December 12, 2011 JAGC newsletter
In this newsletter there is information about:
"Gifted Exchange" GT Support Groups (12/13)
JAGC Private Facebook Group
Colorado GT: "the Challenger" Newsletter
the Lobato Case
Jeffco Schools Budget Reduction
SENGinar:Touching the Mystery, Spiritual Dimensions of Giftedness (12/15)
Jeffco Choice Enrollment Round I
NAGC Save the Date/Call for Proposal
Jeffco GT's Friendly new site
CAGT & JAGC Membership and Newsletters
CSM Technology Classes (12/12, 12/19)
PEAK GT Center High School Applications (Round Two due 4/6)
SAC: GT's Connection to the State School Board
Rescheduled: Patricia Gatto-Walden/Yunasa West Info Meeting (1/8)
Beyond Giftedness Conference (2/24)
Food for Thought: Rethinking Giftedness and Gifted Education
Save the Date: Colorado Legislative Day (2/23)
Connecting with JAGC
As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. ~Marianne Williamson
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JAGC “Gifted Exchange”: GT Support Groups
Discussion at last month's launch of JAGC's Gifted Exchange already demonstrated the depth of wisdom and generosity in Jeffco's GT community. Don't miss out!
This month the suggested article to start the conversation is the SENG article "What Your Kids Want You To Know" by Jane Hesslein. Come share your thoughts and experiences in a relaxed environment.
One Date - two times/places:
Tuesday, Dec. 13
10:00 am
Read, Write & Brew Coffeehouse
6th Avenue and Heritage Rd., across from Jeffco Courthouse
720 Golden Ridge Road Unit D, Golden, CO 80401
Tuesday, Dec 13
6:30 pm
Old Chicago
corner of Hampden and Wadsworth
3550 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood, CO
To help us reserve enough space please RSVP, noting your name and whether attending day or evening group.
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If you are interested in joining you can send a message to "Jeffco Gifted" via Facebook. In an attempt to maintain a level of safety for our community we are asking that all interested members submit the following information:
Name:
Name used on Facebook:
And the following information, which will NOT be made public in the group.
School affiliated with:
As a parent or teacher?
Email address:
Phone number:
Would you like to receive JAGC’s approx. twice a month Yahoo emailing?
Anything else you’d like JAGC to know:
Once OK’d for the group, please go to the Discussion topics and read the “Welcome & Guidelines”. Thereafter, introduce yourself as you feel comfortable.
Questions? email the FB group administrators.
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the Colorado State GT office presents: "The Challenger"
The winter edition of The Challenger, a quarterly newsletter from the Office of Gifted Education, and the regional gifted education newsletters are available online. The newsletters can be found on the Office of Gifted Education home page.
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On December 9th Judge Sheila Rappaport ruled in favor of the Lobato Trial plaintiffs, finding that Colorado is not complying with the constitutional right of every child to a "thorough and uniform system of free public schools."
The Lobato case has been about whether the state of Colorado is providing sufficient funding “establish and maintain a thorough and uniform system of free public schools throughout the state.” In 2009, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that this is an enforceable mandate, and that courts have the authority to review Colorado’s school finance system to determine whether it meets this constitutional standard. An overview of the case is here.
The judge's ruling is 183 pages long. You can find it here. It is long but is really worth looking at because (in spite of its length) it offers something of a summary of the whole education system in Colorado and all the forces that come to bear on education funding.
State and local funding for public education is provided through the Public School Finance Act (PSFA). In school year 2010-11, PSFA funding totaled approximately $5.4 billion. In addition to PSFA total program funding, the Colorado school finance system provides certain state funding for programs designed to serve particular groups of students or particular student needs through “categorical” programs (categorical programs include such as special education, English language proficiency, transportation, and vocational education, as well as gifted and talented). In 2010-11, state funding for all categorical programs totaled $231 million, somewhat less than 5% of the total PSFA funding. The GT categorical funding in Colorado was $9.1 million of that $231.7 million of categorical monies.
Although mentioned elsewhere in the document, Gifted and Talented education in Colorado is specifically addressed in the ruling on pages 89-98, beginning with the background: "Gifted and talented (GT) education is the instruction of students whose abilities, exceptionalities, and potential are so outstanding that they require special provisions within the public K-12 system, such as different instruction, programming, and attention to their social and emotional needs." There was testimony regarding GT student achievement, program funding, personnel and state support.
In the conclusion the judge notes: "The impact of irrational and inadequate funding is not, however, limited to rural and urban poverty School Districts. The Court finds that all School Districts are unable to provide the early childhood and kindergarten programs that are critical to student achievement. All School Districts are unable to provide the classroom time, professional training, and instructional interventions that are critical to meet the expectations of CAP4K, the Education Accountability Act, and SB 10-91. All School Districts are unable to provide the classroom time, professional training, and interventions critical to the education of under-served student populations, including students at-risk of academic failure, non-English speaking students, students with disabilities, students of minority racial and ethnic heritages, students of low-income families, and gifted and talented students. All School Districts lack the funding necessary to meet the increased expectations of the current revisions to standards-based education, and particularly CAP4K, the Education Accountability Act, and SB 191."
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Jeffco Schools Budget Reductions:
Budget Workgroups' Preliminary Suggestions - Comments Requested
With less education money coming from the state, Jeffco Public Schools is planning for approximately $70 million in reductions for the 2012-2014 budget. Budget workgroups made up of both community members and staff developed preliminary suggestions for two-year reductions. The preliminary suggestions have $47,519,000 in cuts, including the reduction of 590.2 full-time employees.
The Citizens’ Budget Academy has some information about the thought process in the Jeffco's budget work. More information about the district's budget is here.
In an effort to gather comments from the community, the district invites people to comment on the suggested reductions. The information gathered will be used to help guide the district and members of the Jefferson County Board of Education during the budget process.The Jeffco school board will be holding community budget forums in January and public hearings on the budget in the spring.
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SENGinar: Touching the Mystery, Spiritual Dimensions of Giftedness
December 15
5:30 MST
Cost $40
Register here
Location: Participate at home or office using computer
Cast attend live session? No problem. All registered guests have access to both live and recorded sessions. Recordings will be provided to registered guests within one week after the live event.
"Who am I? Where did I come from? What will become of me?"
These are existential questions asked by many gifted children with deep spiritual concerns. In this SENGinar, Dr. Navan ponders these questions and their impact on our children, and presents several dimensions of spiritual giftedness, including a review of research in the field. Through interactive sharing and case studies of spiritually gifted children, she engages attendees in a discussion of ways that parents and educators can recognize, honor, and respond to spiritual facets of gifted children.
Dr Navan is Professor Emeritus of Murray State University and President of Navan Consulatation Serivices. She provides services in Spanish and English to gifted children and their families through assessments, SENG Model Parent discussion Groups and educational planning. She is author of Nurturing the Gifted Female: A Guide for Educators and Parents, and is a recently elected member of the SENG board of Directors.
This webinar is provided by SENG, www.SENGifted.org.
SENG is committed to sharing complex issues relating to the social and emotional needs of giftedness. Webinars reflect the opinions of their speakers and do not necessarily represent the philosophy of SENG. SENG invites your comments and discussion about this webinar following the session.
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Jeffco Choice Enrollment Round One
Jeffco Public Schools offers Choice Enrollment—any student in the county can attend any Jeffco School that has space available. Families who wish to enroll their student in a school other than their neighborhood school must complete a Choice Enrollment Application, available at schools or from the menu below, and submit it to their school of choice. For more information. Choice Enrollment - Round 1 is January 4 - January 24, 2012.
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Save the Date/Call for Proposals
November 15-18, 2012
Reaching Beyond the Summit: Educating with Altitude
NAGC hosts the largest annual convention devoted to gifted learners each fall. Classroom teachers, gifted/talented coordinators, school administrators, researchers, parents, college and university faculty, and more, will converge in Denver, Colorado, November 15-18, 2012, for the 59th Annual NAGC Convention. Throughout the preconvention events, concurrent sessions, poster sessions, exhibit hall, general sessions, and networking events (both formal and informal!), you will witness the power of diverse viewpoints—from the field and from the classroom—coming together to make learning and life a challenging and rewarding experience for our nation’s gifted learners.
Proposal Submission Process opens mid-December 2011 (proposals will be due January 31, 2012)
more at www.nagc.org
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Check out the Jeffco School's GT Site! Much easier to navigate, places for feedback, etc. Nice!
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CAGT (& JAGC) Membership and Newsletters
The Jefferson County Association for Gifted Children is an affiliate of the Colorado Association for Gifted Children. Paid membership to JAGC includes CAGT membership, or if you signed up through CAGT then CAGT membership includes membership to the local affiliate you designated (JAGC is one of several).
CAGT and JAGC send out separate newsletters and you are reading JAGC's right now, which is generally a twice-month occurance (non-members have access to JAGC's newsletter but we would greatly appreciate your support as we are a non-profit run by volunteeers). CAGT emails a quarterly e-newsletter "The Kalideoscope" (or "The K") to members, and also briefer Happenings emails as they are timely. The membership year for CAGT and JAGC runs with the schoolyear; the renewal date is in Sept. If you haven't recieved anything from CAGT (or JAGC) lately there may be problem with your email address (Has your email address changed? Is it going into "spam"? Also many people use several accounts and this can have email being sent to an address that isn't as preferred as it might once have been.) Or you many have forgotten to renew. If you are uncertain, you can
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and we can check our affiliate's records for your membership, help you renew, or you can sign up for the first time. The combined membership to CAGT/JAGC is $40.
CAGT and JAGC use membership monies and connections to advocate for gifted children in many ways, but we understand parents and educators receiving timely information is an important and immediate need. And, of course, we welcome your participation through your time, talents and ideas.
Click here for about JAGC participation and membership.
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Colorado School of Mines presents
The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is hosting special technology events for 6th/7th grade GT students
What makes up a typical computer?
December 12th, 2011
4-6pm
Students will
- learn different types of computers (CPU/motherboard/volatile memory/persistent storage/graphics/etc.)
- grasp what makes a supercomputer a supercomputer, a server a server, and a laptop a laptop
- discover the computers that are embedded in cars, refrigerators, etc.
What language does a computer speak?
December 19th, 2011
4-6pm
Students will
- obtain an introduction to the binary number system via practice, games, demos, and magic
- learn the different types of computer instructions that exist (arithmetic, logical, jumping, load/store)
- discover how binary can encode computer instructions
Cost: $20 each class or $70 for all four. Please make check payable to Colorado School of Mines.
Note: At least five students must enroll to have a session occur.
If you would like additional information, or to register for some or all classes, please email or call This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (303)384-2465.
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PEAK GT Center High School Applications
High school GT Center (PEAK) applications Round One application ended 12/2 but Round Two applications will be accepted through April 6, 2012 (the week after Spring Break).
The Jeffco GT high school center program, PEAK, is currently accepting applications for the 2012-2013 school year for incoming ninth graders. PEAK applications WILL be accepted in the spring and summer on a space available basis and for wait list status. Please include a completed Jeffco Choice Enrollment form (unless the applicant already resides in the WR articulation area).
More information is available on the Jeffco GT website
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SAC: GT's Connection to the State School Board
In 1984, the Colorado State Board of Education (SBE) created the Colorado State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education (SAC) to assist in the improvement of gifted education. The SAC provides advice and makes recommendations to the SBE concerning all aspects of gifted and talented student education. If anyone would like to learn more about this Committee or to contact a member who represents your congressional district, see this page for more information.
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Rescheduled: Patricia Gatto-Walden/Yunasa West Info Meeting
New Date: Sunday, January 8th
3 - 6pm
1376 Miners Dr., Lafayette (Catalyst H.S.)
Boulder Gifted Parent Support January game night and optional summer camp discussion followed by presentation at 4:30. Come discuss summer camp options, and learn about the new Yunasa West camp and IEA programs from Patricia Gatto-Walden
At 3pm we’ll have our regular game night, with a focus on summer camp options. At 4:30pm, Patricia Gatto-Walden will give a half hour presentation regarding the holistic perspective on attaining contentment and health in the gifted household, followed by an informational session on the new Yunasa West camp and other IEA programs. Past campers and their parents will be on hand to share their experiences and answer questions.
"Yunasa", the Lokata word for "balance", is a one-week recreational program for highly and profoundly gifted children kids (including 2e), aged 10 -14, that is typically held in MI each year - attendees and parents have often referred to participation in this program as being "life-changing".
IEA programs (Apprenticeship, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarships, Camp Yunasa and the new Yunasa West) provide gifted young people unique opportunities for meeting genuine intellectual challenge, building meaningful connections with true peers, experiencing mentoring relationships with renowned experts, developing leadership abilities and focusing on personal growth and expansion. Find out more about programs and qualifying criteria at this meeting or at the website: www.educationaladvancement.org
This is open to any family interested in learning more about this - come for any portion of this event, with or without your kids!
RSVPs encouraged as this helps us with planning.
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Friday, February 24, 2012
8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Arvada Center for the Arts
6901 Wadsworth Blvd
Arvada, CO 80003
Beyond Giftedness XIX, the annual conference for parents, teachers, counselors and others to learn the most recent practices, theories and research in gifted education.
• Keynote by Lou Lloyd-Zannini
• Breakout sessions for parents, teachers, counselors and administrators
• Networking time with peers
• Browsing the exhibits
• Continental breakfast and lunch
• Valuable information you can use with the gifted kids in your life
• Certificates of Attendance available.
Keynote: Lou Lloyd-Zannini
Critical Connections or Hokey Hook-ups?
In an age when everyone seems to be worried about being totally connected, we often confuse the truly critical connections that make a world of difference in the lives of our gifted and talented kids with hokey hook-ups that do nothing but interrupt what’s important in life. So what are those connections that need to be made in order for those that we care so much about to be able to go beyond survival, beyond success, and beyond our wildest hopes for a great education, great careers, and great lives? We’ll focus on just a powerful handful, and we look forward to seeing you there.
Breakout Session Presenters and Topics
Lou Lloyd-Zannini:From Aggrieved to Advocate: Helping Gifted Kids Become their Own Best Representatives Can You Hear Me Now? (effective communication between teachers, parents, and students
Nathan Levy:Powerful Strategies to Enhance the Learning of Gifted and Highly Able Students
Cheryl Franklin-Rohr:RtI and the Twice-Exceptional Learner
Differentiation in the Classroom
Terry Bradley:Student Panel
Rich Ashburn:Stress in the Gifted Ed Classroom
Lisa Rivero:Home Schooling
Registration
fees:
November 1 – January 1: $111.00
After January 1, 2012: $121.00
Continental breakfast and lunch are provided. Lunch will include a vegetarian option. For your safety and comfort, if you have specific dietary needs or allergies, please bring your own choice for lunch.
For more information, contact: Kristin Ludwig, AppleCore Communications LLC, 603-662-8252
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Rethinking Giftedness and Gifted Education: A Proposed Direction Forward Based on Psychological Science
How much do the abilities of individuals matter, particularly in specific talent domains? How much must society strive to promote opportunities for gifted and talented students, and how much responsibility should students take for their own growth and development? Which psychosocial variables determine influences in the successful development of talent? These questions and more are answered in this recent Psychological Science in the Public Interest (PSPI) study by Rena Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius and Frank Worrell. This new report focuses on the question of how to nurture young talent across all fields, with emphasis on the disparity between athletic talent and academic talent.
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Save the Date!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Get GT students involved in the Colorado Legislative Process!
Please see the CAGT website in January 2012 for information about Legislative Day and to fill out documents to participate.
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Connecting with JAGC
Please consider volunteering your talents, time and ideas with us to support GT students in Jeffco! We need you! Interested in the JAGC Ambassadors program: Contact
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about getting involved in JAGC in any way! If you have information to share, or questions about something posted, or need to change your contact info, email:
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. Or be a JAGC Website Contributor: Just register on the website home page and you can submit an article or GT link.
JAGC's site has been putting up photos of our board members and key volunteers so that you can say "hi" at events (and we are grateful for the opportunity to put up photos of Jeffco's GT staff too) - we all know it's nice to put a face with a name!
Additional ways to be up-to-date on important GT information:
“Like” JAGC on Facebook
Follow JAGC on Twitter: @JeffcoGifted
A calendar of most local items recently mentioned in JAGC emails is available on our website; if you use GoogleCalendar you can add this public calendar to your personal calendar by searching Google Calendars for “Jefferson County Association for Gifted Children”
Support JAGC Would you like to become a JAGC member or donate $$ to support JAGC's efforts for gifted students? Know a company who’d like to sponsor a project?
Past JAGC emails can be found at: http://jeffcogifted.org/archives/email-blasts
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