GATE 

Newsletter  Fall 2008-2009

Inside this issue:

Welcome to the 2008-09 Welcome by GATE 1

school year! Coordinator

SIG Newsletter Online 2
From the desk of Colleen Dowd…
CAG Conference 2
Despite state budget woes and larger economic concerns, the GATE program continues at
Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and the needs of gifted learners are being addressed
through funding received from our California Department of Education, Gifted and Searching for Gifted 2
Talented Education Grant. The function of the GATE program is to provide access to Online & Summer
learning for students identified as gifted. Programs

Over the past 10 years, there has been a significant focus on the need for equity in Identification Process 2
education at both the federal and state level, and Mt. Diablo is addressing this important Reminders
topic. Equity basically means that all students have the right to equal learning access. Parent Training 3
Whether a student is a second language learner, a student from a culturally different Opportunities
background or a student with a special learning need, each student deserves to have
GATE Calendar 3
access to education. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to realize that equity does not
mean equal. Students learn differently - they have different backgrounds, learning styles,
interests, motivators and needs; and our education program needs to reflect the
uniqueness of our population. All students can learn, all students can master standards,
but they may need to do it in different ways on different days.

The GATE program is part of our response to equity. Gifted learners are conceptual
thinkers, they tend to get whole concepts quickly, they are often very rapid learners, and
they may ask many questions. They may also fail to master specific skills as they rush to
understand the larger picture, they may be reluctant participants in necessary, but routine Special points
learning activities, and they may be viewed as ‘smart-alecks’ based on their verbal of interest:
precociousness. The GATE label is designed to be a red flag to any teacher that the
identified student is a conceptual learner and may need more depth and complexity within • Upcoming CAG
Conference
a lesson or unit in order to access learning. Enhancing the content objectives, shifting the
instructional process or requiring different student products within a lesson to provide • Parent Training
for Parents of
appropriate depth and complexity, is called differentiation. GATE
Elementary
While differentiation is a valuable instructional tool to meet the needs of many students, Students
the gifted student will likely require differentiation frequently in order to access learning. • Recommended
That access assures learning equity for the conceptual learner. GATE is all about equity. Reads…
 

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 SIG (Summer Institute for the Gifted) Newsletter Available to All

Some of you may know of a program called SIG (Summer Institute for the Gifted). Although the focus
of this 25-year old institution (out of Stamford, CT) is on the creation of an outstanding assortment of
summer classes and camps at various college sites across the country for gifted students of all ages,
they also have a newsletter that is full of news regarding gifted education across the country. To access
the newsletter titled, The Gifted Student Newsletter, go to sig.info@giftedstudy.com. The newsletter
offers conference information, highlights of new gifted learning support systems, and puzzles, such as
the one below from the September 2008 newsletter.

If it were two hours later, it would be half as long until midnight as it would be if it were an hour later.
What time is it now?
For on-line
registration CAG Conference is Coming Up
information about The California Association of the Gifted 47th Annual Conference is scheduled for February 13-
the conference, go 15, 2009, in Anaheim, CA. The theme of the conference is “Creativity: The Fuel of the Future”
to and major speakers will include Barbara Clark (UCLA), Sandra Kaplan (USC), and Karen
www.cagifted.org. Rogers (Renaissance Arts Academy). The Sunday session of the conference will focus on parent
issues exclusively as is traditionally planned. If you cannot travel down to Los Angeles for the
conference, you will be pleased to know that next year’s conference will be held in Sacramento!

2008-09 Talent Search Begins at John Hopkins Talented Youth Program

The John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth is now in its 30th year of seeking out gifted
learners to participate in a variety of on-line classes offered throughout the year and summer programs
located throughout the country. The Talent Search program is for students in grades 2 through 8. There is
a registration fee required to take the exams and participate in each program. For further information
about the Family Academic Programs, courses, summer sessions, and online resources designed for
Talent Search participants and their parents, go to www.cty.jhu.edu or call 1 800 548-1180

GATE Identification Process Reminders Check Out the GATE page on

the MDUSD Website!
For your information, we will soon be giving the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test
(NNAT) to all third graders and to 5th and 7th graders who scored Advanced/Advanced Please note that the Mt. Diablo Unified
on the CST or who are recommended by teachers and parents, as long as they did not School District website has a special
take the test last year. Third graders will test during the week of November 3-7, 2008 section for GATE news and upcoming
and 5th and 7th grade testing will begin in late October. events. To locate the GATE site, click
on Curriculum & Instruction on the
You may recall that last year we tested students in grades 3-8. That was because we home page of the Mt. Diablo Unified
had started using the NNAT in lieu of the Raven Progressive Matrices and there was School District website. When that
no validity issue with retesting the next year. Now we are back on track with testing page opens, click on GATE and read
in 3rd grade and retesting in 5th and 7th grades. the news.

UC Irvine Talent Search

UC Irvine Program is also conducting its 19th Annual Academic Talent Search for students in grades 6 though 10. Like the John
Hopkins program, students take an exam to qualify. In this case, the exams are the PSAT or SAT. The two-fold purpose of the
Academic Talent Search is to identify students with extraordinary mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities, and offer an
opportunity to sharpen test-taking skills. Applicants receive feedback on their exam results with specific suggestions for further
study needs. The Talent Search program also supplies information on education programs for academically superior students, and
scholarship consideration to UC Irvine’s summer enrichment programs. Like the John Hopkins program, there is a registration fee
for participation. For further information, call 949 824-7484 or www.admissions.uci.edu/ats/ .

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Training Opportunities for Parents of Elementary GATE Students
There are a series of parenting presentations being offered for parents of elementary GATE students by Mt. Diablo Unified School
District’s Adult Education Program. The 5 stand-alone sessions will be held in the Mt. Diablo Elementary School library at 6:30 p.m.
The classes will be taught by Ms. Kim Kopperhaver-Klute and will cover a variety of topics from communication with your child to
how children think. There are many parenting class options available in our community, but these classes will consider parenting
topics solely from the lens of being a parent of a gifted student. There is no fee for the classes. You may register at the door. All
parents are welcome! Here are the dates for the series:
Thursday, 10/16 You and Your Child’s Learning Style
Thursday, 12/4 7 Kinds of Smart-Multiple Intelligences
Thursday, 1/29 Parenting the Gifted Child
Thursday, 3/5 How Children Think – The Basics of Brain Development
Thursday, 5/14 Is Anyone Listening? – Communicating With Your Child

A Reading Suggestion for All Parents of Gifted Children

For parents interested in reading more about the particular joys and challenges of raising a gifted child, consider the classic, Gifted
Children: Myth and Realities. New York: Basic Books, 1996, by Ellen Winner. It is a valuable resource for the library of every
parent of gifted students. In this book, Winner takes on the various and abundant myths our society has about gifted learners. She
provides insights into the complexity of growing up gifted. She states, for example, that the gifted child takes pleasure in the
challenges of learning and finds reward in the work that requires energy and effort. By the same token, the life of the gifted child
may be more isolated and more stressful because they do not fit in with their peers and because they set extremely high (sometimes
unrealistic) expectations for themselves.

Calendar of Events for Parents of GATE Students

Thursday 10/16 Gifted Learner Series for Elementary Parents-You and Your Child’s MDUSD
Learning Style - Mt. Diablo Elementary 6:30 p.m. 1936 Carlotta Drive
Monday 10/20 GATE Parent Advisory Meeting Dent Center 7-8:30 p.m. Concord, CA 94518
Thursday 12/4 Gifted Learner Series for Elementary Parents – 7 Kinds of Smart- (925)682-8000
Multiple Intelligences - Mt. Diablo Elementary 6:30 p.m. www.mdusd.k12.ca.us
Monday 1/26 GATE Parent Advisory Meeting Dent Center 7-8:30 p.m.
Thursday 1/29 Gifted Learner Series for Elementary Parents – Parenting the Gifted
Child - Mt. Diablo Elementary 6:30 p.m.
Thursday 3/5 Gifted Learner Series for Elementary Parents – How Children Think - The
Basics of Brain Development -Mt. Diablo Elementary 6:30 p.m.
Monday 3/30 GATE parent Advisory Meeting Dent Center 7-8:30 p.m.
Thursday 4/23 College Admissions for Middle School Parents WCC 7-9:00 p.m.
GATE Program Specialist:
Thursday 5/14 Gifted Learner Series for Elementary Parents - Is Anyone Listening?-
Communicating With Your Gifted Child - Mt. Diablo Elementary 6:30 p.m. Colleen Dowd x. 4034
Monday 5/18 GATE Parent Advisory Meeting Dent Center 7:00-8:30 p.m. GATE Support x.4031

ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR!

Join Us At the GATE Parent Advisory Meetings-

Let Your Voice Be Heard
GATE parents within the district meet 4 times a year at the Dent Center to discuss issues
related to raising gifted students with special emphasis on supporting them at school.
Each school in the district is asked to send at least one representative to these meetings.
If you would like to serve as representative of your school at the GATE Advisory
Meetings, please inform the GATE chair at your child’s school. If your school already
has a representative, then join us as another voice from your site. All parents are
welcome!