TAG Quarterly
A Newsletter for Portland Public Schools Families
Welcome to a new school year from the TAG Office!
The Talented and Gifted (TAG) office supports students, teachers, and schools with systems and structures for the TAG referral process, acceleration, and professional development for supporting student learning needs. If you have a question about TAG that your child’s teacher, school TAG facilitator, and principal are not able to answer, please use Let’s Talk to communicate with the TAG office. This is the best way to ensure your questions are answered in a timely manner.
The dates below are estimates based on the current school calendar and are subject to change due to disruptions such as snow days.
- Identification happens in the fall and winter.
- Single Subject Acceleration in Math and Whole Grade Acceleration windows open March 1.
- The ACCESS Lottery opens in mid-February
Learn More About TAG
How is my child being supported? If you want to know what is happening in the classroom, the best place to start is with your child’s teacher. TAG supports may not be obvious to students so if you are unsure that your child is receiving services, ask the teacher! Teachers provide differentiation, extensions, and enrichment even if students are not identified as TAG.
TAG Facilitators: Each school has a TAG Facilitator. Their name and contact information can be found on the district and school websites.
TAG Website: More information about TAG can be found on the PPS TAG Website: pps.net/TAG
TAG Family Night: Each school will schedule a TAG Family night before the end of October to share information about TAG identification and services. Check your school website for the date and time.
TAG Office Hours: Office hours are hosted by the district TAG administrator and will be available once per quarter. Frequently asked questions will be shared on the TAG website. Information will be posted on district and school websites with the dates, time, and link to join.
TAGAC: The TAG Advisory Committee is an advisory group for families of TAG students. The group meets monthly online. More information can be found on the TAG website and they can be contacted at tagac@pps.net
TAG Plans: The District TAG plan provides information about identification, services, and communication for the district. At the building level, grade level and content teacher teams may create team TAG plans that can be shared with families. Families may also request a Personalized Learning plan.
When to Ask for an Individual TAG Plan
The first step if you feel your child's needs are not being met is to talk to the teacher. Often students do not know what differentiation is happening in the classroom because the teacher creates a seamless learning experience for all students. If your child reports that they are bored, it is important to get the perspective of the teacher to understand the whole picture.
When you contact your child's teacher, start with these questions:
What is my child like in your class? Are there activities they enjoy? What are their strengths?
What parts of the day are challenging for my child? Where do you see room for growth?
How are they doing on assessments (i.e., iReady, MAP, daily work, homework, end of unit assessments, etc.)?
What are some of the activities already set up to challenge students?
TAG Family Office Hours
Use this link to join the discussion on September 14, from 6:00-6:30pm
It will be followed immediately by a TAG Advisory Committee meeting from 6:30-8:30pm
TAG Resources
Resources from the Oregon Department of Education: OER Commons TAG Page
PPS District TAG Page (currently under construction)
Building TAG Facilitator List (from 2022-2023, we are still updating!)