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    Joined: Sep 2007
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    L
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    L
    Joined: Sep 2007
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    I wasn't satisfied with the services offered at my local school, and contacted the district's person in charge of gifted education. I asked her about having a parent group in our district, as a way of sharing information and resources. She gave me a list of other parents who had contacted her about the very same thing. I contacted them, and a few of us spent our summer vacation incorporating as a 501(c)(3) organization, planning a year's worth of activities, setting up a website and publicizing the group. We are growing quickly! There are lots of concerned parents out there who want to unite and advocate for the gifted students. Many teachers are also signing up as members. We will host our first general meeting in a couple of weeks, with the Director of the Florida Gifted Network, Terry Wilson, as the featured speaker. She's going to let us know about current laws and policies in our state, and advise us on advocacy. We've posted some advocacy resources at the website, www.GACHFlorida.org, which parents anywhere might find useful. Anyone in the Tampa area is welcome to join and attend our Sept. 15 meeting. Please visit the website for details!

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    Go Linda!
    That is wonderful.
    Well Done!
    Good for the district person for giving you the names of the other parents - that's pretty rare in my experience! Had you already built a friendship with her?
    How many people were in the core working group?
    How many hours of work was it?
    How much money did it cost to incorporate?
    How did you define gifted?
    How many parents are on your mailing list?
    What kind of publicity did you do?
    Did your State gifted association help, if so, in what way?
    Is there a local Internet Gifted support Forum?
    Had you ever organized anything of this size before?

    ((my hat is off and waving wildly!!))
    And -
    what kind of services are you hoping to get in place for your child(ren)?
    Love and More Love,
    Trinity


    Coaching available, at SchoolSuccessSolutions.com
    Joined: Sep 2007
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    L
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    L
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    I'm not sure why I was chosen to organize the parents, but I did have a very respectful, calm discussion about what was NOT happening at my child's school with the district contact person, and I knew what I wanted - differentiation, depth and complexity of the curriculum and learning activities that would excite and challenge my child. I have a lapsed teaching credential from California, and while I didn't do any advanced work in gifted education, the regular teaching certificate program at UCLA was excellent. I had been to a WOGI (Working on Gifted Issues) conference in a neighboring county, which was sponsored by a parents-of-gifted advocacy group there. I told the district person how much I enjoyed the conference and that I wished our county could have the same type of group. Here are the answers to the rest of your questions:
    1. There were about six of us in the core working group
    2. For me, it was about 40-60 hours of work over the whole summer. We met every two weeks for about 2 hours per meeting, to develop by-laws, mission statement, calendar, etc. I was handling all of the nuts and bolts at the very beginning, but others pitched in along the way and it'svery much a shared effort now. Among the six of us, there are two J.D.'s, two M.A.'s, one Ph.D. and one spunky mom who has just enrolled in a credential program. And now all kinds of amazing people are joining and volunteering their expertise.
    3. The attorney who helped us with incorporation also helped with the initial organization, and he did the legal work for free (PRAISE GOD!). I think the incorporation fees, registration fees, etc. totaled between $300 and $400.
    4. We define gifted as students who score 130 or above on a formally administered IQ test.
    5. I don't have the latest numbers on membership but I think it's about 50 people (families or teachers) right now. Note that we are about a month old.
    6. We have sent out press releases, posted on websites, presented at a Gifted Teacher Study Day, and spoke at a luncheon where two board members were present. The district has a link to us on their website, and every gifted teacher has received our flyer. Many distributed photocopies to the parents of gifted at their schools.
    7. We chose not to become an affiliate of the Florida Association of the Gifted (FLAG), although we did study its by-laws when we were drafting our own.
    8. Our website, GACHFlorida.org, is not a forum but does list many useful resources, including a link to THIS forum!
    9. I have served as a leader in other capacities, but this is probably my biggest project.
    10. My ideal gifted program would feature lots of experiences in critial thinking, extension activities, in-depth study of enrichment units, like astronomy, photography, oceanography, etc., role-playing and simulations in Social Studies, hands-on Science, exposure to the arts and great literature, leadership opportunities, writing and publishing, drama, fun math, cooperative learning, and anything like Odyssey of the Mind. In other words, a fabulous education! (By the way, we have a new principal this year, and I met with her to discuss my concerns. She is also a parent of a gifted child, and is very knowledgeable about gifted education. I feel very hopeful about the program at our school! I've already seen positive changes!)

    Thanks for writing!

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    L
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    L
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    P.S. We have a blogspot at http://GACHFlorida.blogspot.com

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    Hi Linda,
    I checked out your web-site. Great job!

    I have some questions regarding selection for your gifted programs which are often raised here and elsewhere.

    You mentioned that 130 or above qualifies as gifted in your area. That is pretty standard. Which tests are considered valid? Does your district accept SB-5 and WISC-IV only, those in addition to other individual tests, a nationally normed group test? Additionally, do you consider the individual subtests or general ability index for qualification if the FSIQ doesn�t meet the threshold?

    If individual IQ tests are used; who conducts the testing? Do you accept outside assessments? Does a school psychologist test any/all students? Did your school have to solve some financial issues in order to make testing available?

    Thanks in advance for the information. I know others would like to implement similar groups, but are often thwarted because of the testing and money issues.

    Diana

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    Hi Linda,
    I just read this article about the Pasco School system, and WOW!
    http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/27/Pasco/Gifted_students_have_.shtml
    does your district use the continuous progress model? None of the schools around here do that. Does it work-out in real life?

    Snip -
    The idea of integrating gifted education into the regular school day fits neatly with the school district's continuous progress model, Trinity principal Kathy Rushe said.

    In that model, children already attend classes in multiage groups, getting instruction that meets their needs, subject by subject. Having teachers trained to go even deeper will better help students who can go beyond the basics, whether officially eligible for gifted education or not, Rushe said.


    Seem like they have stand - alone gifted classes in addition to this. Please let us know if it works as well in real life as I imagine it would in my imagination.

    Smiles,
    Trinity


    Coaching available, at SchoolSuccessSolutions.com

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