DCSD Advanced Academics & Gifted Ed

Equity of Access ~ Opportunity ~ Agency ~ Empowerment

Vision: We seek out, surface, and nurture the potential in each student from all races, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

Mission: We partner with staff, students, families, and our community to design/refine/implement equitable and culturally responsive systems of identification and programming for high potential/advanced/gifted students from all demographic groups in all schools.

Email: gifted.education@dcsdk12.org
Website: dcsdk12.org/gifted-education
Location: 620 Wilcox St, Castle Rock, CO 80104
Phone: 303-387-0191

As part of our continued commitment to improve Gifted Education in Douglas County School District, the DCSD Gifted Education Team and Assessment and Systems Performance Office, has partnered with Hanover Research to design, administer, and analyze a gifted education stakeholder survey. This survey aligns with best practices in survey design including adaptations for each target stakeholder group: district staff (administrators and teachers), parents/guardians whose child(ren) is/are identified as gifted, and students who have been formally identified for gifted programming.

On September 10th, you and your children will receive a link with a request to complete this survey. It should take about 10 minutes to complete and can be accessed on any computer, phone, or tablet. The survey will be open until September 23, 2024. We appreciate your taking the time to give us feedback about gifted programming in DCSD.

Your school's Gifted Education Facilitator is collaborating with your student, their teachers, and you to update the 2024-25 Advanced Learning Plan. At the end of last school year, transitional goals were created and documented on the ALP. These transitional goals allow teachers to implement an ALP at the beginning of the school year as they gather new data and get to know your child.

Prior to September 30, the Gifted Education Facilitator at your child's school will connect with you as they revise and finalize a new Advanced Learning Plan. For elementary and middle school students, the formal ALP will be shared with you via email. High school ALPs are embedded in your student's ICAP in Naviance.

All parents will receive communication about your child's progress toward their goals at the end of first semester (December/January).

Questions? Please reach out to the Gifted Education Facilitator at your child's school. Not sure who that person is? Look for the Gifted Education section of your school's website or find contact info HERE.

Davidson Institute, March 2024

Navigating the journey of raising a gifted child, marked by its intricacies and unique challenges, requires a thoughtful approach—one that acknowledges their exceptional abilities and diverse needs. Fostering both their intellectual growth and social-emotional well-being may feel daunting at first. But this isn’t a journey you have to figure out on your own. We’ll provide some suggested strategies and valuable resources, so you have a clearer picture of how to raise a gifted child.

To continue reading, click HERE.

GiftedLearningLab.com

What does gifted or twice-exceptional (2e) intensity look like?

If you would describe your gifted or twice-exceptional kid as intense, you're in good company!

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Not all gifted kids feel "intense" but many do. I've worked with many parents who describe what it's like living with an intense gifted kid. If any of the dynamics below resonate, you might have the sense you're raising an intense kid.

• Your kid wakes up full of energy - they're ready to jump into a creative project, tell you their ideas, or play with you right away.

• Your kid seems more passionate than their peers - they’re the one who throws a tantrum at soccer, storms out of the room when corrected, or bursts into tears at school when something doesn’t go their way.

• Your kid loves to learn, but they hate the feeling of not knowing something. If learning feels too hard or they make a mistake, they may cry, rip up their work, or refuse to participate.

• Your kid is hard on themselves - really hard. Even though they’re bright and talented, they call themselves stupid, say they’re the worst in the world, say they hate themselves, or wonder why they’re so different from their peers.

• Once your kid is having a big feeling, it’s hard to get them out of it. You’ve tried reassuring them, reasoning with them, talking them through it, being understanding - nothing seems to help.

• You’re worried your child’s perfectionism will erode their love of learning and that their big feelings will drive away friends.

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Continue this article HERE.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have proposed the elimination of the Javits Gifted and Talented Education grant program.

Gifted and talented services and programs provide specialized opportunities for students who demonstrate or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels when compared with others of the same age, experience, or environment. These services and programs provide opportunities in addition to the general education curriculum within regular school hours. Gifted and talented learners exist in all populations, however, there is a significant excellence gap at the top achievement levels between students with disabilities and non-disabled students, minority and white students, and low-income students and their more advantaged peers.

For more information, see NAGC's website HERE, US Dept of Education's website HERE and Council for Exceptional Children's website HERE.

Douglas County Association for Gifted and Talented (DCAGT) is an affiliate of the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT), which is an affiliate of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).

DCAGT’s objectives are to:

• Support the efforts and activities of CAGT, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), and neighboring CAGT affiliates.

• Present gifted resources and educational opportunities to families, caregivers, educators, and the community.Encourage advocacy and best-practices for gifted children.

• Reach and connect the gifted community with opportunities to share experiences and exchange information.

They are currently looking for passionate parents that would like to serve on the board or volunteer to support events. Contact them via email at info@dcagt.org.

Visit their website HERE.

The Douglas County Gifted Education Advisory Council (DCGEAC) is seeking members with a variety of backgrounds and expertise! If you are a parent/guardian of a student identified for gifted services OR a high school student who has been identified as gifted, please consider joining us by completing the DCGEAC Self Nomination Form.

DCGEAC meets quarterly throughout the year. This year's in person meetings are:

• Tuesday, September 17, 4:30 - 6:00 P.M, DCSD Legacy Campus

• Wednesday, November 13, 4:30 - 6:00 P.M, DCSD VALE Campus (Venture Academy of Leadership and Entrepreneurship)

• Thursday, February 20, 4:30 - 6:00 P.M, DCSD Legacy Campus

• Tuesday, April 29 4:30 - 6:00 P.M, DCSD VALE Campus

This year's priority is Gifted Programming:

• Developing gifted students’ strengths and interests... supporting their academic, developmental, and social-emotional needs. Our areas of focus: Elementary • Secondary • Twice Exceptional • Social-Emotional

All meetings are open to the public. See this flier for more information. Please send us an email at gifted.education@dcsdk12.org if you have any questions.

CONVERSATIONS WITH CAGT

Conversations with CAGT is returning this school year with an all-new season of timely, relevant topics by preeminent local, national, and international specialists in the field of gifted education! Conversations with CAGT is an incredible opportunity to get expert advice on topics regarding giftedness for FREE with time to ask your questions. Follow us on Facebook for the next Conversations with CAGT, coming soon to kick off the school year! We hope you can tune in live each first and third Tuesday on our Facebook page to view our Conversations with CAGT in real time at 5:00. You will be able to ask the CWC guest speaker any questions you might have about their session. Please come join us! Click HERE to go directly to CAGT's page.

Interested in previous recordings? All the sessions from this season listed below can be found at this link at coloradogifted.org.

SENGAuthors - Gifted and Distractible: The parenting book that became a book for parents, educators, and 2e adults!

Discussion with Julie Skolnik, 5:00 - 6:30 P.M. (MST), Tuesday, September 3

It’s a widely held misconception that intellectual ability and social and emotional success go hand in hand. In fact, many curious, clever, and creative children struggle in these areas and have trouble in classroom settings. This mismatch in their potential and achievement can lead to frustration and self-doubt, and many children are written off as lazy, difficult, or attention-seeking.

Learn more and register for the event HERE. Cost is $40.

If you're a teacher or parent, we'll be holding an EXPERT PANEL DISCUSSION with several different experts on neurodiversity to prep you for the upcoming school year - and the best part: IT'S FREE!

For more information, see their website HERE.

SENGinar: Building Resilience and Regulation Skills through Accessible Neuroscience and Connection Strategies

Presented by Ginger Healy, LCSW, 5:00 - 6:30 P.M. (MST), Tuesday, September 24

This session will highlight the keys to fostering resilience and bringing emotional stability into the classroom and/or home through co-regulation. This session is rooted in the principle that relationships come first - it only takes one safe, committed adult to help a child grow, heal, and meet their potential. This session will build a foundation of understanding how early adversity and stress can skew the wiring in a child's brain and nervous system, leading

to stress responses and struggles in the classroom and at home.

This session will encourage a paradigm shift when it comes to behaviors the students exhibit in response to pressure and stress. This session will highlight neuroplasticity and how we can re-wire patterns and reactions including a sequence of engagement when a child is dysregulated. This session will dive into the importance

of emotionally safe relationships, creating regulation spaces, the power of mirror neurons and will explain what co-regulation is and isn't. Adult compassion fatigue and burnout will be explored. The concept of blocked care will be explained when bids for connection are rejected. Solutions to for blocked trust and how to heal a child's inner working model through curiosity, acceptance of feelings, and behavior, empathy and play will be highlighted.

Therapeutic dosing will be discussed along with what resilience truly is and how to build it since it is not something we are born with. Finally implementable strategies for conquering stress will be offered.

Learn more and register for the event HERE. The cost is $40.

Join us for the 46th Annual CAGT Conference, Purpose & Passion, this October 20th-22nd! We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Temple Grandin is joining us again as a keynote for this year’s conference! We are also excited to have this incredible line-up of featured speakers: Dr. Kristina Collins, Richard Cash and Dr. Rick Olenchak.

We hope you join us this October to learn from and be inspired by these keynotes and to hear from over 80 presenters sharing their knowledge and expertise covering topics that impact our GT kids and their education! There are sessions for educators, special education providers, mental health support teams, parents, administrators and district leaders. As a bonus, if you register for the 2 Day conference registration option, you will also be able to attend our virtual conference for free!

Click here for the registration link!

Submissions are due NO LATER than Monday, September 9, 2024.

We can’t wait for this year’s art contest at the CAGT fall conference! Whether you submitted something in our prior contests or want to do so this year, here’s your chance to have your art displayed and viewed by educators and families from gifted communities throughout our state and nation at the CAGT Annual Conference.

CAGT would like to invite students from around Colorado to share their outstanding artistic talents with the attendees at this year’s conference.

Students who attend any K-12 school or homeschool in Colorado can create
their own artistic interpretation of our conference theme, Purpose and Passion, and share it with us this fall at CAGT’s Annual Conference, October 20-22, 2024.

Accepted artwork will be displayed virtually and at the John Q. Hammons Conference Center at the Embassy Suites in Loveland for our conference participants to view and vote on their favorites.

All contest information criteria are included in this flier.

Our board is currently seeking new members for the 24-25 school year. Our student-run board provides a platform for GT students across the state to advocate for an improved educational experience by connecting them with other students who share the same passion for their education and with leaders of the GT community. In the past, we have presented at several conferences, such as those of the Colorado Association of School Boards; the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented; and the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. Starting this year, we plan on beginning bipartisan political work and lobbying in the Colorado State Legislature. We are looking for enthusiastic GT-identified students who want to make an impact through this student leadership and advocacy opportunity.

Students can apply through this Google Form; applications are due September 13 by 11:59 p.m.

For more information, visit CGTSB's website HERE.