Thursday Evening Mini-Conference

May 3, 2012

6:30-8:30 PM

for

parents, educators and supporters of gifted education

Wyndham Garden Valley Forge Exton

Pottstown Pike, Exton, PA 19341

Cost: $20.00 (prior to April 15)

(Included with the price of any full-day conference registration)

Pre-Session from 6:30-7:00pm

Basic Boot Camp for Gifted – Jim LoGiudice and Dawn Settle

For parents and educators new to gifted, this brief will discuss the characteristics of a gifted learner, the identification process, and the positive and potentially challenging cognitive and social emotional manifestations of these gifted traits.

Jim LoGiudice has been involved in gifted education for the past forty years, as a teacher, administrator, and child advocate. A former Supervisor of Programs for Gifted students for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, he is a past president of PAGE and served on its executive board from 1980-2006. Jim has chaired and assisted with over 80 gifted program evaluations for public and private schools, intermediate units, and American International schools. 

PAGE President, Dawn Settle, has been involved in PAGE for 23 years. During her 18 years as a gifted support teacher, she has been a member of district gifted program review learns and a presenter at district, county, and state level conferences on a variety of topics including how to write an appropriate GIEP, best practices in differentiating and developing curriculum, and meeting the social and emotional needs of gifted learners.

Regular sessions from 7:00-8:30 PM

So Your Student is Gifted: What’s Next? Effective Advocacy and Resources

- Rebecca Coleman,  Family Consultant at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development

The label of "gifted" can be applied to children whose IQ scores fall within a range that starts at 130 but can be as high as 180.  In this presentation, participants will walk away with a better understanding of characteristics within the spectrum of giftedness, manifestations of the gifted child in the regular classroom, and appropriate accommodations, programming options.  FREE resources and ideas for educators and parents will be shared.

As a family consultant at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, Rebecca Coleman provides support to profoundly gifted Young Scholars, and their families. Rebecca joined the Davidson Institute in 2006, developing individual action plans for profoundly gifted students in the Young Scholars program, assisting with educational advocacy and locating appropriate resources. Rebecca also serves as an Educators Guild Consultant, providing staff development to educators that addresses gifted characteristics and accommodations, and issues educators face in the regular classroom.

Understanding the Social/Emotional Needs of Gifted – Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek

The intellectual ability of these students may be "out of sync" with other aspects of their development. Because they are different from their chronological peers, gifted youth may experience unique social and emotional challenges, especially in the school setting.  In this session, parents and educators will become familiar with the issues that can arise for gifted students and will learn how to help provide effective support.

Mary Ann Swiatek, Ph.D., has been doing research on giftedness since the late 1980s. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Iowa State where she began working with the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY). She has also taught at SUNY Fredonia and Lafayette College, and has been a Research Specialist with C-MITES. A past member of the PAGE Board she continues to be an active member of the PAGE Board she continues to be an active member of the Speakers Bureau.

PLEPs and GIEPs That Make Sense -Tanya Morret

Identifying a student’s needs is necessary for creating a Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP) that is both appropriate and individualized. Learn how teachers and districts can use Pennsylvania’s four assessment types to help establish Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP) that are current, an accurate assessment of a student’s instructional level, and aligned to PA Standards and the newly adopted Common Core.

Tanya Morret, an Educational Consultant with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit, has served as their Gifted Liaison, as well as a Response to Instruction and Intervention lead. Active with the Statewide PAIU Gifted network, she has presented on a wide range of gifted topics including Responsibilities of General Education Teachers for the Gifted and Differentiation for the high ability. Previously she worked as a gifted support teacher, co-taught middle school social studies.