End of the School Year Updates 2025

New Year Goals

Let’s get ready to learn

Are you passionate about gifted education in Guilford County? If so, we need you! Please consider joining our efforts for the upcoming school year! We are currently seeking some Board positions and committee members on the Fundraising/Event Planning Committee. If you are interested in joining us, please fill the Volunteer Interest Form Why is fundraising important? 2024 is the inaugural year that we started offering College Scholarships and Educator Grants. This financial support is designed to lift up Guilford County's highest achievers, as well as the teachers and programs that have made it possible for students to reach their best potential. Fundraising will determine if we can continue to support these efforts, and more importantly, if we can expand our efforts! Please see the impact we made during the 2024 school year: We awarded an Educator Grant to Mrs. Antoinette King Cheek, a high school teacher at Southeast Guilford High School. This grant will be used to support the Southeast Robotics Club/Team. The Southeast Robotics Club was established in 2007 to provide an opportunity for students to learn about STEM applications in the field of robotics through FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competitions with great emphasis on "Gracious Professionalism" which encourages participants to focus on the value of others, respect and the production of high-quality work. Last year the Southeast Robotics Club was awarded 2nd place for the Design Award! We are excited to follow the Southeast Robotics Club next year and glad to play a small part in their continued success. We are also proud to announce that our 2024 College Scholarship Awardees are Benjamin Mulry and Olivia Johnson! Both of these new graduates represent excellence in and out of the classroom! Benjamin Mulry graduated from Northern High School with plans to attend Hampden-Sydney College studying business administration. He also hopes to explore courses in environmental science. Ben showed talent and leadership skills on the basketball court, serving as captain his senior year. He spent time tutoring students at Jones Elementary School and volunteering with Backpack Beginnings. Olivia Johnson graduated from James B Dudley High School with plans to attend North Carolina A&T University studying political science. Olivia stepped up as a leader many times during her high school career! She held leadership positions for Dudley's Student Government Association, served as the NHS President, was a student-teacher intern at Simkins & Falkner Elementary Schools, and is in her church.

Parents- Let’s offer GCS our insight! We are fortunate in North Carolina that state law mandates support by public schools for academically and/or intellectually gifted students. The state law, Article 9b , requires school districts to develop a local plan to identify and serve gifted students. Such plans are revised every three years. The most recent AIG plan for Guilford County schools will expire in 2025. You can read the current plan here . The district will soon start assessing and drafting its new 3-year plan to take effect in the fall of 2025. This provides us, as parents/guardians of Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted and other advanced learners in Guilford County, an enviable opportunity to share feedback, suggestions, and concerns at an influential time. Please take some time to respond to the survey below. You are welcome to forward the survey to others with students receiving AG services so that Guilford Gifted can advocate for continued support and improvements in AG service provision. Please share any constructive criticism and meaningful input (what is working/not-working at your school, what might make AG better). As you consider your feedback, we implore you to not only offer your perspective, but also that of your student! Make your voice heard here ! We have exciting news! We proudly announce that 2024 will be the inaugural year of the annual Guilford Gifted College Scholarship and Educator Grant awards! We will offer two $500.00 College Scholarships, and one $500.00 Educator Grant. Applications will be accepted from April 1st- May 1st, 2024. Award winners will be notified on or before June 1st, 2024! Guilford Gifted is especially excited to make a difference in the classroom! Our Educator Grant is aimed at doing just that. Grants are intended to support programs for gifted learners, such as classroom projects, field trips, clubs/teams, and technical resources. These awards are to help you expand your students’ knowledge and experience in or out of the classroom. Proposals are flexible. For example, applicants may seek funds for a student club or outside team (e.g., robotics, Science Olympiad), needed technology (e.g., printer, software), defray field trip costs, or an enriching classroom project. More Information can be found at https://www.guilfordgifted.org Fund Our Future Campaign Join us in reaching our annual fundraising goal of $5,000! Help us meet our fundraising goal by supporting our inaugural Fund Our Future Campaign. All donations will be used to benefit our local teachers and students. 2024 is our inaugural year to offer College scholarships to local high-achieving students, and grants to our local teachers who inspire, encourage, and support our best and brightest to reach their goals! With your help, we can reward deserving students and help fund classroom needs and innovative ideas to benefit our high achievers! Will you be an education hero? Donate Now Become a Corporate Sponsor We will publicly announce your generosity! You will be provided a letter for tax deduction purposes. We will advertise your company on our website from April 2024-2025. We will advertise your company in each Newsletter that is emailed to each member and placed on our Facebook page. You will be funding the Future of Guilford County through the education of our Future Leaders! Fill out the Corporate Sponsorship Form here ! Sponsorship levels Bronze- $250 Silver- $500 Gold- $1,000 Following your donation, we will send your receipt and tax ID Letter. For more information please email us at info@guilfordgifted.org Coming Soon! We are excited to announce that Richard D. Courtright, Ph.D. will be presenting a parent session for our members on: Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 pm via Zoom- Registration coming soon! Titled: Strategies for Effective Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Students Dr. Richard D. Courtright is a lifelong educator with more than fifty years of experience in PreK-12 public education. Rick has been an elementary and middle school classroom teacher, gifted program teacher, and a gifted program administrator for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rick retired from his role as Gifted Education Research Specialist for Duke University’s TIP program and now serves as an independent consultant in gifted and special education. He has held past positions of lecturing fellow in the Duke University Program in Education, and as an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Education at Elon University. He has co-written and co-edited several works, has taught a variety of courses and workshops in gifted, general and special education, has presented at state, regional, national and international conferences. Rick has provided consultation to numerous schools and districts interested in delivering quality differentiated programs for gifted and talented students. Rick has served multiple terms of office on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented, which awarded him the Distinguished Service Award for lifetime achievement in 2015. Preview his expertise in an episode of They'll Be Fine by NCAGT here! Summer Camp opportunity! Is your child interested in learning AI? Here is an interesting summer camp idea! It’s 100% online and taught by a Stanford Professor. They offer many courses and programs . Register for an info session here! AG Educator Spotlight We want to spotlight Ms. Tammy Laws, an AG teacher at David D. Jones Elementary! This is what one grateful parent wrote: Ms. Laws has gone above and beyond in creating an exciting and interactive learning environment within our AG program. Our daughter always looks forward to the projects they are doing! Another parent shared: She is engaging and supportive in the classroom as well as with the parents of her students. Thank you Ms. Laws, we appreciate educators just like you! We know that Guilford County is full of AMAZING teachers! We want to Spotlight them. Fill out the form below so we can boast about your favorite educator! Tell us what makes them special or how they touch the lives of their students each day. Look for the spotlights on FaceBook and in the newsletters! AG Educator Spotlight Nomination Form We Need You Volunteer! Are you looking for a hands-on way to advocate for gifted education in Guilford County? Getting involved with Guilford Gifted allows you to make meaningful contributions to the AG community. Do you have an interest in and/or talent in event planning, social media, communications, IT services, fundraising, or simply want to get involved? If so, we have a place for you! We are currently seeking to fill roles for: Event Planning Committee members Fundraising Committee members Advocacy If you would like more information, please contact us at info@guilfordgifted.org Become a member for the 2023-2024 school year today! Membership is currently free. We appreciate and accept donations that will assist us in providing our community with events such as speakers or other educational opportunities! Why join Guilford Gifted? You will receive invitations to events such as speakers that are members-only. You will be updated with new legislation affecting gifted education in NC. You will have access to local and national resources. Most Importantly- It shows your support for Gifted Education in your child's school! If you have any questions, please email us at membership@guilfordgifted.org Upcoming Opportunities North Carolina Association for the Gifted & Talented plays an important role in advocating for gifted education in NC! Show your support and b ecome a member and have access to members-only resources. You will be the first to know about new content coming from NCAGT, and you will be eligible for discounted registration to conferences and other events. Don’t miss NCAGT's Podcast! Time and time again, we hear “they’ll be fine, they’re smart, they’re already ahead of the game” when people refer to gifted learners. Because of this sad misconception, too many students fail to reach their potential because they do not receive appropriately challenging curriculum and services. The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) reports that 73% of teachers agreed that “Too often the brightest students are bored and under-challenged in school... we’re not giving them a sufficient chance to thrive.” Listen to “They’ll be Fine” and hear from the experts! Important Dates Feb 23-Mar 22 - Iowa Assessments Testing Window (2nd grade AG Screening) Mar 11- Guilford Gifted Board Meeting, Benjamin Library, 6 pm Mar 19- GCS Board of Education Meeting April- Fund our Future Campaign April 1- May 1 - Application window for College Scholarships and Educator Grants April 8 - Guilford Gifted Board Meeting, Benjamin Library, 6 pm April 11- Parent Session, Featuring Richard Courtright April 16- GCS Board of Education Meeting May 7- GCS Board of Education Public Hearing on Budget May 13- Guilford Gifted Board Meeting, Benjamin Library, 6 pm May 21- GCS Board of Education Meeting June 27- GCS Board of Education Meeting Call To Action Legislative Update In case you missed it, the newest budget proposal from the House Appropriations Committee is recommending completely eliminating funding for the Jacob K. Javits Grant (about $16.5 million of federal funding). The Javits Grant is the only source of federal funding specific to gifted education (you can read more about it here ). The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) released a statement about this action. Please consider contacting your elected officials to let them know that eliminating the Javits Grant funding is shortsighted and harmful to achieving equity in gifted education. You can use this link from the Council of Exceptional Children to send an email to your legislators. Find your NC legislature here! Resources listed in the Newsletter: http://www.ncagt.org/ https://rss.com/podcasts/ncagtpodcast/ https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/well-rounded-education-programs/jacob-k-javits-gifted-and-talented-students-education-program/ https://nagc.org/news/657192/ https://exceptionalchildren.org/takeaction?vvsrc=/Campaigns/109017/Respond https://www.ncleg.gov/findyourlegislators https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFi4acjX-0zSdeYF4cSQbFwdf60xNhzSi9l0zcwxK6VgGU6g/viewform?usp=sf_link https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/5427 https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/80747 https://www.gcsnc.com/domain/20857 https://www.gcsnc.com//cms/lib/NC01910393/Centricity/Domain/2425/GCS%20Choice%20Schools%20Showcase%202023%20Final.pdf https://gcsnccom-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/jordand_gcsnc_com/EeaxKNl5FbhMjQM9tkkzoQEB4MZgseLZPutcx5L40J2CYQ?nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJPbmVEcml2ZUZvckJ1c2luZXNzIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXciLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJNeUZpbGVzTGlua0RpcmVjd https://www.ai-camp.org/register-for-courses https://www.ai-camp.org/student-events