Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Students

The Gifted and Talented Department formed a committee to plan and implement a district advisory council for Gifted and Talented Students. The council includes parents, staff, community members, and high school student representatives from around the district.

To ensure that the Parent, Family, Student and Staff perspectives are honored and

acknowledged as an integral part of Gifted Education
The intent of the Council is to gather, communicate and disseminate information to key

stakeholders, as well as advocate, influence, and support programming for Gifted and

Talented Students in District.
To serve in an advisory capacity to the District on new policies regarding Gifted

and Talented Education.

Gifted and Talented students.

To promote communication of district gifted identification and programming

procedures to all schools and families.
How is membership decided?

The Gifted Department sends out nomination forms yearly to all identified gifted and

talented families in the district as well as identified gifted high school students.

Nomination forms are collected. If more then one representative from each school site

occurs, then ballots are distributed for a vote.
Who is on the Council?

The Advisory council is made up of:

One parent from each high school, middle school, elementary, and charter school(s).

Up to two patrons from D11 who are business leaders and community members who do not have children in the district.

One student from each high school.

One elementary magnet teacher, one elementary general education teacher, one middle school magnet teacher, one high school general education teacher, and one special service provider.

Source: Harrison District 2

What Myths Exist About Gifted Children?
Gifted students are generally white, middle-class children.

Many of the early academic tests favored this group. Gifted students can come from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. They may also be physically handicapped and learning disabled.

At age nine, boys and girls show scholastic achievement that is fairly equal, but by age thirteen females have begun a decline in achievement that continues downward through age seventeen and into adulthood. Research suggests that the disparity is not the result of different abilities but the result of role stereotyping. Gifted females need special guidance and encouragement to believe that it's okay to be feminine, confident, and achieving.

A study conducted in the early 20s by Lewis Terman noted that gifted children are generally healthy, well-rounded, committed, responsible and likeable persons, and they tend to maintain these qualities throughout life.

Generally, the gifted retain their abilities throughout life and show evidence of continued growth and expansion.

No single criterion can be used to determine giftedness. IQ tests measure a limited aspect of intelligence. Gifted behaviors can include areas beyond intellectual ability.

Although many gifted students do earn good grades, some become underachievers, behavior problems, or dropouts.

Most research has shown this to be false. Indeed, many problems are brought on by the frustration of ability. Participation in special classes for the gifted actually helps a majority of the individuals adjust to the frustrations brought on by their ability.

Research negates this myth on several accounts. They may perform at a level far below their intellectual ability and suffer from problems of anxiety and insecurity, even loneliness.

There is no correlation between IQ score and success. Knowing a child's IQ is meant to help a teacher adjust the delivery of the curriculum. There is a relationship between involvement in co-curricular activities and achievement.

Learning to effectively advocate for your gifted child is important. We urge parents to start with their child, their child‘s teachers, and their school. Creating a working team based on respect will bring the best results for your child. Effective advocacy involves being flexible and creating avenues that will benefit your child, while avoiding entitlement feelings or becoming adversarial. As time and energy allow, parents are encouraged to get involved at the level of the school district, the state, and the nation. Here we have a list of ideas and resources.

Know your child and your child‘s needs.

Know what programs and support your school provides. If you are not sure, ask.

Know how your school is using the Response to Intervention (RTI) methodology to support their gifted students.

Work with teachers and staff as a team built of mutual respect where possible.

Collaborate on supporting the unique needs of your child.

Compromise and communication are inherent in this process.

Consider various options and create unique alternatives.

Keep in mind that your child‘s classroom teacher may or may not have the knowledge or experience in differentiating and addressing learning styles or in appropriately challenging gifted children.
District Level

Attend programs about gifted education and parenting gifted children offered by the school, district, and region.

Visit the GT resource library at the Tesla building or go online for books about gifted learners.
District 11 Online Catalog - Type “Gifted” in the search box to see the materials addressing gifted education.
Know the district‘s program offerings, policies and regulations; use them to obtain support for your child.
Policy: Gifted and Talented Education http://www.d11.org/boe/policies/ihbb.pdf
Helping Students Become Their Own Best Advocate

The strongest voice for your gifted student is his or her own. Gifted children have terrific talents in presenting themselves and advocating for their needs. The benefits are multiple for the student, the teachers, and for the parents. The students gain confidence and begin their lifelong journey of self-advocacy; the teachers receive direct feedback, and together the student and teacher can problem solve and create new possibilities. The parents can celebrate their student‘s initiative, monitor progress, and move out of their student‘s path to success. Here are some ideas for helping your students learn to be their own best advocates.

When there seems to be an issue, role-play a conversation between your child and his or her teacher. Switch roles.

Help your child clarify the issue and come up with possible solutions. Perhaps it has to do with a playground situation or the child who taps on your child‘s chair all day.

Coach your child on how to use respectful and appropriate language.

Encourage your child to do the talking, with or without you present.

If your child has behavior issues resulting from not being challenged, encourage your child to self-monitor and to reach for an activity before she or he becomes bored. Clear these activities with the teacher and then talk about why your student is bored.

Encourage your student to learn about all the advanced options at school and to ask questions about them.

Include your student in conversations with teachers and other school staff.

Listen to your child and watch for any change in behavior. Any changes you notice may or may not be signs or boredom or bullying.

Every person has four areas of development: intellectual, physical, social, and emotional. School districts address the intellectual and physical needs aptly, but may do little when it comes to developing the social and emotional needs, particularly students who are identified as gifted and talented.

Being identified as gifted and talented is abnormal by definition, so why do so many adults expect these high potential students to interact with others and express their emotions in the same ways other students do?

Before gifted students can begin performing at their highest academic level, adults must become aware of their needs. Abraham Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs suggests five interdependent levels of basic human needs (motivators) that must be satisfied in a strict sequence starting with the lowest level (physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization). His underlying theme is people are 'wanting' beings; as they satisfy one need, the next need level emerges on its own and demands satisfaction and so on until the need for self-actualization (realizing one‘s full potential) is reached. Maslow‘s theory states that once a need is satisfied, it stops being a motivator until one reaches the highest need—self-actualization. Self-actualization needs are different than the other four. They continue to be motivating factors as they are fulfilled. Therefore, students who reach self-actualization become ―positively addicted to the process of reaching their full potential. By failing to address and fulfill the social and emotional aspects of G/T students, they may remain focused on satisfying lower level needs.

Assist to develop clear and explicit expectations, and support the setting/writing of realistic goals and review bi-monthly.

Remember that gifted children‘s emotional and social developmental stages may not match their intellectual development.

Encourage and praise their efforts often. Many times they feel no one values what they do.

Encourage extra-curricular activities in or out of school (opportunities to be well-rounded and to engage with students in their school setting that may not be in their classes).

Volunteer in community service activities to support awareness of global issues, but also to develop their social skills, working with others who may not be on their learning level.

Remind them that their contributions are noble and needed to support understanding world problems.

Listen to their concerns without trying to fix them.

Help them learn to navigate socially with diverse groups.

Teach/model how to say ‘no‘ to avoid being overwhelmed by taking on too much.

Help them to understand they won‘t be perfect and that mistakes are a part of learning.

Teach students how to advocate for themselves.

Students need to be able to articulate their needs/goals for themselves by the time they‘re in middle school.

Help/encourage positive relationships between student and teacher.

Create opportunities for success (at school and home).
Take on leadership opportunities; i.e. peer tutoring, student council, etc.

Build into their lives time to ponder, daydream (doing nothing in particular).

Encourage them to find a mentor (neutral person) to listen, support and model strategies of handling frustration, stress, etc.

Help them with their organizational skills.

Encourage independence. Allow your child to help make some decisions in his/her day. When showing an interest in a topic, guide him/her with opportunities to learn more about the topic.

Provide intellectually stimulating activities at home. Play games that will stimulate your child‘s talents area(s). Allow your child to participate in activities that allow use of his/her strength/s; e.g., cooking, puzzles, building, etc.

Encourage self-evaluation. Allow your child to fail. Help him/her accept the failure as a positive experience and help him/her to see what they can learn from it.

Talk with your child. Gifted children usually have a desire to talk with adults. Ask for his/her opinion about things. Discuss philosophical questions.

Consider your child‘s social/emotional development by embracing his/her talent and accepting differences from his/her peers. Look out for behaviors that gifted children sometimes display. Sometimes gifted children withdraw, become bossy, or pretend not to be as intelligent as they are.

Encourage the child to interact with other children and cooperate with them.

Encourage creativity. Give the child many opportunities for expression in creative ways.

Establish realistic expectations. Allow your child to be a kid, but expect work to show the child‘s potential.

Encourage higher level thinking.

From ages 2 through 5 a child‘s mental abilities are in a stage of vigorous development; intellectual capacities are enhanced by speech, mobility, and increasing social interaction. It is an important time for positive nurture, and for helping a child have the experience of living as a unique individual who can and should learn to think for him/herself. Suggested activities for you and your child to stimulate growth and creativity and problem solving skills include generating opportunities to investigate, invent, explore, make mistakes, and express feelings.

It is a time to offer encouragement to explore.

Praise for accomplishments.

Assistance for your child to practice and expand basic skills.

Protection from disapproval, teasing, and punishment.

A language environment, rich and responsive.

1. 
   Verbalize (think out loud).
   
2. 
   Read to your child to build vocabulary and develop a sense of language patterns through a shared experience.
   
3. 
   Talk together to explore new ideas and discriminate between facts, opinions, and fantasies.
   

Because gifted children can move through conceptual and skill learning at a faster pace than average learners, it is important for parents to be aware of the important opportunity they have to provide a rich and responsive environment for their young toddler. Providing a learning environment at home opens the door to the systematic instruction the child will receive at school. Lasting and great gains in mental ability occur when the parent and child become intently interested in working on and talking about a common activity. Learning should be a pleasure, and an attitude of excitement toward learning can prevail when the child‘s natural curiosity is allowed to lead and when parents understand the following:

Young children enjoy learning.

Parents can be the most responsive teacher a child can have.

Shared learning experiences with their child can be fun.

Suggestions for providing a responsive learning environment at home can be as varied and numerous as the children and families participating in them. Consider the following shared activities as idea starters:

Collect things (dead bugs, keys, etc.) and label and categorize them.

Adventure together (I wonder; ponder together, use the backyard as a laboratory; pretend to be two detectives solving a mystery, etc.).

Fill child-sized bookshelves with books, magazines, catalogues, and written materials which are an important part of a child‘s environment.

Decorate your child‘s room with educational posters, famous pieces of art mixed with children‘s pictures at eye level. Use them for observation and discussion. Change them periodically.

Write a book together, titled, ―The Story of Me, using photos and drawings. Have your child dictate what you should write.

Problem solve aloud (e.g., What are different things we could do to keep the dog from barking at night?), offering problems with more than one solution.

Exploring advanced/accelerated/unusual areas of study.

Exposure to a variety of environments and cultures (e.g. economic, political, educational, aesthetic, and their social, religious, historical aspects etc.).

Acquiring data skills (collect, organize, compare, evaluate, decide).

Applying a student‘s knowledge and understandings (e.g. utilizing the scientific process of hypothesizing and testing the hypotheses, etc. and applying the learning to real- world situations).