Kate Simkowiak

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Message from The Washington Coalition For Gifted Education – June 7th

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Fiscal Year 2013:  Senate Subcommittee Meets June 12

The Senate subcommittee that handles education funding will be meeting on June 12 to recommend federal education program and research funding levels for fiscal year 2013.

As you know, the Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act (Javits) was de-funded in fiscal year 2011. This means that there is no funding for the National Research Center on the Gifted & Talented, and there are no 5-year grants to fund projects that yield best practices in identifying and serving underserved gifted students.

It’s a difficult funding environment – the impulse in Congress is to reduce, not increase spending for education. That’s why your messages to your Senators are so important. It’s critical that policymakers hear from the gifted education community about the need to support advanced students in federal education programs and research so that ALL students can make learning gains each year.

Please contact your Senators before noon on Tuesday, June 12, and urge him or her to make excellence a federal priority by supporting gifted and talented students, and the research needed to develop best classroom practices for this population of learners, in the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill.

Message from The Washington Coalition For Gifted Education – May 9th, 2012

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THE ROUNDUP
The Governor has signed the 3rd supplemental budget for this biennium and HCP funding to the districts is maintained. In the initial budget for this biennium, funding for the arts program at Centrum was cut and funding for Destination ImagiNation and Future Problem Solving was eliminated, cuts which were not restored in the 3rd supplemental. These opportunities for students have been an integral part of the Highly Capable appropriation since it began in 1985.

There was no legislation regarding Highly Capable Programs other than the budget.

GOING FORWARD
Including Highly Capable in basic education is a major reform. It follows that there are implementation issues to be followed and resolved. We are currently working on:

  • Restoration of funding for Centrum, Future Problem Solving and Destination ImagiNation.
  • An increase in HCP funding to the districts.
  • The WACs are being revised to bring them in line with HCP’s new position in basic ed. Gifted advocacy groups will be reviewing the changes and providing comment when they are made public later this year. All indications are that progress is being made to bring the WAC into line with the RCW.
  • The McCleary funding decision recognized HCP as a part of basic education so we will be following the court’s continuing jurisdiction of legislative actions to be sure adequate funding is provided. We will be watching the new Joint Select Committee which will report to the court.
  • For successful  advocacy, we need the backing of the large Coalition membership state wide. This is why we need you to plan to be in Olympia for Gifted Education Day on February 8, 2013. With the November election we will have a new Governor and new legislators to educate about the needs of gifted students and the value of highly capable programs for both our individual students and for the economy of the state. Please make plans to join us there.

BY THE WAY…
Speaking of elections, both candidates for Governor have released their education platforms for the campaign. Attached are summaries from the League of Education Voters and the Partnership 4 Learning. They are provided as information only and do not constitute an endorsement of any candidate.
You can do your part by looking carefully at the education statements of the Legislative candidates in your district and asking them specifically about their position on Highly Capable Programs in candidate forums, town meetings, etc.

AND FINALLY
BE SURE TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS AND SAY THANK YOU FOR THEIR EFFORTS TOWARD FULL FUNDING OF K-12 EDUCATION. THEY DON’T HEAR A THANK YOU OFTEN ENOUGH.

2012 Washington State Gubernatorial Race Candidates’ Formal Positions on Education

Governor’s Education Plans: Side-by-Side Comparison

This message has been sent to you by The Washington Coalition For Gifted Education. Comments or questions can be sent to wagifted@earthlink.net or  grevewandi@gmail.com.

Mindful Intensity

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If you are a person who has heard statements like, “you’re just too much,” “you think too much,” or “you’re too sensitive,” your whole life, this article is for you.

Perhaps you perceived such comments as indicators that something was wrong with you, or you weren’t even sure why people were saying these things to you.

Well, take heart, you are not alone!

Here is a great article just for you: Mindful Intensity By Belinda Seiger

SENG Webinar Event May 10th: Mother-Daughter Relationships of Profoundly Gifted Young Girls

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Presented by Joy L. Navan, PhD

Educators, parents and counselors are invited to join us as we explore the social and emotional needs of gifted girls.

What social and emotional strengths and needs accompany the development of exceptional and profoundly gifted girls? What do mothers learn about themselves and their emotional needs as a result of raising gifted daughters?

Sign Up Today!

Guest Speaker Chris McCurry, PhD on Preparing Our Children for Success in the World

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Please join us April 26th at 7:00pm in the Terrace Park Commons for an insightful presentation:

The Gift of Resilience:

Preparing Our Children for Success in the World

by, Chris McCurry, PhD

This presentation will cover:

  • Ideas about what makes children successful in life
  • The nature and origins of childhood distress
  • A new way of thinking about a child’s stress-related behaviors; one based on intention and attention
  • Strategies for responding to your child’s distress that promote psychological flexibility and growth
  • Tools for promoting resilience in your child, and in yourself

Chris McCurry, Ph.D., is a clinical child psychologist in private practice at Associates in Behavior and Child Development, Inc., P.S. in Seattle. He is a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. Dr. McCurry specializes in the assessment and treatment of children who are experiencing behavioral and emotional problems including anxiety disorders, attention disorders, underachievement in school, and parent-child conflicts. He is the author of Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance published in 2009 by New Harbinger.

Please join us for our CPA General Meeting before Dr. McCurry’s presentation from 6:30-7 pm.

Highlights:

  • Election of new board members
  • CPA 2011/2012 Budget
  • The New Play Shed Project

New SENGinar April 19th: Teaching Academics to Gifted Youth with Asperger’s

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Presented by Terry Friedrichs, Ph.D., Ed.D.

In this SENGinar, parents and educators will discover, among other things, how to improve on the youths’ skills in communicating, understanding directions, and predicting consequences in basic academic subjects at the elementary, middle and secondary levels.

Gifted students with Asperger’s Syndrome are increasingly being identified in school systems. This webinar presents ideas for teaching these students basic academic subjects – reading, writing and mathematics – at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels, in more socially and emotionally supportive ways. Dr. Friedrichs offers approaches at each level on instructing reading, writing and mathematics, taking into account the high-potential and challenging traits associated with Asperger’s, specifically including social, communication and restrictive-interest characteristics.

Sign Up Now!

UW Engineering Discovery Days

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Friday, April 20, 2012 — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 21, 2012 — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Engineering Discovery Days is free and open to everyone!

At Engineering Discovery Days, students and faculty from all UW engineering departments share their work with students, teachers, families and the community. Please join us for hands-on fun and learning.

We have reached capacity for school groups with vans or buses on Friday, April 20. Please encourage students and their families to visit us on Saturday. Thank you for your interest in Engineering Discovery Days.

Registration is still open for Saturday, April 21.

Please review our Tips for a Successful Visit to help make the most of your time on campus.

Vote for Your Favorite Student Exhibit
Alumni judges will decide who wins the “Just for the Fun of It,” The ‘Real’ World” and “Presentation of Society” awards. All visitors — YOU — can vote in the “People’s Choice” category. Please visit the student exhibits and vote for your favorite.

For more information on this event please click here.

Message from The Washington Coalition For Gifted Education – March 30th, 2012

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Legislature still in special session…
During even-numbered years the Legislature adopts a supplemental budget, making changes to the biennial budget passed the year before. It has been a unique year as seven supplemental budget proposals have been introduced! Two budgets were still under consideration at the end of the regular session – one passed by the House, the other by the Senate. Time ran out so the regular session ended without passage of a supplemental budget and a solution to the budget deficit problem.  The Governor called the Legislature into special session anticipating that the differences would be ironed out quickly. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing there has been no budget agreement. The Governor is mediating daily sessions of the budget writers from both parties.

And that is where we stand – at an impasse. Most Legislators are at home working in their districts and will not return to Olympia this week. Negotiations continue but it is all behind closed doors. Our lobbyist Donna Christensen meets regularly with key supporters in the Legislature and has been advised that HCP funding is not in danger, though anything can happen.

There will probably be (undefined) changes to K-12 education in the final budget when it appears. When the impasse is broken legislators will return to Olympia to vote.  There will not be any opportunities to testify or propose any amendments. It is usually a take it or leave it situation.

Gifted Education Supporters – Please Contact Your U.S. Representative and Senators by Today, March 16th

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As you may recall, the Javits funds were discontinued last year. Losing this important national research funding will continue to create negative consequences across the country.

The National Association For Gifted Children is asking you to contact your US Representative and Senators TODAY (March 16) and urge them to support $7.5 million in funding for the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act*.

Click here for Congressional contact information and a sample message.

*The Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act is the sole federal program dedicated to exploring strategies to identify and serve gifted and talented students, especially those who have been under-represented in gifted education programs. The program, which supported the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented as well as school-based research grants, was de-funded in fiscal year 2011. School districts and teachers across the country have used – and continue to use – the research results generated by the Javits program to support gifted students in the classroom and to develop and improve their gifted education services and programs. It’s critical to gifted and talented students, and those who have not been formally identified as gifted, that the Congress restores the research program so that we can continue developing and disseminating best practices in instruction and identification procedures.

More information: http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/nagc/members.pdf