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Submitted by Mary Jo Davis
Approximately 25 people were in attendance to hear our speaker, Barb Cey, Gifted and Talented Coordinator for the Saline Area
School district. Her topic was "Identification and Planning for the Gifted and Bright Student in Saline Area Schools."
1. Mary Jo Davis, meeting facilitator gave a brief history of the REACH group. The group is similar to PALs (Parents
of Able Learners), which has existed on and off in Saline for 7 or so years. The PALs group disbanded last school year.
REACH is a new partnership between parents and our district Gifted coordinator. We are hoping to provide support to parents
and our school district in raising and educating gifted and academically talented students. There will be General membership
meetings where a speaker or panel will discuss a particular topic (like the "Social and Emotional Needs of the Gifted"
talk by Tracy Cross in October.) We hope to start some book discussion groups after Christmas. The group currently has no
dues. We have an email loop started to disseminate information among members. Attendees were asked to check the email list
for accuracy and add any new names to the list. We have a steering committee that was formed in August 2000 that is currently
running this organization. At present we do not have officers, just jobs distributed throughout the steering committee members.
Steering committee members were introduced and everyone in the room was invited to attend the next steering committee meeting,
which will be held Dec. 12 at 1pm at Woodland Meadows in the hall conference room.
2. Joy Burns briefly discussed
our website. There are plans to include a discussion board where rotating topics will be available for members to discuss
online. The website URL is http:/reachsaline.tripod.com. (make sure to type it directly as is- it is not on the WWW)
3. A brief discussion of Barb's talk follows. She had several handouts relating to gifted children. One handout- the
description of how children in Saline are "identified" and what process is used to implement "Differentiated
Education Plans (DEPs)" should be listed in your child's school handbook.
Barb focused her talk on an overhead
listing all the different people/areas with which she is responsible to communicate/oversee. These are:
People: Administration,
Students, Classroom Teachers, parents/Community
Areas: Identification, Technology, Staff Development
She
meets monthly with administration. She also meets monthly with other coordinators from other districts. She is the MAGE (Michigan
Alliance for Gifted Education) Region 6 coordinator (10 SE counties). She is one of the Destination Imagination (formerly
Odyssey of the Mind) coordinators. Additionally she is the North Central Accreditation Chair for Woodland Meadows.
Last year she spent time defining her job and the role she plays in the district. She screened over 250 students. This
year she is focusing on curriculum changes. This is the area where the biggest impact can be made for highly able students
in a district with no special program in place. Discussions with speakers at the National Gifted conference helped Barb put
pull together this new sense of direction.
Last year the district focused on developing new standards for Writing
and Reading. This was done by looking at State Standards and expanding upon them. Writing and Reading is now on a continuum,
disregarding the students grade level and focusing on what they are currently achieving. This new system will be reflected
in the next elementary report cards. The next efforts will be directed toward setting up a similar system for Math, which
will hopefully be in place by this time next year. All district staff are aware of the new Reading and Writing continuum.
These changes help all students and are of great benefit to highly able students.
All of these changes are being
based on recent RESEARCH. Barb and the district place emphasis on using Best Practices and research when implementing curriculum
and teaching strategies. The field of gifted education is changing dramatically in how they feel these children can best
be educated. Barb is hoping to have the district Gifted and Talented Advisory committee look at the latest recommendations
from the National Alliance for Gifted Education to see if we are meeting or exceeding minimum standards for educating these
children. This should result in a definitive plan for improving education in Saline. This will be discussed at the next
Advisory committee meeting, Dec. 7 at 4pm in the Board Room at Union School. The Advisory committee is made up of parent,
teachers and administrators. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings.
She talked about future staffing. She
has developed a five-year plan. Because the state and Federal governments do not give significant money for gifted education
(like they do for special education), the district must use general funds for whatever is proposed. The district has been
very supportive of each initiative that Barb has presented. Funding of current programs has not been a problem. Saline,
as most other districts in the state, do not have the money to spend on hiring another G&T coordinator or G&T teachers
for each building, but the personnel that have been hired DO work collaboratively in order to provide the best opportunities
for all children. In given the choice between hiring another coordinator or hiring another classroom teacher to lower class
size, current situations demand the later. However, Barb is very optimistic about the future.
A separate program,
as traditionally designed either as a pull-out program or as a magnet classroom, is not a best practice or in the best interest
of G&T children, as current research indicates. So, the District will not follow that path. They will continue to inform,
include, and dialogue with others so that they ensure the best educational opportunities for students and continuous growth
and development for staff and students. Programming opportunities should be made available to all students, however selection
for more in depth programming should be based on student's ability and interest.
Barb discussed some of the small
pilot programs that have been running. Specifically the group of 4th graders last year and 5th graders this year doing a social
studies related research project at Washtenaw Intermediate School district. Unfortunately only 5 slots were available for
Saline students (other districts had 3 slots). However these students (and several teachers) will be bringing back what they
learn and passing things on to other students/teachers. Barb has distributed information to all teachers grade K-6 on Problem
Based Learning (used in this program) and has offered educational materials and support for implementing PBL in the classrooms.
There are also parents currently working with children in some of the clusters(see below) on various projects.
Students at some schools are currently clustered in groups of 3-5 per classroom. These were students who were identified
last year. Barb is currently using screening tools that tell the level at which at child is currently achieving in reading
and math. This is not necessarily the ideal for identification. Ideally identification encompasses IQ test, achievement
tests, as well as input from teachers and parents. However, since a separate program does not exist in Saline, there is not
currently a need for aggressive identification procedures. What is needed is to make sure each child is receiving the level
of instruction that meets their needs. This is currently done through the development of a DEP (Differentiated Education
Plan). The classroom teacher, school principal, Barb and parents all meet to develop this plan. The parent or the classroom
teacher starts initiation of this process. This information is added to the students CA-60 (permanent school record) and
passed on to future teachers.
Barb meets on a regular basis with all teachers of children who have had a DEP
and those teachers who have clusters of children in their classroom. She meets with teachers either once a week, twice a
month or once a month depending upon needs. Through work done in the past two years, many teachers are much more aware of
the needs of gifted or highly able students. This work will continue as Saline continues to develop its plans for this population.
Barb answered many questions from parents throughout the presentation.
4. After Barb's presentation, Mary Jo
invited those in attendance to think about the direction they would like this group to take. A newsletter will be emailed
to everyone on the loop in early January. Future General meeting dates are 1/18, 2/22, 3/20 and 4/19. Topics will be determined
and published in the January newsletter. If you would like to include anything in the newsletter, please send it to Paula
Muhs at pmuhs@umich.edu ASAP.
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