This article by Julia Osborn is the third in a series of three articles on the processes parents go through in raising an exceptionally gifted child. This article, based on a study of 12 exceptionally gifted students, discusses the experiences of these parents in advocating for appropriate school placement for their children. A list of practical advocacy recommendations is included.
Edufest is the Northwest’s premier summer conference on gifted and talented education. Targeted audiences include K-12 teachers, parents, counselors, special education teachers, administrators, and gifted education coordinators. Edufest is held on the campus of Boise State University.
Elevated Giftedness provides information and services to parents of gifted students, teachers who have gifted students in their classes, and administration who want help with gifted programming and staff education.
This comprehensive latest edition of “Excellence in Educating Gifted and Talented Learners” is packed with ideas for effective curriculum and instruction of talented learners. You’ll find it covers personality, learners with disabilities, learning styles, and also stages of giftedness from infancy all the way to adulthood. It not only gives the characteristics and needs, but talks about grouping and acceleration and offers a comprehensive model of program development. Special attention is given to mathematics, science, social studies, and the humanities.
Exquisite Minds, headed by national award-winning teacher Stacia Garland, believes in the importance of cultivating creativity in bright and gifted children. They offer support to parents and educators who want to challenge children to find new and constructive ways to look at the world.
The Fairfax County Association for the Gifted (FCAG), is a non-governmental, non-profit organization of parent and student volunteers that supports educational programs for advanced academic students. FCAG’s mission is to build a community of advocates for gifted children, and connect the people and programs that support them.
The Florida Association for the Gifted (FLAG) seeks to connect and empower educators and parents who promote and support educationally sound programs for gifted students through awareness, advocacy, and action.
Florida Gifted Network consists of a group of parents, educators, and community members working to improve the education of Florida’s gifted children.
The Frances A. Karnes Center for Gifted Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi was established in 1979 to further the education of gifted students and those with leadership abilities through teaching, research, and services. The Center offers classes, camps, and instructional programs for intellectually gifted students in grades pre-K through 12, as well as conferences, teacher education, and other services for those interested in gifted: teachers, parents, administrators, psychologists, counselors, and other concerned citizens.
Parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys come to this website to learn effective advocacy skills. You will learn to recognize pitfalls and avoid mistakes that prevent parents from successfully advocating for their children.
This site is the companion website to Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition- The Special Education Survival Guide (ISBN 978-1-892320-09-4) by Pamela Wright and Peter Wright, published by Harbor House Law Press.
Futuros Radiantes/Bright Futures is Discovery Cube’s award-winning, successful, Early Learners program designed for low-income parents of children six and under to help their children become school ready, develop their complex language and reading skills in English and Spanish, understand number sense, and incorporate science-thinking skills. By increasing parents’ understanding of how young children learn, they will be better equipped to help their children be developmentally ready to learn and better prepared to succeed in school and life. The parent-only model is designed for parents to learn how to engage with and teach their children reading and STEM skills at home.
In this book, Jan and Bob Davidson and Laura Vanderkam show parents and educators how to reach and challenge gifted students. They offer practical advice based on their experience as founders of a nonprofit organization that assists gifted children. They show parents how to become their children’s advocates, how to win support for gifted students within the local schools, and when and how to go outside the school system. They discuss everything from acceleration (“skipping” a grade) to homeschooling and finding mentors for children. They tell stories of real parents and students who overcame poor schooling environments to discover the joy of learning.
The mission of the Georgia Association for Gifted Children is to advocate for gifted children and youth by working with educators, parents, policy-makers, and the community to meet the needs of the gifted.
The Center for Gifted Education Policy (CGEP), which is housed in APA’s Education Directorate, focuses on gifted and talented PreK-12 education, teaching, and learning. CGEP is also particularly interested in researching the role of psycho-social skills in talent development and high performance in all domains.
The Office of Gifted and Talented Education provides learning environments which foster personal and social responsibility, multi-cultural competence, and technical communication skills for citizenship in the global environment of the 21st Century. They design and deliver rigorous and relevant curriculum to students in grades K-12 to address their academic and intellectual needs. Additionally, the Atlanta GATE program offers a variety of resources, enrichment, and internships for gifted students.
The Gifted Association of Missouri believes an appropriate education is every Missourian’s concern and that children with unusual potential have unique learning needs. They seek to raise awareness within the state of Missouri to the needs of these children as well as their needs at home, at school, and in the community.
