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About Us
Mission Statement
Goals
History
Get Involved
Mission Statement
The Gifted and Talented Parent Advisory Council will promote respectful and open communication and facilitate effective partnerships between the teachers, administrators, and families who are involved in the education of gifted and talented students in the Cecil County Public Schools.
Goals
- To offer resources, information and support to parents and guardians so they can better partner in their gifted child’s education
- To provide a forum for CCPS personnel to get feedback from parents of G/T students in order to assess the effectiveness of existing programs and plan for the continued improvement of the education of G/T students
- To promote awareness of gifted and talented education among teachers, administrators, policy makers, and community members
- To explore ways to identify and utilize community resources to enrich and expand opportunities for G/T students
History
2004-2006: Jeff Doucette, a Cecil County parent, formed a Parent Advocacy Group for Gifted and Talented Education in Cecil County. The group meet a number of times of the course of two school years and made two presentations to the School Board, making them aware of the needs of gifted students in Cecil County. The School Board has been gradually increasing the number of Challenge Resource Teachers from 2006 to the present, partly as a result of the efforts of this group.
2006-2007: The group was inactive this year.
2007-2008: Jean Clark became the new Program Facilitator for Gifted and Talented Education in Cecil County and encouraged the formation of a parent group again. Because of new privacy laws adopted by the school system which prevent outside groups from contacting parents about meetings and activities, it was necessary to form an organization that would fall under the jurisdiction of the Cecil County Public Schools.
So, the
Parent Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education (G/T PAC) was created. The group held its first official meeting in February of 2008 and is co-directed by Kathy Ann Joseph, Parent Coordinator, and Jean Clark, CCPS Program Facilitator for Gifted and Talented Education.
Get Involved
As a parent of a gifted child, getting involved with G/T Parent Advisory Council is a great way to work collaboratively with other parents, teachers and administrators for the continuous improvement of Gifted and Talented Education in Cecil County. It is also a great way to get support, ideas, and resources for parenting and educating your gifted child.
Here are some ways that you can get involved:
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Attend G/T PAC Meetings, held about once a month during the school year. Click here for upcoming meetings.
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Review meeting handouts for meetings you cannot attend, by visiting the Archives.
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Write a response to the school programs presented at the March, April, and May 2008 meetings, including what you like and suggestions for improvement. Responses should be sent via email to kathyann@sandyhillcamp.com. If you cannot attend a meeting, you can still give your input after viewing the meeting handouts in the Archives. (At these three meetings, we are getting an overview of the educational offerings for gifted students in CCPS, from elementary through high school. )
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Attend the strategic planning session (date in mid-August to be determined) to evaluate the parent responses from March, April and May and make plans for the G/T PAC for 2008-2009.
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Contribute to the Resouces page on our website. Please submit links and brief summaries of any resources related to Gifted and Talented education that you have found helpful. This could be a book, website, summer program, extracurricular activity, online course, etc. See the Resources page for more details.
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