Gifted+Nomination

May 15th, 2008 Dear Parents, We would like to inform you of the upcoming deadline for entrance into the Advanced Learner Program for the 2008-2009 school year. Please read the information below and go to ** [|www.giftedresources.com/nomination/] ** if you would like to nominate your K-8th grade student for this program. The Idaho Virtual Academy offers the option of an enrichment specialist as a general ed teacher to any family who qualifies. The IDVA program and K12 curriculum would not change for these students but parents would have additional support in dealing with the unique issues that come along with raising a gifted child. The enrichment specialist would also be able to assist in the area of expanding the K12 curriculum and providing additional resources to families who need them through training and consultation. The families who are part of the Advanced Learner Program would still participate in their regional outings to stay connected with their local peers. The gifted specialist will provide a website to help families network together to take advantage of cooperative groups and academic competitions in their region. The Advanced Learner Program is designed for K-8th students who demonstrate high ability in academic areas supported by the K12 curriculum. For the 2008-2009 school year, this grouping of students will have a set criteria for being placed in the gifted class and must follow this procedure. The gifted screening committee meets in May. The committee includes IDVA Enrichment Specialists, a member of administration, and a teacher from each region of the state. The Committee’s major task is to review each new nomination packet carefully and rank each student’s nomination data on a standard form. The Committee makes one of the following recommendations for each nominee: • Entrance in the gifted class for the coming year • Placement on the gifted class waitlist [to be considered for future entrance into the program] but continuing in a general education classroom • Continuation in a general education classroom The parent/guardian of each nominee receives an email by June 1st explaining the results of that student’s nomination. Desi Laughlin, IDVA Advanced Learner Program Manager/Special Education Director, and the child’s teacher also receive the nomination results for their students. IDVA is becoming known as a desirable option for parents of gifted and talented students in Idaho because of K12's superior curriculum and IDVA's purposeful parent/student development. It is our desire to retain and recruit gifted students to IDVA. Brandi Maynard, Karli Thompson & Lisa Frost, IDVA Enrichment Specialists, are currently serving 150 identified gifted and talented students and nearly 100 perspective gifted students that were nominated for services by their cooperating teacher or teaching adult. Currently, parent training and development includes: It is our desire to: We look forward to working with you and your child. If you have any questions please feel free to email us: Brandi Maynard (north Enrichment specialist) bmaynard@idahova.org Lisa Frost (southwest Enrichment specialist) lfrost@idahova.org Karli Thompson (southeast Enrichment specialist) kthompson@idahova.org Thank you for your interest in the program. Sincerely, Advanced Learner Team
 * // About Our Program //**
 * // Nomination Process //**
 * 1) A parent, a teacher, or a student can start the nomination process. Nomination forms can be submitted online from **May 15th – May 23rd**. **All nominations must be submitted by ? **  to be reviewed for entrance into the IDVA gifted program for the coming school year. Nomination forms can be found at ** [|www.giftedresources.com/nomination/] **
 * 1) Parents will fill out a parent survey that will help us better understand your child’s gifts and talents. This can be found at ** [|www.giftedresources.com/nomination/]   **
 * 1) You will receive a receipt when your survey has been received.
 * 1) If the student is currently enrolled in IDVA the cooperating teacher can fill out a simple recommendation form at **[|www.giftedresources.com/nomination/teacher.php]**
 * 1) If the student is coming from a public school the public school teacher can fill out the teacher recommendation at **[|www.giftedresources.com/nomination/teacher.php]**
 * 1) If the student is coming from a home schooling situation, the parent can fill out the teacher recommendation.
 * 1) ISAT scores will be used as one measure for placing students into program. We currently do not take Kindergarten students. If you have a 1st/2nd grader, please submit their IRI score.
 * 1) The Advanced Learner Program currently does not accept first year families that are new to IDVA (some exceptions may apply).
 * 1) Students who have been in a gifted program in another school must go through the above steps. Please have the previous school send a copy of your child’s records including test scores that qualified your child for the program. If space allows, we will grandfather students into the gifted class who have been in a gifted program previously.
 * // Reviewing Nominations //**
 * // Communicating Results to parents //**
 * // The structure of the program //**
 * Parent and student virtual training opportunities in the area of Accelerated Learning and best practices for meeting the needs of gifted learners. These trainings are offered via Elluminate, an online learning environment. The training is designed to be an open forum for parents to discuss giftedness and how to best meet the needs of their students.
 * Put your wiky wacky lingo stuff here 
 * The Discovery Days training has a class for parents schooling bright students with tip, tricks, strategies and resources offered.
 * Training is available to general ed teachers if time allows in the Professional Development timeline.
 * One on one consulting is available to parents who need it. The gifted enrichment team has a combined total of 51 years of teaching experience. Parents have the opportunity to request phone conferences to talk about issues associated with giftedness and how to meet their needs through IDVA. Parents can also attend monthly training sessions & homeroom elluminate office hours.
 * A newsletter is produced each week to support parents of gifted students.
 * Students are offered enrichment through such activities as: math count groups, science fair support, Renzulli learning, multiple intelligence understanding, brain activities, guest speakers, social networking, writing projects, passion projects, multimedia portfolios, etc.
 * Continue developing monthly virtual training modules for parents in the areas of accelerated learning models and best practices in gifted education
 * Impact individuals to fully understand their role as a teacher of a gifted student
 * Increase IDVA’s sphere of influence well beyond parents of gifted students and into the school population at large
 * Increase teaching skills and abilities of IDVA parents through on-going, updated content and training experiences
 * Increase abilities of teaching adults to meet the unique needs of gifted learners
 * Increase retention of IDVA students through training methodologies that boosts the teaching adults satisfaction in teaching and helps increase the amount of learning on the part of the child