Welcome Back and Upcoming Events - Dr. Pam Clinkenbeard

Here are a few back-to-school announcements, reminders, and “to-do” ideas related to gifted and talented education in Wisconsin.  Please send this article to anyone who might be interested, including (in particular) anyone your school district might have named as new GT or Advanced Learner Coordinator!  Note the two mid-September deadlines for discounted conference registrations. 

UPCOMING CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, AND PROGRAMS
NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children): The national gifted education conference will be held in Charlotte, NC, Nov. 9-12.  The discounted registration deadline is Fri. Sep. 15.  See https://www.eventscribe.com/2017/NAGC/ for more information on the conference. 
WATG (Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted): The state gifted education conference will be held at The Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells Thurs. and Fri. 11/16 & 11/17.  NOTE: discounted hotel rate and early bird conference rates expire Sun. Sep. 17.  See http://www.watg.org/ for more info.  You can see the full schedule at http://www.watg.org/conference-schedule.html, including targeted pre-conference sessions, Friday Parent Day, and the Teen Conference!
Ireland next summer, anyone?  The European Council for High Ability (ECHA) biennial conference will be held August 8-11, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.  The theme is “Working with Gifted Students in the 21st Century.” See http://echa2018.info/ - proposals for presentations are due Jan. 24, 2018.
WCATY (Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth) - programs for individual students and for educators and school districts: explore http://wcatyeop.wcatyweb.org/
WisFPS (Wisconsin Future Problem Solving) – workshops for educators to be held in Middleton, Oshkosh, and Wisconsin Rapids in September and October.  For specific dates and more information, seehttps://www.wisfps.org/.
Your local or regional group: if you have a local GT parent group or a regional or CESA-based gifted educator group, be sure to find out the date of their first fall meeting!  If you¹re not sure if there’s a group in your area, contact your local gifted coordinator (your district is required to have someone who at least holds that title) or send me an e-mail at clinkenp@uww.edu.  

IDEAS FOR WHAT TO DO NEXT

1. Make arrangements to attend the WATG conference Nov. 16-17 and join WATG if you haven’t (http://www.watg.org/)
2. Join the state gifted education email listserv WISGIFT-L if you haven’t – see http://www.watg.org/wisgift-list-serv.html
3. Send this message to others (parents, educators, grandparents, school board members, state legislators) who might not be on WISGIFT-L
4. Make sure that you and others are aware of local or regional GT groups and meeting dates
5. Investigate WCATY student programs (http://wcatyeop.wcatyweb.org/) and WisFPS workshops https://www.wisfps.org/
6. Invite a school board member to attend a GT class or event this fall (or have a student give the invitation)
7. Invite your state Assembly representative or Senator to attend a GT class or event this fall (or have a student give the invitation) – find them at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/
8. Look at the demographics of your current GT programming and nominate/nurture at least one additional underrepresented student for advanced services (low income, ethnic/racial minority, twice-exceptional, etc.)
9. Make sure that the needs of advanced learners are included in discussions about RtI, personalized learning, and other district initiatives
10. ?? What¹s needed in your area?​​