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On August 5, Deb Kucek and Jackie Drummer, Past Presidents of the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted, presented at the Wisconsin Public Education Network Summit in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Their topic was Excellence With Equity: A Talent Development Perspective on Gifted Education. As a result of this presentation, several important networking opportunities evolved.
One of the participants in the Summit workshop was Dan Rossmiller, the lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association for School Boards, who took copious notes and asked insightful questions about gifted students and gifted education. Mr. Rossmiller’s knowledge will be very helpful as WATG moves forward with legislative actions. Another outcome of the Summit included an emerging partnership with Kim Kaukl, Director and lobbyist for the Wisconsin Rural Schools Association (WiRSA). Discussion with Mr. Kaukl provided valuable insight into how best to communicate with rural districts regarding gifted education and gifted students. WATG continually seeks partnerships with other associations/organizations in order to reach underserved populations. The WiRSA will share information about WATG and our fall conference in its newsletter, and has welcomed WATG to its fall conference, also in October of this year. Plans are being made to present at the WiRSA conference next year. All in all, August has been a very good month for advocating and networking for the needs of gifted kids across Wisconsin.
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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?
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. I have worked in gifted education in Wisconsin for more than 20 years. In my opinion we have the best chance in a long time, right now, to bring about fundamental change in how the state serves its gifted students. But we will waste this opportunity if we don’t have many voices advocating for change.
Perhaps you’re thinking “Isn’t that why WATG has an advocacy committee?” Yes, to some extent. That committee, now known as the Government Action Committee (GAC), does do a tremendous amount of volunteer work tracking proposed legislation and the state budget, communicating with legislators, and meeting with other education groups around the state. However, LEGISLATORS LISTEN TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS. After all, that’s who elects them. We have been told that just a few inquiries about an issue can feel like a landslide in a state legislator’s office. Many of them, even members of the Education committees, never hear about gifted children or gifted education. A single conversation or story can make a difference. We have found that most legislators are shocked to see how little Wisconsin spends on gifted education compared to neighboring states, and they often have no idea how many barriers can be put up when families are just trying to get curriculum and instruction that meets the needs of their children. Many of them believe most of the common myths about gifted children and programs (see http://nagc.org/myths-about-gifted-students). What happens next? The Joint Finance Committee has completed its hearings, and we are collecting examples of the written and video testimony submitted to JFC by gifted education advocates (see President Cathy Schmit’s column for more on this!). These examples will be available for you to refer to on the WATG website under the Advocacy link (look under Menu and then Get Involved, or go directly to http://www.watg.org/advocacy). What we need now is for YOU to contact YOUR* state senator and your state Assembly representative to let them know that you support WATG’s request for the current state budget ($2.5 million for the existing grant program, with part of that available to help fund a person at DPI to help process the additional grants), and to let them know why you care about appropriate challenge for gifted, talented, and advanced learners. (WATG is developing additional requests, but the current budget request is the most urgent.) You can (and probably do) advocate with your own school district for better local services. The state level is where many policy decisions are made that affect your local schools. Please extend your advocacy to the state level by calling or emailing your* state legislators. Your Government Action Committee is more than ready to help you with your message! Send questions/requests to Advocacy@watg.org, and please let us know about your calls or emails so that we can keep track of which legislators have been contacted. Thank you so much for your efforts on behalf of Wisconsin’s gifted students! Pamela R. Clinkenbeard, Ph.D. Former president, WATG Member, Government Action Committee Professor, UW-Whitewater * Go to http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ and on the right side of the page, you'll see the words, “Who Are My Legislators?” Underneath, there is a space to enter your address. Type in your complete HOME address and click "Find Your Legislators." Their contact information will pop up. As you probably know, the governor just announced his state budget proposal on February 28. The link to the full 592-page governor's budget (and summary documents) is https://doa.wi.gov/Pages/StateFinances/2019-21-Executive-Budget.aspx.
The request for gifted funding (item 18 on page 419) seems to have been kept at $1 million per year for the competitive grants program, which is what DPI requested last fall. (The actual amount shown on the budget document is $762,800 for each year, FY20 and FY21, but we take that to be the amount of increase: added to the current $237,200/year it adds up to $1M.). Here is the link to the original DPI request https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/policy-budget/pdf/2019-21_Biennial_Budget_Request_Sept_17_2018_FINAL_tech_corrections.pdf- the four pages on gifted education are at document pages 121-124. Here is the paragraph that accompanies the governor’s request; it simply summarizes the longer DPI budget request language: "Governor recommends providing funding to increase gifted and talented programming capacity in school districts. The Governor also recommends providing districts the flexibility to use grant funds for professional development and modifying the goal of the program to focus on serving historically underrepresented students including economically disadvantaged students, students of color, English Learners and students with disabilities." While a number of Republican majority state legislators have objected to the governor’s budget, there does seem to be agreement that K-12 education funding will increase, and the Republican-led Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding report in January recommended increasing funding for gifted education (they suggest $2.5 million per year as one option – see item #22). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lfb/misc/206_recommendations_of_the_blue_ribbon_commission_on_school_funding_1_4_19.pdf The Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) also recently recommended increased funding for gifted education: https://wasb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Report-to-the-Membership-on-Resolutions-Adopted-by-the-2019-Delegate-Assembly-FINAL.pdf - see Resolution 19-05. What next? Here is a link to an overview by WASB of how the budget process works. https://wasblegupdate.wasb.org/2019/02/27/the-governors-budget-address-and-what-happens-next/. WATG’s Government Action Committee is currently developing its advocacy strategic plan; it will probably include support for $2.5 million for the current DPI grants program, promotion of WATG’s “Acceleration Project” (submit your acceleration stories!), and a longer-term emphasis on policy and funding changes that will remove barriers and improve action on behalf of students with gifts and talents. WE NEED YOUR IDEAS! What would you like to see in Wisconsin? If you are a parent, what policies would help your children thrive in school? If you are an educator, what would make your job easier as you provide appropriate advanced instructional opportunities? If you have experience in another state, what was available there that you wish was available in Wisconsin? Please send your ideas for what you would like to see in gifted education in Wisconsin! Email Advocacy@watg.org. Besides being a birthday month for dear people in my life, February brings Valentine’s Day, another highlight in the month! I decided to capitalize on the theme and take it to a place that perhaps few of us dare to go! I’m going to declare it “Love a Legislator Month”!
Maybe you are wondering why I might say this? Of course I’ll tell you! Right now is a time that our voices might make a difference for our gifted children. When Governor Evers was the State Superintendent of Schools, his proposed education budget for 2019-2020 was $1 million for gifted education. That is a four-fold increase over our current budget. This budget, of course, has to be approved in the legislature. In addition, the Wisconsin Blue Ribbon Commission that is looking at school funding issues has a newly released document that includes supporting gifted education. The levels are $.5 million, $1 million and $2.5 million, depending on state resources. This document will go to the legislature for discussion and decision making with the proposed education budget. It is time to contact your representatives and let them know you want them to support gifted funding at a higher level than the currently funded quarter million in competitive grants. How do you do this? I’ll start with suggesting that you find out who your representatives are if you don’t know already. Go to http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ Toward the right-hand side of the page, you'll see the words, "Find my Legislators." Underneath, there is a space to enter your address. Type in your complete home address and click "Find." You will see a map of your legislative district and photos of your representative and senator in the Wisconsin State Legislature. The Assembly information is right below that. By clicking on your representative’s name, you can contact him or her directly through that site. Take some time to send a “Valentine” to let them know how important the additional funding is for gifted education in Wisconsin. You could also choose to call their hotline. Every new contact will be counted! Please be part of the count! Let’s let our representatives know that we care about our gifted kids! If you contact them and want to share your story, please feel free to let us know! We’d love to hear from you! [Send advocacy ideas to: watg@watg.org]
As the new state administration and legislature settle in, a lot has already happened that will have an impact on gifted education for at least the next two years and probably beyond. Below is a quick roundup of recent news related to advocacy and funding for gifted and talented students and programs for advanced learners. STAY TUNED for specific action requests from WATG! These requests will mostly take the form of asking you to email your own state Senators and Assembly Representatives to request that they support related bills and actions. If you’re not sure who your state legislators are, just enter your HOME address at this website under “Who Are My Legislators?” http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ WATG’s Government Action Committee is currently developing its advocacy strategic plan for “budget season” (the state’s next biennial budget period begins July 1, 2019 and the budget will be finalized, ideally, before that date). WATG’s plan will probably include support for the requests for additional funding noted below, promotion of WATG’s “Acceleration Project” (see article elsewhere in this newsletter), and a longer-term emphasis on policy changes that will remove barriers and improve action on behalf of students with gifts and talents. The plan will go to the WATG board for approval this spring. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO PROVIDE INPUT. What would you like to see in Wisconsin? If you are a parent, what policies would help your children thrive in school? If you are an educator, what would make your job easier as you provide appropriate advanced instructional opportunities? If you have experience in another state, what was available there that you wish was available in Wisconsin? We have UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES this biennium, not least because Dr. Tony Evers is governor and there appears to be a state budget surplus. Please contact watg@watg.org with your ideas as we develop our strategy; it would help if your subject line said “Advocacy Idea.” RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS
 By Dr. Pam Clinkenbeard, UW-Whitewater and former WATG Board Member
Most of you who are interested in gifted education and advanced learning have benefited from the work of Donna Rae and Bob Clasen. They were pioneers in Wisconsin: Bob at UW-Madison and Donna Rae at UW-Whitewater. They worked individually and collaboratively for decades on programs for gifted children, professional development for teachers, and research on gifted education. Bob passed away this past March; Donna Rae attended the WATG 2018 conference, and it is my privilege to say a few words of tribute regarding their contributions to Wisconsin’s gifted children, their parents, and their teachers. Robert Earl Clasen (known by all as Bob) was born in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and started his career teaching in the Milwaukee schools. He received his Ph.D. from UW-Madison and worked for the Ford Foundation for several years, including curriculum development work in Spain and Venezuela. Back in Wisconsin, he joined the faculty of his alma mater and introduced the Head Start program to Madison. With respect to gifted education, he developed several programs for children, including Lego Logo, the Badger Brain Games, the Haiku Project, and College for Kids. Most of these programs also had a strong component of teacher professional development. Bob developed a master’s program with an emphasis in gifted education at UW-Madison, and he also organized a group of gifted coordinators under the umbrella of the university. That group, called the Dane County UTAG, grew and flourished and later struck out on its own as a non-profit, now known as the Greater Dane County Advanced Learner Network. He and Donna Rae also developed a number of distance learning opportunities for teachers, including radio, television, and video instruction on gifted education, thinking skills, and teaching for creativity. Bob and Donna Rae laid the groundwork for Wisconsin’s licensure programs many years ago, as they went around the state collecting information and grassroots support for the need to challenge kids appropriately. They spearheaded the efforts that resulted in Wisconsin Statute 118.35, Programs for Gifted and Talented Pupils, and the administrative rule known as “Standard t,” as well as some behind-the-scenes work that allowed us later to develop the current gifted teacher and gifted coordinator licensure programs. Donna Rae James Clasen was born in Platteville and raised on a farm near Rewey; she began her teaching career in South Milwaukee. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at UW-Madison, and was asked to join the faculty at UW-Whitewater. In addition to her collaborations with Bob, she also started a master’s program with an emphasis in gifted education (at UW-Whitewater), and she organized the Whitewater TAG Network of gifted coordinators from the southeast part of Wisconsin, now known as the Southern Lakes Advanced Learner Network. Donna Rae also helped guide the development of EAGLE school in Fitchburg and served on its board for many years. She was also the president of WAEGT, a precursor to WATG, and like Bob, she presented scholarly papers at state, national, and international conferences. Donna Rae received Wisconsin’s first Javits grant in 1992 (and we think its only Javits grant until recently) to develop and run the STREAM program, a well-researched program for urban secondary school students. After the federal grant funding ended, she kept the program going for another decade through sheer determination and with state and local school district funding, and those students benefited tremendously from challenging classes, time spent on a college campus, and the belief that they were in fact “college material.” Bob and Donna Rae also did a large amount of pro bono consulting for school districts on how to identify, nurture, and program for students from all walks of life who had gifts and talents. Donna Rae and, in memoriam, Bob received a standing ovation at the WATG conference for all they have done for gifted education in Wisconsin and beyond. Dr. Pam Clinkenbeard, WATG Advocacy Committee
As you have probably noticed from the incessant television campaign ads, it’s election season again! The primaries for state and national elections were held on August 14 and the general election is Tuesday Nov. 6. The races that have the most impact on Wisconsin schools are governor, state Senate, and state Assembly. (School board elections are of course very important and have the most direct impact in individual districts, but those elections are typically the first Tuesday in April. While we’re on the subject, make a note to invite one or more school board members to an advanced learner event this fall, or share with them some examples of advanced work that your children or students have created!) Of course the big governor’s race that is garnering national attention is between incumbent Governor Scott Walker and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers. You can see their stated positions on education at their campaign websites, https://www.tonyevers.com/ and https://www.scottwalker.com/. For more objective coverage, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin will provide candidate profiles: https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin. Not sure who represents you in the state Senate and Assembly, or who’s running in your district? You’re not alone! Simply go to http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ and enter your HOME address under “Who Are My Legislators?” to see who currently represents you, then do a search of their names to see if they are in a race for the Nov. 6 election. (ALL 99 Assembly representatives are up for election unless they are retiring or are running unopposed. State Senators are elected for four-year terms, so about half of the 33 will be running this fall.) Make the time to attend a town hall meeting or debate, or call or email the candidate’s campaign office (or their state office, if an incumbent) to ask about their support for education funding in general and gifted education, talent development, or advanced programming in particular. (Use whichever term is most common in your district.) To see who is currently on the state Senate Education Committee, Assembly Education Committee, and Joint Finance Committee (all very important for education), go to the links below. Committee memberships will change in January 2019 for the new two-year legislative session, but in many cases state legislators stay with the same committees for more than one term. If you live in the district of a member of one of these committees, it is particularly important that you make your views on gifted education known to them. If you would like to learn more or to help WATG’s advocacy efforts on behalf of gifted students and gifted education, please contact WATG advocacy co-chairs Deb Kucek or Pam Clinkenbeard through watg@watg.org and/or attend the parent-focused advocacy sessions at the fall WATG conference Nov. 1-2 at the Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells (http://www.watg.org/). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/committees/assembly/1670 https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/committees/senate/1750 https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/committees/joint/1680 Dr. Pamela Clinkenbeard, Professor of Educational Foundations, UW-Whitewater and WATG Board Member
Following are updates, announcements, and information items about gifted education and advanced learners in Wisconsin. Please contact Pam Clinkenbeard if you have questions or see any errors in the information. DPI (see https://dpi.wi.gov/gifted)
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