The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

Agenda GIFTED AND TALENTED ADVISORY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING

HUG HIGH SCHOOL - CAREER CENTER – SEE MAP 2880 Sutro Street, Reno, NV 89512

Monday, June 1, 2015 – 7:00 p.m.

1. Call to Order – Roll Call

2. Public Comment* 3. Introductions & Recognition of Guests

4. Items for Discussion and Information – no Council Action shall be taken**

a. District Reports*** i. Administration Report ii. GATE Assessment Report*** iii. GATE Counseling Report*** iv. GATE Elementary Pull-Out*** v. GATE SWAS*** vi. GATE AAP*** vii. GATE Magnet*** viii. GATE Specialist*** ix. GATE Institute*** x. GATE Internship***

b. Executive Committee Report i. Letter to Scott Bailey – Andrea H-B ii. Deliver postcards to Legislators, Governor, State Superintendent – Andrea N iii. Meeting on 5/19/15 with Angie Taylor – Alan H

c. GT Parent Connection Report

5. Items for Discussion and Potential Council Action** a. Approval of March 2, 2015, April 13, 2015, May 4, 2015 Meeting’s Minutes b. 2015-16 Council Members c. Strategic Plan Committee

6. Public Comment*

7. Adjournment

* Attendees who require special accommodations or assistance at the meeting are requested to notify Nan Olsen in writing at 425 East Ninth Street, Reno, NV 89512 or by calling (775) 682-5549 prior to the meeting date. To offer public comment, please raise your hand and wait for recognition by the Chair: commenters and all attendees are encouraged to introduce themselves, and comment may be limited to 2-3 minutes at the discretion of the Chair. **Please note: Items on the Agenda may be taken out of order, combined with other items, or removed from the Agenda or delayed for discussion and/or action at any time during the Meeting. ***Please see information-only Attachments which may accompany the electronic transmission of this Agenda for review by Council members prior to the Meeting. This agenda and supporting materials, when appropriate, has been posted at the following locations:

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

Washoe County Administrative Complex Washoe County Courthouse Sparks City Hall Washoe County Teachers Association GATE Office: UNR Campus WCSD Administration Building

PLEASE POST PLEASE POST

GTAC GATE Assessment Report Kim Reynolds Christine Williamson We have had a successful year screening close to 10,000 students. Eligibility was determined and results letters mailed home for every child. We continue to follow-up on cases being submitted for review, and on appeal cases. Currently we are working hard making placements for our newly eligible students, and returning students in GATE.

SWAS Update for GTAC May 2015

Hunsberger 3/4:

• Geometry Town project- creating a town with specific geometry requirements • We designed clubhouses to scale and built them based on a given perimeter and area • Finishing up Motion and Matter FOSS kit in science • Exploring multiple primary sources that teach us about NV symbols leading to great discussion, especially with analyzing the state symbol • ELA- finishing up with a unit on Chinese folktales

Gomm: 3/4

• Completed Literature Circle books in small groups. Groups will be creating a book trailer discussing theme and an overview of the book. • Students will be developing a business in which they will be creating, marketing, and selling a product or service. • Students wrote a new version of the Mountain Men section of the SS book after gathering/synthesizing new information from several

primary and secondary sources. 5/6

• fiction book publication project • mini-golf (using a variety of math and problem solving skills) • Wrapping up Chautauqua presentations – 6th graders did world history characters and 5th graders did US history characters.

All school - Field Day last week of school.

Whitehead: 3/4 - Working on final stages of Habitats/Biome Unit.

• Driving Question: What do humans have to do with it? • Students are revising their essays on Human Impacts to their Biome/revising and starting to rehearse for their presentations • Each biome will be convincing the mock producers for the CBS show Survivor that their Biome is the best location for the next season • Parent Presentation Night – Survivor Night: June 4th 6:00-7:30

5/6 • Finishing Country Project – Students researched their chosen countries from around the world and are putting together presentations in the

form of a “game” that connects the countries together as a part of our world. • 5th and 6th grade students are finishing projects/study of 2D and 3D geometry figures

Caughlin Ranch 5/6:

• JGB (Junior Great Books):The Spring Running; participating in cooperative activities about the importance of change • Students are writing interpretive essays on a song of their choice and performing them in our last Toast Masters. • Students are studying a scientist, battle, or political representative from the 1940s and are performing in Chautauquas.

June WCSD Gifted and Talented Middle School Magnet Program By the Numbers

CLAYTON MENDIVE PINE SWOPE

Field Trips August 2015: 7th Grade Sierra Nevada Journeys Team Building and Science Retreat

August 2015: 7th Grade Sierra Nevada Journeys Team Building and Science Retreat

August 2015: 7th Grade Sierra Nevada Journeys Team Building and Science Retreat

August 2015: 7th Grade Sierra Nevada Journeys Team Building and Science Retreat

Spring Break 2016—Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands!

Community Service Campus Clean-up

8th Grade Garden Project; Urban Roots to visit on April 30th

7th Grade students sending letters and gifts to currently deployed Nevada Guardsman

On-going collection of toiletries to Reno Family Homeless Shelter

Community Garden—resulted from Spring 2014 PBLU

Fund Raising Snacks for school

activity support Flower Bulb Sales to fund the Garden Project

Pop tarts for History day; Snacks for school activity support

Book sale started fund for future National History Day Winners to cover their travel expenses to Washington DC

Community Garden

Academic Competitions

National History Day Washington DC June 2015

National History Day Washington DC June 2015

National History Day Washington DC June 2015

Round Table Events Garden Dedication May 13th:

8th Grade: Parent Conference 7th Grade: Chautauqua presentations

June 2—Talent Show and team celebration and awards

May 26th--8th Grade: High School and College Planning

6th Grade: Astronomy Other Activities Google-Sponsored

Coding Class ‘Poem in your Pocket’ Event

Urban Gardening Club

Debate Club May 19 Incoming

Parent Night Event with Special GT Parent Activity

New Electives slated for next year: Robotics GT Math Investigations (Explores connections between math, health, science, technology and art)

Math Club

Science Club Toastmasters Club Student Newspaper Teacher Credits/Credentials Earned

Jen Rasmussen and Katherine Silva-Sampaio are completing the 21st Century Competencies Course

Lindsey Clewell: Masters of Education: Educational Leadership Kim Maldonado Hill: Masters of Education: Educational Administration

Parent Conferences 4 6

*New MTSS digital record-keeping system being piloted

5

Teacher Recognition Jenny Salls is teaching

the 21st Century Competencies Course

David Slater new six book series “Mysterious Monsters’ early chapter book series accepted for

Carrie Hair attend Core Advocate Conference in Denver, Colorado on May 2nd and 3rd

publication and his Young Adult series ‘The Forbidden Books’ will be republished.

Jen Rasmussen has opened an enrichment program with afterschool programs, field trip planning and summer camps for students ages 4-13 http://www.challenge-island.com/

The GATE Institute is finishing up the enrollment process for its 2015-2016 school year. We are still a small cohort of 28 new students and 15 returning students. Staff is working to finalized new course curriculum for approval and working with the Procter Hug High School master schedule to provide individualized scheduling for all scholars. Additionally current scholars will be working with Jameson Media Group on a video showcasing the GATE Institute. That will be fun! Priorities for next year include working with the Procter Hug High School teachers and administrators to provide professional learning opportunities off campus as well as on campus through ITL teams. Identified staff and administration will also tour targeted schools for experiential learning. Lastly the Program Coordinator will work one on one with teachers of gifted and talented scholars to assist in implementing NAGC standards in their classrooms. We are excited for next year and to continue building a sustainable program to complete the gifted and talented programing through graduation.

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

Minutes GIFTED AND TALENTED ADVISORY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING

CLAYTON MIDDLE SCHOOL CAFETERIA 1295 Wyoming Ave, Reno, NV 89503

Monday, March 2, 2015

1. Call to Order – 7:03 pm – 16 of 30 members present, quorum achieved. Announcement by Chair Andrea Hughs-Baird regarding excused absence of teachers, therefore parents represent the Council

2. Public Comment* - none heard 3. Introductions & Recognition of Guests – round table introductions of all attendees given.

4. Items for Discussion and Information – no Council Action shall be taken**

a. District Reports*** Announcement by Lisa Riggs that time limit suspended. i. Administration Report*** Lisa Riggs reported that there has been an announcement of re-organization of GATE – Dr. Green, previous supervisor transferred to “options” (including adult ed, social/emotional learning and other programs), while GATE moved to general services under Scott Bailey. GATE will work with RPDP, professional learning, and others. Presented as re-shaping and supporting special ed. ii. GATE Assessment Report*** iii. GATE Counseling Report*** iv. GATE Elementary Pull-Out*** v. GATE SWAS*** vi. GATE AAP*** vii. GATE Magnet*** viii. GATE Specialist*** ix. GATE Institute*** x. GATE Internship***

b. Executive Committee Report i. GTPC Facebook presence – Rose Marie Holt – let everyone know that there is a

presence, under Parent Connection. It is not the newsletter. Please visit: ___________

ii. School Board and Superintendent update – Alan Hall – have met with one trustee, two scheduled, and are attempting to coordinate with two others. One meeting led to suggestion to approve GATE Strategic Plan as soon as possible, thereby being available for inclusion in the District’s strategic Plan.

iii. Council for Family Engagement report – Nathan Robison – Functional meeting, ended with approved revised general education district survey. Intended to clarify what you are giving feedback on.

iv. Elections are coming up! Volunteers for the Nominating Committee (see Bylaws) will be gratefully accepted starting this meeting. Please self-nominate; not required to be on the Council to be a member of Nominating Committee.

v. Chair AHB presented a white-paper authored by the Kenny C. Guinn Center for Public Priorities, setting GATE as a “LOW” priority, and suggested that GTAC author a competing and clarifying white-paper, and Co-Secretary NR recited Article VII, Section 4 which grants the Executive Committee authority to act on behalf of GTAC in matters which require “…an immediate and timely response.”

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

c. GT Parent Connection Report – see Facebook announcement.

5. Items for Discussion and Potential Council Action** a. Approval of November, December 1, 2014 and February 2, 2015 Meeting’s Minutes (For

Possible Action). Rose Marie Holt moved, Alan Hall seconded, motion carried. b. Approval of Standards 1 through 6 for inclusion in the GATE Strategic Plan – see attached

DRAFT Standards subject to meeting discussion (For Possible Action). Announcement that previous bullet point memorandum has been replaced by a Plan format, clearly marked “DRAFT” and titled “Proposed Draft Summary of 2015 GATE Strategic Plan” dated in header March 2, 2015. Chair Andrea Hughs-Baird described history of successful application of previous Strategic Plan, and introduced the work of Strategic Plan Committee since October 2014. Announcement by AHB that we currently have one line regarding alignment of GATE with national standards.

Co-Secretary NR requested to announce concordance with the published outline titled “Align the GATE Program with the NAGC Pre-K – Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards” 1) Chair AHB recited and gave explanation, and Co-Secretary LC recorded comments and

minor corrections to each Objective under the Learning and Development Standard. E.g. GATE Director LR revised Objective 7 (to replace the phrase “two or more standard deviations above the mean” with the term “gifted” subject to the Assessment standard separately addressed.

2) Chair AHB recited and gave explanation, and Co-Secretary LC recorded comments and minor corrections to each Objective under the Assessment Standard.

3) Chair AHB recited and gave explanation, and Co-Secretary LC recorded comments and minor corrections to each Objective under the Curriculum Planning and Instruction Standard.

4) Chair AHB recited and gave explanation, and Co-Secretary LC recorded comments and minor corrections to each Objective under the Learning Environments Standard.

5) Chair AHB recited and gave explanation, and Co-Secretary LC recorded comments and minor corrections to each Objective under the Programming Standard. Suggestion to table the subject of Objective 2, Initiative 3 regarding scheduling in all classrooms in absence of a clustered GATE option for students in elementary school. Suggestion of incorporation of NAC ratios into Strategic Plan.

6) Chair AHB recited and gave explanation, and Co-Secretary LC recorded comments and minor corrections to each Objective under the Professional Development Standard. Clarification of substitute teachers and including funding for proposed initiatives in Professional Development, and all institutes of higher learning rather than exclusively UNR.

Chair AHB explained that Board may vote on content to allow presentation to specific School Board Trustees and in public forums. Alan Hall moved, and Renee Portnell seconded to approve the content, subject to clarification and grammatical revision, of the GATE Strategic Plan as representative of the will of GTAC.

6. Public Comment* - Question of “what has changed” last week – formation of GTAC was

specifically to gather and communicate parents’ interests for the benefit of the School Board. – Question of effective personal advocacy opportunities in that GTAC has been formally excluded from WCSD meetings and the general Strategic Plan process. Four parents were in authorship of the GTAC Strategic Plan, and thus being kicked off impacted all of GTAC. Written communication to GTAC members and in response to this communication was distributed. Public asked if announcement of public and School Board meetings could be announced through classrooms – infeasible economically and could appear to be.

7. Adjournment – 9:08 pm

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

Minutes GIFTED AND TALENTED ADVISORY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING

MENDIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY 1900 Whitewood Drive, Sparks, NV 89434 Monday, April 13, 2015

1. Call to Order – Quorum not achieveda. Members in attendance: Leona Cameron, Courtney Goodballet, Alan Hall, Rose Marie Holt,Michelle Hope, Andrea Hughs-Baird, Austin Miller, Tom Miller, Andrea Neahusan, Lisa Pitches, Renee Portnell, Kim Reynolds, Lisa Riggs, Christopher Velianoff-Hall, Wanda Washington, Christine Williamson

b. Members not in attendance: Collet Alano, Leah Crosby, Linda Dailey, Lauren Ford, JoeGenasci, Cassandra Grieve, Jenny Hoy, Bett Korinek, Melissa LiCon, Greg Raleigh, Tim Robinson, Nathan Robison, Manish Sharma, Tracy Sherwood, Catherine Thornton, Erin Wilkinson,

2. Guestsa. Paul Ives

3. Items for Discussion and Informationa. District Reports

i. Administration Report – Lisa Riggs: Because of the change in with Chief GATEreports to, the district will be hiring an outside consultant to evaluate the GATE vs. NAGC Standards & also the Special Ed program and possibly ELL. After the evaluation, a committee will be formed to develop the district’s GATE Strategic Plan. Andrea will ask if the outside consultant will be NAGC certified. ii. GATE Assessment Report – Kim Reynolds & Christine Williamson: Fri is thescheduled release of universal screener results via mailing. New this year, students will need to “opt-in”. Tested almost 9500 and qualified nearly 500. The demographics will be released soon. Currently, because there are more students then there were on Count Day last fall, it makes the percent identified look high. iii. GATE Counseling Report – report attached to agendaiv. GATE Elementary Pull-Out – report attached to agendav. GATE SWAS – report attached to agendavi. GATE AAP – Lisa Pitches: see attached, put in for $100K in budget to continueAAP teacher PD and support by GATE. vii. GATE Magnet – report attached to agendaviii. GATE Specialist – report attached to agendaix. GATE Institute – Lisa Pitches: see attachedx. GATE Internship – report attached to agenda

b. Executive Committee Reporti. Nominating Committee Status and Meeting Schedule – Tom Miller: Sent email

requesting nominations for officers. Andrea has requested to be replaced as Chair.Alan is willing to be replaced as Vice Chair if someone who is willing to move up toChair is interested in the position. Andrea Neuhusan volunteered for Chair or ViceChair and Renee Portnell volunteered for Chair. Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary are theofficers available and Nominating Chair and three Nominating Committee memberpositions are available. Job descriptions for the officers was send with the email.

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

1. Since the question of whether or not GTAC will be a committee of the district, we’re not sure when & if the composition of GTAC will change in the future. GTAC will determine what we want to be once the options are determined.

ii. Report on 3/5 School Board Exec Meeting and 3/8 email to Scott – Rose Marie: GTAC Exec met with the executive council of the school board, Traci Davis & some district administration. Good chance for school board members to meet additional members of GTAC. Attached is a email response to the meeting.

iii. Report on 3/4 Frenkel and 3/13 Mayer meetings – Alan Hall: 1. Several exec members had a very positive meeting with Versonica Frenkel –

she is still getting acclimated to the board, learning about GT, but seems to be a strong supporter of GATE.

2. Alan was able to meet with John Mayer. John mentioned three families that do not feel included in GATE community – Alan asked for the names so we can contact them. John suggested we have a legislator write a bill for GATE funding. John expressed frustration with the universal screener not being available in Spanish. John had an incorrect understanding of the development the GATE program in WCSD. John also suggested GTAC pursue funding through lawsuits and federal legislation. John also suggested we put research citations in our strategic plan.

a. Christine & Kim clarified that the universal screener is a non-verbal test verbal instructions in either Spanish or English. For older students, the instructions are in Spanish or English and only a small number of the sections require the students to be able to read single words in English. The majority of students that were tested choose to listen to the instructions in English.

iv. Report on 3/11 and 3/19 WCSD Strategic Plan meetings – Alan: At the 3/11 meeting Alan asked Traci Davis directly about the future of the GATE program. She said there is no plan to discontinue the program. Andrea: Several were in attendance and spoke in favor of GT. Andrea tried to ask a question in the meeting and Traci Davis & John Mayer tried to end the meeting instead of letting her ask a question. Andrea followed up with Veronica Frankel last Fri to share my district strategic plan suggestions & sent a scan to all the board members.

v. Report on 3/13 meeting with Steve Canavero – Andrea Hughs-Baird: Andrea met with Steve to make suggestions about regulations and accountability to be included with the state money if that is approved by the Legislature. Andrea’s recommendations were passed out & are attached. Andrea asked for any comments or suggestions. Lisa: The state has approached WCSD to participate in a Javitts grant application as a result of this meeting.

vi. Report on 3/19 IDAC Meeting – Andrea: I went to the district strategic plan meeting so I listened to the audio recording of the IDAC meeting because Byron Green was being introduced as the new supervisor of Special Ed. I thought Byron did a great job and he was very complementary of GTAC

vii. Report on GT Resource Fair 3/9 including Erquiaga – Andrea: Dale Erquiaga came, did a short presentation, and then stayed the rest of the event talking with attendees constantly. We were able to collect about 90 postcards in support of GATE that will be distributed to all of the Legislators, the Governor, and Dale, the State Superintendent.

viii. Elections are in May c. GT Parent Connection Report – Andrea: GTPC will have its last meeting of the year in early

May at Andrea’s house for a family BBQ. Please invite friends or anyone not feeling included in the GT Community.

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

4. Items for Discussion and Potential Council Action a. Approval of March 2nd Meeting Minutes – will need to be approved at the next meeting. b. Request for comments and Committee Members to finalize the GTAC version of the GATE

Strategic Plan – Andrea: passed out the current version with the edits from the last meeting. Andrea requested volunteers to help with “word smithing”. Asked if GATE staff can continue to work with GTAC parents/community members. Andrea will officially ask the district. Alan volunteered to help.

c. Request for Committee Members to produce lobbying materials and strategy for GATE funding advocacy at Nevada Legislature – Alan volunteered.

5. Public Comment

6. Adjournment – 8:07pm

* Attendees who require special accommodations or assistance at the meeting are requested to notify Nan Olsen in writing at 425 East Ninth Street, Reno, NV 89512 or by calling (775) 682-5549 prior to the meeting date. To offer public comment, please raise your hand and wait for recognition by the Chair: commenters and all attendees are encouraged to introduce themselves, and comment may be limited to 2-3 minutes at the discretion of the Chair. **Please note: Items on the Agenda may be taken out of order, combined with other items, or removed from the Agenda or delayed for discussion and/or action at any time during the Meeting. ***Please see information-only Attachments which may accompany the electronic transmission of this Agenda for review by Council members prior to the Meeting. This agenda and supporting materials, when appropriate, has been posted at the following locations: Washoe County Administrative Complex Washoe County Courthouse Sparks City Hall Washoe County Teachers Association GATE Office: UNR Campus WCSD Administration Building

PLEASE POST PLEASE POST

FW: Strategic Planning

Andrea Hughs-Baird <andrea.hughsbaird@gmail.com> Sun, Mar 8, 2015 at 2:38 PM

To: "Bailey, Scott" <SLBailey@washoeschools.net> Cc: "Alan G. Hall" <a.hall@jamesonmedia.com>, Leah Crosby <lacrosby5@gmail.com>, Nathan Robison <nathan@robisoneng.com>, Tom Miller <millertom@yahoo.com>, Rose Marie Holt <rosemarieholt@charter.net>

Scott,

Upon much reflection and discussion among the GTAC exec committee members, we have agreed that working in partnership with whomever the district determines on the GATE Strategic Plan is GTAC’s highest priority. We understand your administrative freedom in developing the WCSD GATE Strategic Plan and sincerely hope that our years of effort, expertise, and unique access to parent and staff voices will continue to be contributive.

I have attached our work-in-progress GTAC proposed GATE Strategic Plan document, which has been voted on for content only (not final form) by a parent majority at the March regular GTAC meeting, as a symbol of a good-faith effort on our part to re-establish open communication with the district. We would like to meet with you before you move forward with committee meetings to discuss key points, whether of contention or to support implementation, and probably both! We believe that there may be only a few initiatives that will need further research and discussion to come to consensus – we would like to help determine that hopefully short list. We would like to move together with you toward the goal of a single Plan that best advances the needs of GATE kids in Washoe County.

The GTAC Executive Committee From: Bailey, Scott [mailto:SLBailey@washoeschools.net] Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2015 7:15 PM To: 'nathan@robisoneng.com' Subject: Strategic Planning

Nathan: It was nice to meet you today. As per discussion, may I please obtain a copy of the GTAC adopted plan that you referred to today? As I move forward in planning for initiative 1.1.2, “Gifted and Talented (GT) implementation in accordance with National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) standards”, I would like to see if there are some pre-existing anchor points upon which to build. Thanks again.

Scott Bailey

Chief Academic Officer Washoe County School District 775.789.4608 @ScaughtSb

2015 Summary w actions -- rev 5.pdf 164K

Aspects of a Quality GATE Program

• GATE certified teachers – NV regulations • GATE certified administrator evaluates GATE teachers • Extensive professional development during contract hours • Parent partnership not just involvement • A focus on social-emotional learning and self-regulation • Differentiation without a upper limit for learning • High academic expectations – students at least equal growth as general ed • Follow student to teacher ratios – NV regulations • 5-day/full-time programming for all certified students • No “cliffs” – GATE services available from start until HS graduation • Assessment and participations demographics match district demographics • Accountability through data – compare GATE to general ed and compare various GATE

programs to each other

Learn from IDEA

• Need due process in regulations • Emphasize parent involvement in student’s educational career • Child Find – for GT and Twice-exceptional • Define a GATE FAPE -- most “damage” to GATE students is psychological

o Anxiety & depression o Under achievement or disengaged o Perfectionism or fixed mindset o Low self-image o Unrealized learning disabilities – twice exceptionality

• Adjusted curriculum standards and assessments • IEP or 504 equivalent – called a “702” in TN

Policy Level

• Motivate Child Find – for GT and Twice-exceptional – should be min of 2% of all demographics but possibly higher to make economically feasible – full classes, minimize transportation

• Motivate quality of program • Motivate parent partnership • Require compliance with NV laws & regulations • Accountability – data on spending (state money should be supplemental to “1.0” from DSA),

student achievement growth, “student minutes provided”, consistency of program across schools

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

Minutes GIFTED AND TALENTED ADVISORY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING

HUG HIGH SCHOOL - CAREER CENTER – SEE MAP 2880 Sutro Street, Reno, NV 89512

Monday, May 4, 2015 – 7:00 p.m.

1. Call to Order at 7:05pm – Roll Call – 21 Members achieve Quorum -

2. Public Comment – called for and heard: a. Regarding roving meetings:

i. A. Neahusan; With maps, enjoy roving meetings ii. L.Riggs; does extend invitation to principals iii. N.Robison; no negative impact on quorum, possibly slight positive

3. Introductions & Recognition of Guests – Several guests, all self-introduced – guests incl: Cean,

Wanda Washington, Laura Ford,

4. Items for Discussion and Information – no Council Action shall be taken** a. District Reports***

i. Administration Report*** Strategic plan – we were looking for outside audit, contrast to inside feedback due to NAGC emphasis. West Ed is 3rd party candidate. Starting small groups – soliciting non-WCSD GTAC Members to participate with auditor. 8 required. Cassandra, Alan, Andrea N., Andrea H., Austin, Leah, Nathan, Cean, Tom, Rose Marie, Max G., Lyle G. volunteered

ii. GATE Assessment Report*** iii. GATE Counseling Report*** iv. GATE Elementary Pull-Out*** v. GATE SWAS*** - Be careful of “submit” button for returning students – if in doubt,

scan and send it in. vi. GATE AAP*** - Supporting teachers with supplemental materials, engaged in

monitoring use. Survey to teachers and principals: results next meeting. No reduction in allocations for AAP.

vii. GATE Magnet*** - Field trips coming out of their ears – Applications to Magnet are due 5/8.

viii. GATE Specialist*** ix. GATE Institute*** - Courses in design, aligned with Magnet for Math and English.

Social-Emotional learning for GT Freshmen. x. GATE Internship*** - Record # of students this semester. Currently recruiting for fall

2015. Focused on every rising Junior and Senior. xi. Teacher appreciation week – Thank You to teachers and staff. We appreciate you

every day! b. Executive Committee Report

i. Conversation with Veronica Frenkel – Andrea Hughs-Baird – Clarifications re: GT Staff contribution to strategic plan, and NAGC auditor.

ii. Meeting 04/17/2015 with Scott Bailey – Andrea Hughs-Baird – Asked after evaluation and strategic plan: strategy is cohesive plan. Input is welcome from GTAC to Andrea H. – question of formal committee to district revolves around their ownership of our bylaws and activities. GTAC has GTPC which serves other purposes, including lobbying, which GTAC would not have available if formal WCSD committee. Lisa R.: Employees may not be able to vote if their participation is mandatory – therefore

The Washoe County School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for

the special needs of gifted and talented students.

WCSD GTAC

GTAC staff participation may be unpaid to preserve their freedom to participate. Letter to Scott from Andrea will be personal but cc to all administrators, teachers, GTAC members to provide closure and positive relationship.

iii. Meeting 05/19/2015 with Angie Taylor – Alan Hall – 5 to 10 is a nice showing - c. GT Parent Connection Report

i. Elections: Leah returning president, Cean, Mary Burnum, Courtney Goodballet, Judith Bynum, Alan Hall, Linda Dailey, Cassandra Greive hold positions.

ii. Membership is important: parent nights and events are important. iii. Could membership forms accompany other correspondence?

5. Items for Discussion and Potential Council Action**

a. 2015-2016 Meeting Dates – Regular Meetings and preliminary Executive Committee Meetings

i. Change first location to Hug HS b. Nominating Committee Report c. Election of 2015-2016 GTAC Officers

i. Andrea Neahusan for Chair ii. Alan Hall for Vice Chair iii. Cassandra Grieve for Secretary

1. All ayes, no nayes, thus elected d. Election of 2015-2016 GTAC Nominating Committee Chairman and Members

i. Nominating Committee: Nathan Robison Chair, Rose Marie Holt and Renee Portnell Members

1. All ayes, no nayes, thus elected e. (note: minutes of March, April, and May meetings will be attached to next month’s Agenda

announcement)

6. Public Comment a. Executive Committee – includes GTAC chair, past chair, b. Suppression of rumors will be important in the near future: publication of basic facts. Andrea

H. reflects on Scott Bailey letter. Leah C. recommends inclusion of resulting, forward-looking GTAC membership.

7. Adjournment – meeting adjourned at 7:54 pm