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!
