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It’s an exciting time for WATG.
We are busy preparing for our 50th Anniversary conference, Golden Opportunities: Engaging Minds, Empowering Success. Early bird registration will open around the beginning of May, so be watching your email for that important information. I know schools are budgeting for next year, so here is a sneak peek at what the conference rates will be. Early bird registration: $350 (available until September 4, 2023; after that the price is $375) One-day registration (Monday or Tuesday): $260 The Wilderness Resort and Conference Center will again have special rates for our attendees, $90/single and $119/double/triple/quad occupancy. Details on how to book will be revealed when conference registration opens. More information on the parent and teen conference will be coming to your inbox soon, so please watch for it. We are planning some great events! Another exciting development is a redesigned WATG website. It will take a bit of time to have it just the way we want it, but we hope to have a new layout around May…just in time for conference registration. The new design should make navigation easier. We are also going to pare down and re-organize so we can be of better service to you. Another big addition will be a members-only section! Here you will be able to find special professional development or parenting recordings, plus other resources as a membership benefit. Celebrating 50 years as an organization is both a way to honor the past and to blaze our way into the future. We’re excited to do both! Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director WI Association for Talented and Gifted WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website.
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As a part of collaboration between WATG and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, WATG President Stacy Novak was invited to present to a group of preservice teachers this winter. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point offers a class on gifted education for special education majors and Novak collaborated with me (the course’s instructor). As WATG Board President-Elect, I believe that this collaboration is very important.
WATG President Novak spoke about the current situation of gifted education in Wisconsin and the mission of WATG. She also mentioned that this year WATG will offer some scholarships for preservice teachers to WATG’s fall conference on October 9-10, 2023, at the Wilderness Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells. Preservice teachers were very excited about the presentation, and they mentioned that it was an eye-opening opportunity for them. As their instructor, I also pointed out the importance of advocacy organizations like WATG for gifted education and for gifted students and their families. Novak will speak with preservice teachers again in the spring semester of 2023. At WATG, we are aware of the importance of training preservice teachers to help our gifted students. We will continue to reach out to other colleges to help their teachers prepare to work with gifted students as well. Thank you to President Novak and her work on behalf of WATG and preservice teachers! Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu, WATG Board President-Elect WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website. I am currently in the process of preparing to talk with preservice teachers at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. For the past few years, WATG’s President has done a presentation for Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu’s classes. The purpose of the presentation is to give preservice teachers some awareness about gifted education and introduce them to Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted.
While working on the presentation, I can’t help but think how helpful this would have been when I was in college. When I attended UWSP from 2006 to 2010, I had one course about giftedness. This course was a winterim class that was only a couple hours for one week. That is all the education I received on gifted and talented, and this is unfortunately all that most preservice teachers around Wisconsin receive. As new teachers enter the classroom for the first time, they do not have the experience or knowledge of how to best support the gifted and talented students in their classroom, let alone what it even means to be gifted and talented. With the presentation that WATG’s President does each year for Dr. Ogurlu’s classes, preservice teachers will be entering into the classroom with a little more knowledge of the importance of supporting their gifted and talented students. If you are part of a university and are looking for a way to introduce your university’s preservice teachers to gifted and talented education and Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted, please reach out to me at president@watg.org and we can set up a day for me to do the presentation. I look forward to working with you. Stacy Novak, President WATG WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website. In November, our Board President, two other board members, and I attended the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Conference in Indianapolis. Here are a few things I learned; some are serious, and some are not so serious.
First, let's start with the serious, and I’ll include the caveat that I am not an educator. I’m the wife of a teacher and the mother of a now college-aged, advanced learner. Many of the ideas and concepts presented at the workshops were directly related to the classroom. However, though I’m not a teacher, I was able to bring some of the ideas I learned back and quiz my husband. I thought that there were a few ideas that he could use in his classroom. A number of the breakout sessions reminded me of when my son was in K-12 education. It was interesting to talk to him about what I learned and how he thought those suggestions would have worked for him. He thought some ideas would have worked, and others not. With both of these discussions with my family, I was reminded that advanced learners are not a monolithic group. They have different strengths and challenges, different interests, and different ways of learning. This is something I think everyone needs to remember. I’d like to share another serious realization that I had during the parent workshops. During many of the sessions, I found myself thinking “boy, did I screw that up!” I learned so many things to do and not do in those sessions. It was difficult not to reflect on the things I could have done better as a parent. Whether it was general parenting or advocacy at school, I focused on what I should have done when my son was younger. However, as I was talking to someone at the conference about this, they corrected me. The message was this: We are all doing our best in whatever situation we have. It’s easy to look back in hindsight and there is no guarantee that a different path would have changed anything at all. As parents, we need to take this information and share it with others but realize that loving our children and doing what is best at the time is what matters. This is another thing I think everyone needs to remember. And now for a few not-so-serious, tongue-in-cheek items from my time in Indianapolis: Indianapolis may be south of Wisconsin, but it was not much warmer. There wasn’t much snow to speak of. However, the day after I arrived, the windchill was around 30 degrees and they had a light dusting overnight, and…school was delayed for 2 hours! This made me, a northern Wisconsin gal, laugh. I also compared our WATG conference to NAGC’s conference, and I’d like to give a pat on the back to our annual conference planners. At the WATG conference, we had free coffee throughout the morning each day. There was no such thing at the NAGC conference. In fact, there was one Starbucks in the main conference area and the line extended all the way down a long hallway each day. People waited an hour for a cup of coffee! After the first day, I realized I should stock up at the hotel before I left. Finally, at NAGC they had some interesting lanyards and I think we should all wear them daily in our normal everyday lives. White lanyards signified, “I’ve missed you; it’s OK to hug me.” Green signified, “I’ve missed seeing you; can we bump elbows for now?” And blue signified, “I’ve missed seeing you, but I do need some space between us.” I couldn’t help but think of how helpful that would be at the grocery store, school, or work! All in all, my experience at NAGC was an excellent learning experience. I know that what I learned will help me in my job as Executive Director at WATG. Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director, WATG WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website. As an educator at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, I am extremely interested in the preparation of our preservice teachers to meet the needs of their advanced learners. Gifted education for preservice teachers is vital because well-prepared teachers contribute to gifted students’ achievement and success.
We at the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted are aware that training in gifted education is rare in teacher training programs in our state; that’s why we are planning on developing some training programs and workshops for pre-service teachers. Providing preservice teachers with opportunities to gain knowledge and skills in gifted education can significantly maximize their ability to help gifted students reach their potential. We are already working with some campuses, but we would like to reach more preservice teachers on more campuses. By providing this training now, future teachers will be ready for gifted students as they enter the profession. At this writing, we are preparing some workshop packages for preservice teachers. These workshops will help future teachers understand the academic and social/emotional needs of gifted learners. Please reach out to us at www.watg.org if you want us to organize workshops on your campus. Also, please reach out to us if you are a preservice teacher who wants to know more about gifted learners. We are hoping to increase our membership to include more preservice teachers, so help us spread the word. Finally, know that WATG offers scholarships to our annual fall conference for preservice teachers, and discounted memberships. Our fall conference is an excellent way to add tools to your teaching toolkit to reach all learners, and membership in our organization will help keep you informed on research, best practices, and networking opportunities. We are here to serve you! Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu, WATG Board President-Elect WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website.  After finishing a successful conference, it might be easy to assume the WATG Board would take a little break to re-energize. However, WATG is going to build upon that success and start strategic planning.
Past presidents and current board members have begun the strategic planning process. In the near future you may even be hearing from us as we ask for your opinions. We will be contacting stakeholders to determine what they see as our strengths and areas for opportunity. The strategic planning group will compile all of this information, see how it fits with our mission and vision, and come up with a plan for the future. Here’s how you can help. If you hear from me or one of our strategic planning committee members, and we ask for your thoughts, please share them with us. We promise it won’t take a lot of your time. Just some thought on where we’ve been and where we should be going. Then…be watching for updates on our plan in 2023. Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director WI Association for Talented and Gifted WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website.  As we begin the year after our Fall 2022 Conference, I would like to thank Sarah Kasprowicz for her hard work this past year as WATG’s Past President. After two years of being fully virtual, Sarah was able to put together a great face-to-face meeting with board members in June. We were able to network and connect with one another in person. Sarah brought her ideas to the board and inspired and motivated our board members to continue helping gifted students around Wisconsin. It will be hard to fill Sarah’s shoes in the President’s role!
And now I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Stacy Novak, and I look forward to being WATG’s President for the next two years! I wanted to share a little of my background information so that you can get to know me. I grew up in the Fox Valley (Appleton area) and still live in the area today with my husband and 4-month-old son. I received a double major in elementary and special education from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2010. I began my career teaching special education, and then moved into a regular education classroom for a few years. The past eight years I was working at St. Mary Catholic Schools in Neenah/Menasha. After being there for a few years, I was asked if I would be interested in developing the gifted program for the system. I was elated. To help me fulfill this role, I earned my gifted and talented teacher and coordinator license through Concordia University. These past four years I was the gifted and talented teacher for the program and worked with qualifying third through fifth graders daily for all their core subjects. This year I am sad to not be in a classroom, but I am so glad I can stay home with my son and devote more attention to WATG and advocating for gifted students around Wisconsin. I have been a WATG board member since July 2019. I spent the first year serving on the Membership Committee, and then I co-chaired the 2021 virtual conference. This past year, I chaired the Programming Committee and served as President-Elect; during the year I shadowed Sarah to learn about the role of the President. Thinking back to last summer when WATG’s past Presidents asked me if I would be interested in being WATG’s President for 2022-2024, I was very surprised and honored. I was excited to take on the role and serve the gifted and talented community even more fully. I love being part of a board that advocates for our gifted students, and I am excited to see what new ideas and work the WATG board will envision during my next two years of presidency. It is going to be a great two years serving WATG as President! Feel free to email me at president@watg.org with any thoughts, ideas, or questions, or even just to chat! Wow, can you believe it? WATG is going to be celebrating our 50th anniversary at next year’s conference.
We’ve begun planning for our big milestone. This past month we had our first 50th Anniversary Committee meeting.The group is working on making a splash at next year’s conference.They may even have a few surprises at this year’s fall conference October 2-4. We are pumped up and hope you will be too! When a person reaches the age of 50, they might be starting to think about slowing down. Maybe they have an empty nest. Perhaps they are starting to look forward to retirement. Well, we aren’t slowing down! We’ve accomplished a lot in the last 50 years, but we have a list of things we still need to do. Our vision continues as we strive for an environment in which the educational and social emotional needs of gifted students are understood and addressed throughout the state. WATG marches forward with our mission to educate about and advocate for the needs of the gifted in Wisconsin. Join us at our annual fall conference, #WATG22, on October 2-4 and then commit to joining us on our 50th anniversary in 2023. You aren’t slowing down and neither are we! Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted |
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