Baylor School of Education Hosts Conference for Teachers and Parents of Gifted Students
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The Baylor University School of Education's Center for Community Learning and Enrichment (CCLE) is hosting the Fall Conference in Gifted Education on Friday, Sept. 24, to Saturday, Sept. 25.
The conference, presented by the Association for the Gifted and Council for Exceptional Children (TAG-CEC), will be held on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Center on Baylor's campus and is for teachers and parents of gifted students.
The main topic of the conference is differentiated learning.
"It's helping parents and teachers to meet the needs of gifted students because they learn differently," said Dr. Mary Witte, a senior lecturer in Baylor's School of Education and director of CCLE. "They may be ahead of their peers, not only in academics, but also they have certain social and emotional needs."
Registration is required to attend the conference. Registration for Friday is free. The registration fee for Saturday is $100, which includes lunch.
Friday's schedule includes a presentation from Dr. Tracy Cross, a professor and executive director of the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary. Cross will discuss the social and emotional needs of gifted students.
There will be a panel discussion about developing partnerships with schools, featuring Cross, as well as Dr. Susan Johnsen, director for gifted programs at Baylor and president of TAG-CEC, and Dr. Julia Roberts, professor of gifted studies at Western Kentucky University.
Saturday will include a morning presentation about the spirit of gifted education from Dr. Del Siegle, an associate professor of educational psychology at University of Connecticut, and an afternoon presentation from Roberts, who will discuss advocating for children who are gifted.
Morning and afternoon break-out sessions will also be offered for attendees.
Other speakers include: Dr. Cecilia Boswell, past president of the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented; Dr. Daria Danylchuck, director of the university transition programs of the Vancouver School Board; Dr. Ken Dickson, coordinator of the office of gifted and talented education and magnet programs of Baltimore County Public Schools; Dr. Monique Felder, elementary program supervisor for the Division of Accelerated and Enriched Instruction with Montgomery County Public Schools; Dr. Jennifer L. Jolly, an assistant professor at Louisiana State University; Dr. Diane Montgomery, the regents professor of educational psychology at Oklahoma State University; Dr. Jennifer Robins, senior editor of Prufrock Press; Karen Rollins, a licensed professional counselor; Sneha Shah-Coltrane, a gifted education consultant, and Dr. Gloria Taradash, superintendent's council for equity for the Albuquerque public schools.
The event is sponsored by the Baylor University School of Education, Midway Independent School District and Waco Independent School District.
The Association for the Gifted (TAG) was organized as a division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in 1958. TAG helps professionals and parents work more effectively with gifted children.
CCLE, located in the School of Education at Baylor, provides programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
For more information about the conference or to register e-mail CenterSupport@baylor.edu.
by Katy McDowall, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805