Happy New Year!

NEWS FROM THE BOARD

Happy New Year from the WATG board! After the unforgettable year of 2020, we truly hope that 2021 is a fresh start for all of us, and the WI Association for Talented and Gifted also looks forward to new ideas and fresh starts.

One of the ways that WATG has begun to look at the new year is to reimagine some of the ways that we work together as a board. Our strength as an organization relies on our Executive Assistant and a highly dedicated group of volunteer board members who work tirelessly on behalf of gifted individuals in Wisconsin. We also rely on volunteers who choose to work with us on shorter term projects as well. An example of this is the cadre of fabulous speakers who join us every year to present at our fall annual conference, and we are truly thankful for them. Another example is the group of people who volunteer to translate portions of our newsletter into Spanish for our Spanish speaking constituents. We are truly grateful to them as well.

As our board met in late 2020 to envision our future, we decided to tap further into the talent, wisdom, and commitment of additional volunteers who are willing to work on shorter term projects with us. As we envisioned this change, we created a number of task forces -- groups of people, headed by a “point person” on the WATG board -- who would tackle shorter term projects, sharing their skill sets and interests. Some of these task forces will work in short but repeated bursts; others will work briefly on projects that occur only during certain times of the year. Still others may require sustained effort over time. Each of these task forces was created to share the work of the board, and to invite more talent to the table. For 2021, our task forces include these:

• NUMATS (Northwestern University Midwest Academic Talent Search): This task force is headed by board member Lalitha Murali. Each year at our fall conference, WATG honors Wisconsin scholars who have scored extremely well on out of level testing, and are recognized by Northwestern University. The work for this task force normally commences during late summer, and culminates in the NUMATS ceremony during our WATG annual fall conference. It consists of preparing for, and presenting the ceremony for the students and their invited guests.
• Awards and Scholarships: This task force is headed by board member Jessica Schultz. Under Jessica’s direction, this task force solicits applications for awards and scholarships for deserving students and adults, and vets these applications for awarding. This task force works in the spring (for summer awards) and in the fall (for conference awards).
• Google Ads: This task force is headed by board member Deb Kucek. Recently WATG won a very large grant from Google to be used for Google Ads. The work of the task force is ongoing, and centers around creating ads which will increase WATG membership and build awareness about the work of our organization.
• Policy Review: This task force is headed by Hillarie Roth, and will work to review and revise WATG policy as necessary. The work will be ongoing, dependent on revisions needed.
• Intern Hiring: This task force is headed by our Executive Assistant, Nancy Woodward, and board advisors, Dal and Jackie Drummer. At this writing we are in the process of hiring an intern whose focus will be on more fully marketing WATG. Stay tuned as we introduce our new hire! (The work of this task force will be complete when the intern is hired).
• Social Media: This task force is headed by Stacy Novak and Jackie Drummer. Together, they and others prepare social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to enlighten and (sometimes) entertain our membership, and to highlight our vision and mission. The work of this task force is ongoing throughout the year.
• Justice for All: In June of 2020, the WATG Board of Directors crafted a social justice statement that reads: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” (Maya Angelou)  As our nation faces the grave consequences of long standing and systemic racism, the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted remains committed to equity and justice for all. As an organization, we are cognizant of the inequities in identification and educational programming for gifted students of color. We remain committed to examining these inequities, and rectifying these inequities. We pledge to do our part to dismantle structural and institutional racism. We invite partnerships with other institutions, groups, and individuals to share conversations about the impacts of race, and will work to listen, learn, and support each other in this critical process of changing our world.  Under the direction of board member Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, this task force will work to bring this statement to life. The work will be ongoing and will evolve over time.

There is an old adage that goes like this, “many hands make the work light.” As an organization, WATG can continue to do much work and effect change for many individuals when many people join forces to share the tasks. As you think about fresh starts during 2021, perhaps one of these task forces intrigues you; perhaps you have the time, the interest, and the talent to contribute. We can promise you that you will grow as an individual, and will be part of a passionate team of people dedicated to serving gifted individuals in our state. Send us a message at www.watg.org  to begin your “fresh start.” We look forward to hearing from you.

(WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found below.)

(WATG desea extender un gran agradecimiento al Dr. German Díaz de las escuelas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo al español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana. La traducción también se puede encontrar en nuestros blogs de sitio web.)

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