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Starting a new year usually makes us all a little nostalgic. Granted, most of 2020 is best forgotten; however, some positives resulted. Technology allowed conferences to happen, virtual applications encouraged distant family members to see and speak to each other and helped friends keep in touch. Nostalgia reigned. Nostalgia crept into memories of past gatherings in better times and gives us hope for returning to those ‘in person’ events.
As a historian for WATG, I began thinking about the connection between nostalgia and advocacy for gifted children. There is hope for the future in remembering the past. As I continued to sift and sort through historical records, I found my original request for help in documenting our organization’s history. That request originated in the spring of 2001! Now, twenty years later, the historical journey continues. All of these stories matter as they connect us to one another, to our past and to what is yet to come. Here is a bit of historical perspective: The National Association for GIfted Children (NAGC) was founded in 1954. NAGC began requesting historical information about the affiliate state members in 2001 as they were approaching their 50th Anniversary in 2004. Looking forward, NAGC is approaching 70 years of existence in 2024, and WATG will celebrate 50 years of existence in 2023. Things have certainly changed, and we continue to celebrate the evolution of our organizations. Over the years, WATG has shifted and adjusted to changing times, and has benefited from the persistent work of hundreds of advocates. Parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members, counselors, librarians, social workers, psychologists, professors, business and medical leaders have dedicated countless hours of talent in the service of gifted children, and we thank them. One of those advocates was Wisconsin’s current Governor Tony Evers. Governor Evers began his career in education as a classroom teacher in 1976, and later became interested in gifted education. His name is on many of the early documents of the Wisconsin Association of Educators of Gifted and Talented (WAEGT) and the Wisconsin Council for the Gifted and Talented (WCGT) beginning in the 1980’s. He served as a principal, superintendent, and CESA Administrator (Oshkosh) before moving to the State Department of Public Instruction as Deputy Superintendent from 2001-2009, and State Superintendent from 2009 to 2017. Countless other volunteers have offered their time and talents over the years, and we are grateful for their passion. Though the “medium” has definitely changed, our message remains the same. Watch this column, Gifted Meanderings, for how technology use within the organization has changed over the decades. Some of the early connections will seem quaint and more than a little funny compared to Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet and Facebook Chat! Certainly nostalgia may fuse the past with the present...
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 “If we have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - Isaac Newton
Many pioneers have preceded us in their efforts to advocate for children as well as to provide appropriate and systemic programs for gifted and talented youth. We lost one of those pioneers when Lori Kay passed away on October 17, 2020. Lori’s efforts on behalf of her three children started when they were preschoolers. Lori helped start the Oregon Cooperative Preschool with Donna Mahr, another pioneer in the effort to advocate for gifted and talented children. Linda Uttech served as the Gifted Coordinator in the Oregon School District when Heidi, Erik, and Kietra Kay were in school more than three decades ago now. Linda remembers that Lori was always enthusiastic and eagerly contributed to gifted programming in Oregon and beyond. As a member of the G/T Advisory Committee, Lori fostered accelerated math courses, distance learning, and Advanced Placement classes. Lori and her husband, Arlan, have always been partners in improving the school and the community. Together they helped to launch Olympics of the Mind, now known as Odyssey of the Mind. Erik and Kietra were some of the first participants along with their friends. Kietra was one of the first students in Oregon to take advantage of Dual Enrollment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lori Kay was on board in 1972 when parent advocates founded the Wisconsin Council for the Gifted and Talented (WCGT). She held many positions on the Board of Directors, including President-Elect, President, and Past President from 1988-1991. Previously, she had served as Chair of the Legal and Legislative Committee from 1985-1988 during the crucial years when WCGT was advocating for the addition of Standard (t) to the Statutes and Rules for Gifted Education in Wisconsin. Lori’s dedication to the cause of gifted and talented youth was exemplary and extraordinary. Nothing could stand in the way of her efforts. Carol Wright recalls that the Board of Directors had scheduled a planning retreat for a weekend in February of 1990. We were going to meet in a dormitory at a Stevens Point campground, and Wisconsin had just received a record snowfall. Lori called Carol on Friday afternoon and said she was going to attend the retreat even though she was suffering from an attack of appendicitis. Carol had all she could do to convince Lori that her surgery could not wait and that she as President-Elect could handle the Board meeting. The Board of Directors did have a good time at the retreat, but we did not accomplish as much as we would have if Lori had been there. Lori, we shall miss your altruism, your energy, your imagination, your optimism, and your uniqueness. We owe you an unending debt of gratitude. Submitted by Carol Wright (WCGT President 1990-91) and Linda Uttech (WATG Board Member late 1990's-early 2000's) and Ruth Robinson (WATG President 2003-04) (Note: although we have thousands of pages of records, newsletters, minutes and mementos, there may be additions or corrections needed for these meanderings. If anyone has connections to the people or events mentioned, please contact me through the WATG email at www.watg.org.)
In October of 2020, WATG proudly presented the 47th Annual Conference in an innovative virtual platform. In a very short time, we will celebrate the 50th Golden Anniversary Conference. The search for historical records began in 2002 when the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) began gathering information from the state affiliate members about their membership prior to their 50th Annual Conference in 2003. What a long and twisted trail this is! When the first conference was held in 1973, the organization was known as the Wisconsin Council for Gifted and Talented (WCGT), which had only been established the year before. A short time later the Wisconsin Association of Educators for Gifted and Talented (WAEGT) also formed. The earliest conference information I have found states that this took place in 1980. By 1990, it became apparent that the two organizations could accomplish more if they joined forces. The process of melding the two groups into one organization took almost three years to finalize, with many meetings, letters, and negotiations. The first two years were led by co-presidents Jim Bokern, from the Marshfield School District and John Schmitt, from the Verona School District. Before agreement was reached to name the combined group the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted (WATG), at least twenty suggestions were considered. What if one of these had been chosen?
Aren’t we glad WATG was the final, pronounceable (!) acronym? And aren’t we glad that WATG has been serving gifted children and families all of these years? GT Meanderings
By Ruth Robinson, WATG president 2003-04 Everyone knows State Statute 118.35 “Programs for gifted and talented pupils” and State Statute 121,02 (1)(t) with specific requirements of such ‘programs’. But do you know when this conversation started in Wisconsin? I thought I did until I continued organizing records. Connections go back further than ever. There is a copy of the 1903 Wisconsin Journal of Education, the official School Paper of the State, established in 1856, just eight years after statehood. In it, the discussion centers around ‘individualism in classroom instruction’. There was concern over a “lock-step system in the gradation and promotion of pupils that tended to hold back the brighter boys and girls back to the speed of the slowest member of the class’. In 1957 the Russians launched Sputnik which sparked renewed interest in science education in the United States. The same year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Guidance Institute for Talented & Gifted Students (GIFTS) was initiated through the Counseling Psychology Department. The twenty-fifth anniversary monograph of 1982 was monitored by Professor Phillip Perrone (1936-2018). More recent work toward the statutes mentioned above began in 1970 when State Superintendent of Public Instruction, William Kahl, appointed an advisory committee ‘to research and provide structure for development of legislation and processes for gifted education in Wisconsin’s public schools’. The Wisconsin Council for the Gifted & Talented (WCGT) was established in 1972. The Wisconsin Association of Educators of Gifted & Talented (WAEGT) followed a few years later. They consolidated in 1991-92 to form the Wisconsin Association for Talented & Gifted, WATG. The journey to the legislation quoted above began in December 1975 and concluded with the adoption of 118.33 in 1985 - a full ten year battle. Statute 121.02 specifying standards for gifted programs followed in 1987. The mandate went into effect in the fall of 1988. The fall WCGT Conference in 1988 was”Planning for Gifted Education: Surviving or Thriving”. So carry on this proud tradition into the 21st Century! |
Ruth RobinsonFormer WATG President Archives
January 2021
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