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Page 1

PGTAG Board Endorses Boundary Changes

Read the statement of support from PGTAG President for boundary changes that could impact TAG programs.

Click here to read the full statement

Page 2

Update about the Transporation Task Force

PGTAG Treasurer Sandy Antunes joined the members of the Board of Education's Transportation Task Force for one of their recent meetings. Read his update here .

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For the latest information about the PGCPS budget, make sure you check out our Budget Page by clicking here today.

Getting involved early is the only way we will protect our education investment.

Protect our investment in education

About

Top Ten Myths

There are a lot of myths that exist regarding Gifted Education. The Maryland Department of Education has a great resource that debunks many of the these myths.Click here to view the video today.

PGTAG Action Alerts

PGTAG vision...

Our vision is to build an advocacy network that ensures commitment at every level to quality gifted education in Prince George's County.
It is budget time again in PGCPS and that means it is time to get organized. Get the latest updates on the budget from our budget page.
Want to know what is happening in education that will impact TAG students? Get the latest information from our Action Alerts Page.
About us

PGTAG Vision, Mission and Message

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PGTAG's Vision:

Build an advocacy network that ensures commitment at every level to quality gifted education.

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PGTAG's Mission:

Providing information relevant to Gifted Education to parents and the community.

Advocating for improvements to programs for the gifted, programs for gifted with special learning needs, identification of the gifted and staff training.

We believe gifted children thrive and succeed when their unique educational needs are met. We further believe that the entire school system benefits from the lessons learned in gifted programs.

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The PGTAG Message

1) One in eight Americans is gifted; one in seven gifted Americans has a learning disability.

2) Gifted children know 35-50% of the year's material on the first day of school.

3) Gifted children have unique educational needs.

4) Gifted children don't want to spend their day learning a set curriculum; they want to spend the whole day learning.

5) Demonstrating respect for gifted children sends the message that excellence is valued.

Vision

PGTAG Board of Directors

President, Joseph Lynn Kitchen Jr.

president_pgtag.org

Treasurer, Sandy Antunes

treasurer_pgtag.org

Member, Angie Elkins

Member, Beth McCraken-Harness

Member, Justin Prevatte

Action

Boundary Changes

The Budget

Transportation

The amount we spend on transportation in PGCPS is much too high and just about everyone admits that. Recently Dr. Hite and the Board of Education announced plans to form a Transportation Task Force to develop recommendations on how we can get those costs under control.Click here to read the blog by PGTAG Treasurer on his visit to a recent meeting.
The Prince Georges County Public Schools (PGCPS) Office of Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries has held three public hearings on the Superintendents proposed boundary and grade structure changes that were developed following this falls public forums.These changes could have huge impacts on TAG programs in the county and your input is encouraged. The Board of Education is expected to take up these changes during their meeting on January 5th.Click here to read more about the plan.Click here to read PGTAG position statement.Click here to find your board member to share your thoughts on the proposal.
Dr. Hite and his budget staff has announced PGCPS will face a shortfall of about $45 million this year. While this is much smaller than the cuts the system has faced in the past, these cuts will come at the expense of our students unless we organize now.Click here to check out our budget page and get involved TODAY!

Advocacy

Article 1

Advocacy with TAG in PGCPS

There are three levels of advocacy in which you can participate:Advocacy at your Child's SchoolAdvocacy at Prince George's CountyAdvocacy at the State and Federal LevelThe updated PGCPS TAG Procedures are available as of 8/27/09. Pleasealso see the attachments - scroll down to Procedure 6142.2.This set of procedures documents how TAG services should be provided,from identification to program models (Pullout, TRC and Centers) to teacherselection to the responsibilities of PGCPS staff. It focuses more onelementary and middle school than high school but it contains high schoolinformation as well. This document is not an attempt to change the currentapproved programs but it is the first time they have been officiallydocumented. Educators at all PGCPS schools can use these procedures toensure that they are meeting the needs of their gifted students.It is well known that some schools are much closer than others toimplementing the TAG program as documented here. If your school hassome changes to be made, please don't hesitate to bring this document toyour principal or TAG Coordinator's attention. Please, however, keep inmind that the more change that is needed at your school, the longer it willtake. Teacher training, offered by the TAG Office, occurs throughout theyear. Support from the TAG Office is available but they are woefullyunderstaffed and that isn't going to change in this economy. Many educatorswill be seeing the whole picture for the first time. If there are a lot ofchanges to be made, I would recommend asking for a school basedcommittee with educator and parent stakeholders to set priorities, goals andobjectives. Progress should be seen throughout the year and into the next. It is not reasonable to expect a lot of improvements in the first month ofschool. It is reasonable to expect the school to start working towardsimplementing the program as documented here.Please note that sibling placement is not addressed in this document becauseit's a lottery issue.Our hope is that this is a tool that will be used to ensure that all giftedstudents in Prince George's County receive appropriate educational servicesregardless of where they attend school. I want to thank the TAG Office forthe bulk of the documentation, the TAG Advisory Committee for their inputsduring the lengthy review process and the support of the PGCPSAdministrative staff without which this would still be just ink on paper.

About
Advocacy at Your Child's SchoolHow to be an Advocate, not an AdversaryMost parents of young gifted children look forward to sending their childrento school After all, these children love to learn so what better place forthem to be than school? Parents expect that their gifted children will loveschool, absorbing all the information offered, winning achievement awardsand the praise of the school staff.Unfortunately for many of us, reality just didn't quite match up to that image. Our children ask so many questions that the teachers can't find time to teachthe lesson, they shout out answers before the other children have time tothink for themselves, and, when they tire of hearing the same lessonrepeated, they don't always sit quietly waiting for something interesting tohappen. And the homework we see is clearly not challenging our children.As parents, we begin to experience frustration that the school system seemsunable to provide a challenging environment for our children. After all, wejust want them to spend the day learning which is exactly what the schoolsare designed to do, right?Well, not exactly. Schools are designed to make sure everyone reaches acertain level of competency in all subjects. You can blame the teachers, theprincipals, the superintendents or No Child Left Behind if you want but thatwon't increase your child's daily opportunities to learn. And it's not any oneperson's fault. In particular, it's really not the teacher's fault. There's no requirement inMaryland that Teacher's Colleges teach strategies for teaching giftedchildren so most teachers have no training in this field. The County TAGOffice offers TAG training but they are understaffed and there are limitedopportunities for this to happen.As a parent, however, there are some things you can do:1. First, acknowledge that teaching is a tough job and teachers often don'tknow how to deal with gifted children in the classroom.2. Approach your child's teacher early in the year, before problems ariseand establish a positive relationship. Offer to help first, ask for help second.3. Remember to thank the teacher when things go well.4. Join the PTA to meet other TAG parents. This gives you the advantageof knowing when there are opportunities to make improvements. Oneopportunity that may come up occurs when a school's principal leaves. Ifyou are known as an involved and thoughtful parent you may be able to geton the Principal Selection Committee. These committees have teacher,administrative and parent members who pre-screen the applicants for theposition and recommend their three top picks. It is vitally important to finda principal who is committed to TAG. See Item #5 below.5. Make friends with the principal - the TAG program will only be as goodas the principal wants it to be.6. Read your school's School Improvement Plan. Help to make the plan asuccess.7. Ask if you can hold a TAG parent support group meeting. The schoolshould be willing to send home flyers to the TAG parents. Make themeeting a positive experience, not a complaint session. Have a goal ofidentifying 1-3 positive things you can do to help. Examples: Purchase a book on gifted education for the teacher's resource library. (Recommended books) Offer to organize "Centers" or other enrichments materials. (This activity can be done in the evening.) Offer to photocopy, sort, whatever to free up time for the teacher to plan lessons. Manage a Destination Imagination Team. Organize an after school Chess Club. Send email to president_pgtag. org if you'd like to be put in contact with someone who can help you get started. Tell the parents about PGTAG - take some membership forms.8. Find ways to persuade the staff at the school that demonstrating respectfor gifted children sends the message to all children that excellence isvalued.9. Be part of the Gifted advocacy network: join PGTAG and when flyers for upcoming events are sent to the list, check with your TAG coordinator and offer to photocopy them and put them in the teachers' mailboxes. Have a link to PGTAG's website, www.pgtag.org, added to your school's website. While you're at it, have them add a link to The Arc of Prince George's County, www.thearcofpgc.org and the Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee, family-networks.org/secac. cfm, both organizations that help special education students.Send any other ideas that have worked at your school to president_pgtag.organd I'll include them here as well.What to do if the above fails:If you've tried the positive approaches outlined above without success, youcan contact your Regional Office and ask to speak to a RegionalInstructional Specialist. They haven't been trained to know how to help (yet- we're working on it) but you can still ask them. If you're lucky, they'll takeup your cause and things will improve. Just remember that the Specialistwill be interested in helping the whole school, not just your child so explainyour concerns in relation to all the gifted children attending the school. Andthe first thing they'll ask is if you've already spoken to the teacher andprincipal so make sure you've already tried that.

Article 2

Advocacy at the County Level

Advocacy in Prince George's CountyThe Board of Education is dealing with finding ways to plug huge holes in the PGCPS budget. Your voice is needed. Board of Education:Verjeana.Jacobs_pgcps.org; peggy.higgins_pgcps.org,DonnaHathawayBeck_pgcps.org, patricia.eubanks_pgcps.org,carolyn.boston_pgcps.org, henry.armwood_pgcps.org,Rosalind.Johnson_pgcps.org,Amber.Waller_pgcps.org, Edward.Burroughs_pgcps.org, faith.jackson_pgcps.orgAdministrative Staff:William.Hite_pgcps.org, Derek.Mitchell_pgcps.org,Geno.Flores_pgcps.org, gladysw_pgcps.org, cstokes_pgcps.org*******************************************************************Public Resources for Advocacy EffortsMap of TAG CLE (Center) BoundariesMSA Report Card - contains data on MSA scores and demographics butalso data on Special Education, Limited English Proficiency, FARMS, Title1, and 504's. School Improvement Plans - contains data on current enrollment - select aschool and then click on the Facts Chart located on the left hand side.PGCPS Master Plan - contains required responses to Bridge to Excellencelegislation on servicing the needs of gifted students.

Article 3

Advocacy at the State Level

Advocacy at the State and Federal LevelMaryland State Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented EducationSponsored by the Maryland State Department of Education, the Council supportsGifted Education across the state. There are three Prince George's countymembers on this committee.*******************************************************************MSDE Maryland Classroom Edition on Gifted EducationIn September 2008, the Maryland State Department published this excellentMaryland Classroom Edition on Gifted Education.*******************************************************************Maryland and Federal LawsFor an excellent summary of what the Federal and State Laws, Policies andGuidelines say about Gifted & Talented Education, Programs, Educators andStudents including those with Special Needs, please see Gifted & TalentedEducation in Maryland. Please note, this document is for reference purposes only,is subject to change and is not on official document.************************************************************MCGATEWhat PGTAG does at the county level for gifted and talented education, MCGATEdoes at the state level. Join the Maryland Coalition for Gifted and TalentedEducation and be involved in state issues. To join, visit www.mcgate.org.
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About
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resources

Page 1

One of our most frequently asked for resources is this Top Ten Myths in Gifted Education video , provided by the MD Dept. of Education, and the accompanying text version of Common Myths of Gifted Education from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) .

TAG Myths

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PGTAG '10 Survey Results

PGTAG Parent Survey 2010.pdf

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Gifted with Special Learning Needs--- FAQ

Gifted with Special Learning Needs FAQ.pdf

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TAG Identification --- FAQ

TAG FAQ.pdf

ServicesPGTAG brings your concerns, questions and frustrations directly to the decisionand policy makers of our county's public schools.PGTAG disseminates information about current and proposed TAG programs inPrince George's CountyPGTAG helps members find county, state and nationwide resources for TAGservices and materials.PGTAG advocates for quality education and strong TAG programs.PGTAG shares what we know about raising and educating gifted and talentedyoungsters in Prince George's County.
Extra-Curricular ActivitiesThe following is a list of Extra-Curricular Activities that Gifted children may enjoy:General Interest:Destination ImaginationDestination Imagination - Maryland siteMaryland Summer CentersMath/Science:LEGO LeagueChess ClubStrategy Game ClubChallenge 24Math CountsArts:GAVA/GATE Greenbelt Animation ClassesThe Mitchellville Community School for the ArtsNational Ballet SchoolCheverly Young Actor's Guild
Summer CampsComing soon...

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Contact

budget

First Step

Second Step

Third Step

In October the Superintendent will hold public meetings about the framework of his budget.In December Superintendent Hite will propose his budget to the Board of Education.Throughout January and February the Board of Education will host hearings and work sessions on Dr. Hite's proposal. 2/16/2011 7:00pm Budget Public Hearing at Sasscer Administrative Building 2/21/2011 7:00pm Budget Public Hearing at Sasscer Administrative BuildingThe Board of Education must submit a budget request to the Executive by March 1st.
During the months of March, April, and May the Maryland General Assembly (which provides 54% of the school system's budget) and the Prince George's County Council (which provides 38% of the budget) will pass budget plans that set the amount of funds the school system will recieve.After both of these steps are done the budget is sent back to the school system.
When both the General Assembly and the County Council set the amounts they will contribute to the system, the Board of Education will meet to reconcile the final budget for approval by June 2012.
Sticky Note

Read the Superintendent's presentation on the PGCPS budget process and timeline by clicking here.

Check out our blog for updates on meetings and information related to the budget.

Links

Important Links

PGCPS TAG Program Maryland Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education (MCGATE)National Association for Gifted ChildrenThe Hollingworth Center for the Highly Giftedwww.geniusdenied.comA Nation DeceivedResources for Gifted/Special Needs ChildrenAmerican Association for Gifted Children at Duke UniversityGifted Development CenterSENG: Supporting Emotional Needs of the GiftedHoagies' Gifted Education Page College Financial Aid LinksFederal Student Aid Site: studentaid.ed.govStudent Guide to Federal Aid: studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/Stud_guide.pdfFree Application for Financial Aid: www.fafsa.ed.govGuide to Financial Aid: www.finaid.orgPrivate Scholarship Search Engine: fastweb.monster.comFAQ on College Financial Aid: www.faqs.org/faqs/college/financial-aid-faq

Join

Join & Get Involved

You can get PGTAG information delivered to you inbox by joining the PGTAG listserv. The PGTAG Listserv brings timely news, information, questions and discussions to its subscribers. Members are welcome to post to the listserv as well. Subscription is free and open to everyone. PGTAG Listserv is hosted through Yahoo! Groups, a free email group service. To subscribe, go to the PGTAG Group page (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgtag/) and click the Join This Group! button. Follow the directions you receive.