Have you ever attending any conferences for GT? If so, did you find it valuable? Where did you attend? I often wonder if there are any that I could attend, being that Im not a professional educator.

Hi Tammy - I attended the NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children - www.nagc.org) national conference in November. It happened that it was held this year about 5 miles from where we live. Our local gifted org sponsored a parent's day and kid's program one day of the conference.

I found it very valuable. Actually, the part that was the most value was just getting to chat with parents about this OPENLY without any of the snippiness I percieve on this topic in the real world. It was much more like the tone of this board. In our area, it seems like that GT label is such a status symbol and it's hard to really talk to people about it.

The kid's program was kind of chaotic, but DS7 did enjoy it with only a couple minor complaints. And one of his "teachers" for the day was very sweet to him. You can just tell which adults "get" GT kids.

I've attended several conferences, and I will admit to being disappointed with those designed to address the full GT spectrum. I have really enjoyed Beyond IQ, which is very small and casual in feel, and devoted to higher levels of G.

That being said, there are states (like Minnesota) where the local gifted association is full of parents of HG-PG kids. These conferences seem to be much more dynamic in character.

I heard from several sources that the National Conference Kimck attended was very good. Has anyone heard where it will be held in 2008?

Utah has one every year in SLC. I have never attended, always "more important" things to do on those days :-)
http://www.uagc.org/
Maybe you can drive from Nevada :-)

Oh thanks, Ania...gonna check out that link!

No doubt Dottie. In more than one break out session I was at, the speaker started by saying "There has never been a worse time in history to be a GT student at a public school in the U.S.". It made me want to run screaming from the room.

They had a scheduled homeschooling breakout session that was cancelled, much to my disappointment. That is still a plan B for us.

And maybe the novelty was just big for me! I'm still new to the world of GT and it made me definitely feel less alone. And it was affirming to see thousands of educators engaged in this pursuit. And it seemed like the parents I spoke to had kids HG or higher.

The most depressing part for me was the fact that our school (5 miles from conference with an alledged 30-40% identified GT population) did not send a single representative. However, the GT magnet we're trying to get into had about every teacher in the school there.

Kimck-

It's very odd that a school so close to the conference with such a high percentage of identified GT kids wouldn't send at least one representative.

What are your chances with getting into the gifted magnet? Do they hold a lottery for qualified students? Are there many slots available?

Hi Lorel - Our school is really weird this way. It's definitely not PC to talk about GT there. Any GT accomodation done is definitely done very quietly and off the books. I've heard the admin/teachers talk about GT testing like it is stupid and the magnet is an evil monster stealing their kids. And I do think many parents of MG kids are happy with the school in general. I even know parents who sent their kids down to the gifted magnet and have pulled them back to this neighborhood school. Our neighborhood school is considerably more warm and fuzzy than the magnet. And I get the feeling that once you get to about 3rd or 4th grade, you really do see the difference between the kids who were hot housed pre schoolers and those that really need a lot thrown at them to stay engaged, because this seems to be around where parents start to really change their minds. But I don't blame parents of more MG kids at all for wanting going to the magnet. There are a lot more extras - suzuki strings, foreign language, chess club, very engaged parent base (although we do have this), etc.

So getting in is pure lottery. My 99% kid had the same odds as a 85% kid who sent in a portfolio to get GT status. We are actually sitting on the waiting list at #5. I honestly thought the first 2 months of school, we'd get a call. Unfortunately, the best time to get in is first grade. They let in about 100 first graders. Getting in at 2nd grade is only possible if kids leave, which some do, but it's a lot tougher. I said somewhere else, it's time to start looking for the back door! I really had hope for our neighborhood school, but it's not a great fit for DS. And the magnet may not be either, but at least they "get" GT down there, which would be a start. They open up another class at 3rd grade, so odds are slightly better at 3rd. I just don't think we'll make it another year and 1/2 with DS in a good place mentally.

Anyway - sorry that got so long winded. I could clearly go on and on with this topic!

Yes, it would be a blast to meet up at a conference! Maybe we could just arrange one and call it the "Gripe about your GT issues in real life" conference and we could have it somewhere over a few bottles of nice wine. I know it would be good for my mental health. Ahhh ... gotta dream.

And I do have to say, our district does do the NNAT at K and at 2nd grade level, so kids really do get a chance to show their stuff. And many schools actually USE this info (unlike ours). I know some people don't like the NNAT for highly verbal kids, but it does give those ELL and kids who don't have any real preschool a shot to be identified.

Tell me when and where!

Me too! I'd love that!