Here is a Columbus Dispatch editorial from Saturday, November 14th regarding the proposed update to the Ohio Gifted Rule, or set of standard standards, and concern to this update expressed by Ann Sheldon, executive director of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children (OAGC):
Careful with gifted policy: Standards for brightest students need full and open discussion
Mark your calendars for the December P.A.C.E. Meeting:
Building 110 (Cafeteria)
Columbus Alternative High School (CAHS), Eastmoor Academy, Arts Impact Middle School (AIMS), Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School, Duxberry Park Arts Impact, and Central Enrollment will have representatives at the meeting to help you plan and navigate the Columbus City Schools Selective Admissions Process.
P.A.C.E. t-shirts will also be available for $10 at the December meeting.  Purchase a t-shirt to wear in unity with other gifted advocates!  Gifted advocates will join together at future ODE hearings regarding the proposed changes the operating standards of the Gifted Rules.  If you would like to testify at a future ODE hearing please contact Ann Sheldon, Executive Director of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, (OAGC).
P.A.C.E. Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of each month from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at different schools throughout the district. Â There is free childcare at each meeting.
When you join PACE, you become part of the “we” of PACE. Â The PACE community comes together to support one another and to work with CCS educators. Â Together we can make a difference. Â It is $5 per year to become a member of PACE. Â Please fill out a form at the next meeting, or contact Columbus P.A.C.E.
Hope to see everyone at the December Meeting!
Order your PACE t-shirt at the next PACE meeting on December 3, 2015 at Fort Hayes High School, 546 Jack Gibbs Blvd, Columbus, OH 43215.
Shirts are $10 each.  For order info if you’re unable to attend the meeting, send a message to pace@columbuspace.org.
From Angela Grimm, OAGC Parent Division Chair:
Parents and OAGC Parent Division Members:
Just a heads up if you have not already taken time for input, the ODE gifted survey will be open an extra day:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8QKLLFR
It is important that as many gifted advocates as possible provide input. Â The survey will now close at 5 pm on Saturday, November 7.
Also, consider testifying on November 16.  Personal stories about how important true, quality standards are MUST BE SHARED!  I have done this a number of times and it isn’t bad, I promise.  Speak from the heart–and let your child’s needs be known!  If you plan to testify on November 16th, please contact OAGC Director, Ann Sheldon anngift@aol.com by November 11. There will also likely be opportunities to testify in December and January.
In case you missed it, here is a Columbus Dispatch article from Tuesday, November 3rd regarding the proposed update to the Ohio Gifted Rule, or set of standard standards, and concern to this update expressed by OAGC:
Don’t retreat on teaching Ohio’s gifted kids, advocates say
To reiterate, we encourage everyone to let your voice be heard these proposed changes by this Friday, November 6th.  Help to ensure that these changes serve gifted students in the best way possible by completing this survey.  Specific, detailed recommendations from OACG regarding how best to respond were provided in an earlier post:
Feedback Survey on Proposed Operating Standards for Gifted Education
Thank you!
To further elaborate on our post from last week regarding the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Gifted Survey, Angie Osborne, Region 1 Representative to the Ohio Association for Gifted Children (O.A.G.C.) Governing Board, has sent a message providing guidance and recommendations for how to complete the survey to best serve gifted students.
Note that the O.A.G.C. and Ms. Osborne strongly urge advocates to use their own experiences and expertise to answer the questions.  The information they’re providing is merely a guide.
Here is Ms. Osborne’s message in its entirely:
Dear Members of OAGC Region 1,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your Region 1 Representative to the Ohio Association for Gifted Children (OAGC) Governing Board. I am in my 14th year in education, am a member of OAGC, President-Elect of the Gifted Coordinators of Central Ohio (GCCO) and am currently serving as the Gifted Coordinator for Marion City Schools.  I feel that it is an absolute privilege to serve you in my role as Region 1 Rep!
I hope that those of you who were able to attend the Fall Conference found it to be both informative and invigorating. I leave the conference every year with my head full of ideas to take back to my district, along with the feeling that I’ve spent two days surrounded by people who “get me.”  I hope you experienced a similar feeling.
While the Fall Conference may have left us feeling renewed and refreshed, the time has come for all gifted advocates to band together and rally the troops to provide input on the proposed gifted operating standards. It is imperative that gifted advocates complete the ODE Gifted Rule Survey as well as encouraging input from other stakeholders (i.e. administrators, teachers, parents, etc.). Below you will find information prepared by Ann Sheldon, OAGC’s Executive Director, that speaks to the survey and provides OAGC’s position and rationale in regard to the current proposed rule. Please distribute this information to other gifted advocates and encourage their participation in the survey and contact with state BOE members.
Identification and General Definitions Survey Questions:
“The proposed rules provide the guidance needed to support identification of gifted students.† OAGC disagrees.
“The proposed rules clearly define opportunities for identification of students as gifted.† OAGC disagrees.
OAGC concerns:Â The specific general language that currently exists in the current operating standards has been removed. Â This language is necessary to ensure that districts follow best practice and meet the letter and spirit of ORC. Â Whole grade testing has been expanded which OAGC supports, however the language can be improved to improve testing in early grades in a more effective and efficient way to support the identification of under-represented student populations.
OAGC recommends the following:
1.    Revise the whole grade testing from K-3 to K-2 and limit the testing in this initial grade band to superior cognitive ability and specific academic areas of math and reading.  In addition, incorporate the deleted elements from the identification section that are required in ORC and which exist in the current operating standards.
2.    Reinstate general identification and service definitions as outlined in current operating standards 3301-51-15 section A to provide clarity to districts.
Service Survey Questions:
“The proposal rules provide flexibility in how districts may serve gifted students.† OAGC neither disagrees nor agrees.  The proposed rule obliterates all standards of quality service so it is impossible to answer this question.
“The proposed rules clearly describe standards for the quality and extent of gifted services.† OAGC strongly disagrees.
OAGC concerns: The proposed rule eliminates all quality parameters for service including caseloads, minimum levels of service, and even the definitions of service itself.  There are currently 22 EMIS codes with a wide-variety of service options for gifted students.  These draft standards would limit the options to three and essentially destroy any ability to determine which services are effective and which are not.  Services could be as little as 15 minutes a week taught by a general education teacher with no gifted training.  In addition, the proposed rule eliminates gifted staff qualifications in the current rule which are based on national and state licensure standards in favor of “district-determined criteria.â€Â  ODE does not allow this for any other student population.  This will effectively eliminate trained gifted staff in many districts in favor of general education teachers who will be provided with so-called high quality professional development.  Recent survey data indicates that for most general education teachers this amounts to fewer than five clock hours per year.  The proposed rule would allow districts to define services, define who is qualified to provide services and thereby allow districts to substantially define their own output that measures their performance.  It turns the gifted performance indicator into a useless measure, but more importantly it undermines any standards for appropriate services to a vulnerable population.  The end result disempowers parents and the general public to determine which districts are providing effective gifted services.
OAGC recommends the following:
1.       Reinstate minimum service minutes for students from current operating standards along with caseload limits.
2.       Reinstate and more carefully define service and instructional settings as provided in the current standards.
3.       Remove the provision that allows poorly or untrained general education teachers to provide service unless it is an accelerated classroom.
4.       Reinstate gifted coordinator and intervention specialist qualifications from current standards for both districts and ESCs and ensure that all gifted instructors are provided high quality professional development.
5.       Increase the scope and depth of the written education plan and a reasonable attempt to require parent signature.  Also, require that a gifted coordinator or gifted intervention specialist collaborate on the writing of WEPs.
6.       Reinstate instruction time requirement for gifted intervention specialists from current standards.
Funding Survey Questions:
“The proposed rules outline the district obligation to report on funds that support gifted education annually.† OAGC neither agrees nor disagrees.  The survey fails to ask the real question of whether the district is expending funding appropriately on gifted students as required by ORC.
“Gifted staff qualifications for educational service centers that receive gifted unit funding are clear.† OAGC again neither agrees nor disagrees.  The survey fails to acknowledge that gifted staffing qualifications are eliminated for districts.
OAGC concerns:  Funding accountability is referenced several times in O.R.C. including sections 3301.07, 3317.022, 3317.051, and 3317.40.  Taxpayers and parents have a right to know that the funds allocated for this population are being spent to serve them.  Gifted children become the educational paupers when funding intended to further their education is reallocated to other programs.  It sends a distinct message that serving these students is not a priority for Ohio.  If funding is not addressed, JCARR may reject this rule given the letter of legislative intent on this issue from Ohio House Speaker Pro Tempore, Rep. Amstutz, who verified that funding for gifted students should be spent on gifted students.
OAGC recommends the following:
·         Incorporate funding parameters to ensure gifted earmarked funding as stated in Ohio Revised Code (ORC).
Accountability Survey Questions:
“Requirements for submission of annual plans and reports set clear expectations for identification and services for services in the proposed rules.† OAGC strongly disagrees.
“Components of the gifted indicator and the use of the indicator in the annual district report card are essential to evaluation of gifted education services as outlined in the proposed rule.â€Â  OAGC strongly disagrees.  As the proposed rule renders much of the gifted indicator useless, there will be no true evaluation of gifted services in the proposed rule.
OAGC concerns: The proposed rule eliminates ODE gifted audits and ORC language that allows ODE to remove funding for non-complaint districts.  In addition, there are no provisions to allow ODE reconstitute gifted services in districts that are chronically failing gifted students as required in ORC.  Finally, the proposed rule sharply limits the output gifted measures with which to hold districts accountable.  ODE is out of compliance with the agencies statutory duty to perform gifted audits.  This should be an issue for the auditor of the state to review.  The proposed rule eliminates most of the tools that ODE has used in the past or could use for districts that are out of compliance with gifted laws and rules.  The proposed rule disempowers both the State Board and ODE to a point where neither body will be able to meet their responsibilities to provide leadership on gifted education issues and stewardship of state fiscal resources.
OAGC recommends the following:
1.    Reinstate provisions that require ODE audits and allow ODE to remove funds of non-compliance from current standards, as stipulated in ORC.
2.    Incorporate data collection on specific inputs to determine effect of services.  In addition, the results of the gifted performance indicator should be incorporated into an annual report outlining the condition of gifted education in the state without limiting the gifted performance indicator to the current elements.
3.    Reinstate service and staffing requirements that are in current the operating standards as stated in the service section.  With the reinstatement of service and staffing parameters, incorporate waivers on the basis of performance on multiple measures including but not limited to the gifted performance indicator.  In addition, include language from ORC that allows ODE to remediate and reconstitute gifted services in districts that are chronically failing gifted students.
4.    Reinstate the district service plan as required by ORC.
For a link to this input guideline, please go to:Â http://www.oagc.com/files/ODEInputGuidelines.10.21.15.pdf.
Angie Osborne
Gifted Coordinator
Resident Educator Program Coordinator
Marion City Schools
Phone: 740-223-4679
Twitter: @angelakosborne
Please let your voice be heard about proposed changes to the Ohio Department of Education Gifted Rule, or set of operating standards.  Help to ensure that these changes serve gifted students in the best way possible:
http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Special-Education/News/Gifted-Rule-Survey
For additional information about these proposed changes, see the Ohio Association for Gifted Children (O.A.G.C.) website and advocacy page (http://www.oagc.com/advocacy.asp). Â It will explain the changes and the potential implications for students in the big picture.
Thursday October 22, 2015 – 6:30 p.m.
Ann Sheldon, Executive Director of the O.A.G.C, to Speak at October Meeting: As Well as Meet The Candidate Night!
Come out and join us on Thursday October 22, 2015, as we welcome guest speaker Ann Sheldon, Executive Director of the of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children. Come learn about various ways that we can advocate for our children on a local, state and national level.
We will also be hosting a “Meet The Candidate Night” – hosting some current sitting board members and running candidates of the Board of Education. This is a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the board as well as ask questions of the running candidates. The meeting will be held from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Berwick Alternative K-8 School, 2655 Scottwood Rd. Columbus, OH 43209 (MAP).
Free childcare available (have your kids bring homework or a game).
See you at the meeting!
Seeing how the Columbus Gifted Academy at Beck is an entirely new school community, a Facebook group has been launched for parents to communicate and get to know each other ahead of the start of the new school year.
If your child will be attending the Columbus Gifted Academy next year, you can join the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1425957091045875/
Please note that this Facebook group is parent-organized and is not directly affiliated with PACE or Columbus City Schools.
Just announced today:
The Gifted & Talented Division of Columbus City Schools is excited to announce the location of the district’s new self-contained gifted program!  Columbus Gifted Academy will be located at the former Beck Elementary building at 387 E. Beck St. in German Village. The building is centrally located in the city making the program accessible to students all across the district and is near to many of our community partners.
Beck will also become the new home of the Gifted & Talented Division offices currently located at Shepard Center.
As promised, the deadline for families with the option of Category C services to return their Gifted Service Selection Form to the Gifted & Talented office has been extended to Friday, April 3.  Please let us know if you have any questions!