Good News, Bad News: How to Help

Wisconsin’s gifted funding remains stable in the current budget. That’s both good news and bad news.

The good news is that the funding for the Gifted and Talented competitive grant program wasn’t removed from the biennial budget this summer; the bad news is that none of the increases proposed by WATG or the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Commission (p. 9) or the Governor (p. 419) made it through the budget approval process.

For the past several years, Wisconsin’s only state funding for gifted education has been the competitive grant program that awards up to $237,200 per year (in the past, a maximum of $30,000 per applicant) to those who have enough support, time and knowledge within their districts to write and submit a grant. With over 400 school districts in the state, the grant funding doesn’t go very far.

WATG’s leaders and members of the Government Action Committee have been meeting with legislators and other decision-makers over the past several months, increasing awareness of the need for greater state funding for Gifted and Talented education. 

But WATG’s leadership cannot do the work alone. Your voice is needed if any change is to happen for Wisconsin’s gifted, talented, and advanced learners. 

So how can you help? 

1. Sign up for the WATG Advocacy Action Network*.
2. When contacted by Advocacy@watg.org, be prepared to contact your legislators’ offices and express your support for funding for Gifted and Talented proposals.
3. Come to our conference to sharpen your advocacy skills and connect with others who support Gifted and Talented education.

*We promise not to share your information. We just need to know who supports gifted education and which legislative districts you live in. When the time is right, you’ll hear from us.

We need you to help WATG educate about and advocate for the needs of the gifted in Wisconsin. 

Click HERE to sign up for the WATG Advocacy Action Network.  ​​