) net immediately, providing your full name, grade level (and/or subject area), district, school, and contact information. Space is limited, so register today!
Presenters will include Lyn Olson (Pajaro Valley USD), Andrea Tracy (Campbell USD), and Steve Kahl (Mountain View-Los Altos UHSD). Thank you to Tim Nguyen, Thelma Boac and East Side Union High School District for hosting!
Read the flyer
for more information about the event.
Sponsored by the California Association for the Gifted (Santa Lucia Region) and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District.
Please spread the word! GATE students (grades 7–12) from throughout the region (of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Alameda, and Monterey Counties) are invited to attend the April, 2009 conference hosted at Mountain View High School.
At the four-hour conference, GATE students will offer a broad variety of workshops and presentations to other GATE students. This free event will be held on the Mountain View High School campus. Much like an adult conference, students who attend will receive a program that lists the various half hour presentations or workshops, and they will get to choose to attend up to six sessions.
Read more information on this exciting opportunity for students to be the teachers!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
8:30–10:00 pm (Eastern Time)
5:30–7:00 pm (Pacific Time)
This is an an online “Webinar” presented by Dr. Ellen D. Fiedler, Ph.D., and will last approximately 90 Minutes. The cost of participating in this webinar is $40.00. Register online at www.instantpresenter.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=EE55D782.
Parents, teachers, and counselors often find that their best-laid plans for the gifted go astray because of the intensity and sensitivity of these kids. Think about the intensity you've seen in gifted individuals of all ages: intellectual, imaginational, emotional, psychomotor, and sensual. Challenges abound for them and for everyone concerned with them and their well-being.
And yet, the intensity and sensitivity of gifted youngsters can allow all kinds of stimulating and intriguing opportunities for them to develop, both at home and in school. This webinar will provide information and insights to help you better understand and help the gifted. It is designed to shed light on how "overexcitabilities" (OEs) as described by Dabrowski's theory, relate to helping gifted kids.
In this session, Dr. Fiedler will explore gifted youngsters' intensity and sensitivity in school and at home and will then focus on practical strategies that parents, teachers, and counselors can use to respond to the OEs and other social and emotional needs of gifted students.
Ellen Fiedler, Professor Emerita from the gifted Masters degree program at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, is now a private consultant. Her Ph.D. in Counseling came from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked at the Guidance Institute for Talented Students. She was a Gifted Program Coordinator and a State Consultant for the Gifted, is a published author and presents at state, national, and international conferences. She was Chair of the Counseling and Guidance Division of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), co-chair of the Global Awareness Division, and is currently President of the Michigan Alliance for Gifted Education.
The UC Berkeley Center for Science Education at the Space Sciences Laboratory (CSE@SSL) is holding a special one-day free teacher workshop on Saturday, December 13 at the Embassy Suites in Napa Valley. This workshop follows a week-long conference on the science of the next solar cycle (Solar Cycle 24).
Description: We live in the atmosphere of a dynamic, magnetic star that interacts with the Earth and the planets beyondhe Sun. A new solar cycle has just begun and scientists are poised to study this next cycle in greater detail than ever before. Come learn about the latest discoveries in the study of the Sun, and explore activities for your classroom. During this workshop we will present hands-on, inquiry-based lesson plans that explore Sun-Earth Connection concepts such as magnetism, the seasons, space weather, eclipses, and solar energy. In addition, NASA space scientists will be on hand to explain their newest investigations into the workings of the Sun. We will feature special afternoon breakout sessions for elementary and middle/high school grades.
Lunch will be provided for free. Parking is free. Plus we will distribute several free NASA classroom materials, including GEMS guides (The Real Reasons for Seasons and Living With a Star), and elementary lessons from Eye on the Sky (www.eyeonthesky.org/).
Register for free online: http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/workshops/registration.aspx?eid=4 (Registration deadline: 5 pm December 5.)
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008, 1:00–4:00 pm
Mountain View High School, 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View, CA
We had hoped to have at least 30 people attend, but more than 120 individuals have registered for this event! Registration is closed and there is a waiting list. (If you are registered but your plans have changed and you are planning NOT to attend, please let us know immediately so that we can invite someone from our growing waiting list to join us.)
Steve Kahl will be leading all of the 4th–12th grade teachers, and Andrea Tracy will be coaching the Kindergarten–3rd grade teachers.
Saturday, November 15th, 2008, 8:30 am–3:30
pm
Santa Cruz County Office of Education, 400 Encinal St., Santa Cruz, CA
Sponsored by the California Association for the Gifted (Santa Lucia Region) and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District.
Thursday, November 20, 2008 8:30–10:00 pm (Eastern Time)
During the summer of 2008, CAG will criss-cross the state to provide options for teachers and administrators of the gifted to participate in the opportunities to learn about the academic, social, and personal needs and abilities of gifted students. There are three separate Teacher Institutes being offered:
JULY 24, 25 & 26, Focus on grades 1–7 at TIP Academy in Encinitas, held in San Diego County
AUGUST 3, 4, & 5, Focus on language arts, math, and science for grades 2–8, held in Santa Barbara
AUGUST 7, 8, & 9, Focus on elementary grades, held in Berryessa Unified School District in San Jose
The SCCOE GATE Certification Series is designed to assist districts, sites and teachers in meeting the provisions of Raising the Standards for Gifted and Talented Education AB2313 (Correa) July 1, 2001 and the guidance found in the State GATE Standards.
Nora Ho, a principal in Berryessa Union School District (San Jose), is devoted to supporting gifted children and their teachers. Her career spans preschool to university students and all in between. Nora has held many roles in various school districts. In each role she kept the gifted students’ needs not only in mind but also as a part of the conversation. Nora works with gifted in each job regardless of “assigned” job or duties. Her longevity, continuity and quiet persistence have been a continual catalyst for increased quality differentiation by classroom teachers in each of the districts lucky enough to eploy her. Unequivocal expectations coupled with her practical approach quickly facilitate an atmosphere of professional inquiry and growth, which directly benefit the students at each of the school sites. Nora is steadfast in her pursuit of an excellent educational experience for each child, and her action mirrors belief. When she teaches, there is no doubt in the student’s mind that she is knowledgeable and holds them to the same high expectations to which she holds herself.
Nora continues to train teachers in differentiation through her university courses, county courses, principal duties, and as a CAG representative. Her commitment is so strong that she has filled the role of Parent Representative for the Santa Lucia Region 5 of CAG even though her children are no longer in K–12 public schools. This goes along with her history as a strong parent advocate. Parents in teh community have always viewed Nora as a person to whom they could come and discuss their children’s development, academically and otherwise. It has always been abundantly clear that gifted children and their families are enhanced by Nora’s commitment to them.
Two books about clustering gifted and advanced students in regular classrooms, both by well-known well-respected experts in gifted education, were published in 2008. Read more about each book, including Table of Contents, and the authors, by clicking on the image of the front cover.
Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles have released The Cluster Grouping Handbook: How to Challenge Gifted Students and Improve Achievement for All. It is research-based, comprehensive, well organized and very readable. ISBN 978-1-57542-279-4, $34.95 from Free Spirit Press.
Marcia Gentry (who did some of the original ground-breaking research on clustering in the early 1990s) has published with Rebecca Mann Total School Clustering & Differentiation. This is well organized, comprehensive and very readable. ISBN 978-1-931280-09-9, $26.95 from Creative Learning Press.
Many of us from Region 5 attended and were actively involved with this year's CAG Conference, held February 15–17 in Anaheim, CA.