General Information

 

GATE Facilitator:

The designated site GATE Facilitator functions as the lead person who works with parents and the principal or designee to implement the requirements of the GATE program. The GATE Facilitator is responsible for attending the District’s monthly GATE Facilitator Council meetings (see below), disseminating information at their staff meetings, assisting with parent meetings and interactions, assisting with coordination of services at the site and attending mandatory teacher training a minimum of 2-4 days annually, depending on the availability of funds for teacher release days and level of expertise in teaching gifted students.

 

Due to increased enrollment and the addition of middle school grades at Sycamore Canyon, our school has three GATE Facilitators (lower elementary, upper elementary, and middle school). GATE Facilitators are identified at the beginning of the school year. The GATE Facilitators for this school year are:

Michele Morris       Lower elementary (grades K-3)

Janet Taylor           Upper elementary (grades 4&5)

Carey Bartlow        Middle School

 GATE Facilitator Council:

The District GATE Office (Pupil Services) conducts a monthly GATE Facilitator Council. These meetings are after school, and include representatives from each school (site GATE Facilitators, teachers, etc.). The purpose of the monthly meeting is to coordinate and enhance implementation of services at the schools, provide on-going training, provide information to be disseminated to the school sites, plan and develop staff development materials and training, and evaluate services needs. Each GATE Facilitator is responsible for the implementation and dissemination of the materials and information from those meetings.

 

GATE-District Advisory Council (GATE-DAC) Parent Representative:

A GATE Parent Representative is selected at the beginning of each school year. This person(s) attends the monthly GATE-DAC meetings (see below) and helps disseminate information to the parents and teachers at the local school. This person maintains a notebook of GATE-DAC meeting agendas, minutes, handouts, etc. that is kept at the school and is available to all parents. The GATE-DAC Representative coordinates with the site GATE Facilitator(s) and Principal to help organize parent information meetings and is responsible for reviewing and signing the school’s GATE Budget and Plan.

 

Michele Markarian will be the GATE-DAC Representative this school year and can be reached via email at  

 

GATE-DAC:

The GATE-DAC meets the first Monday of each month. This group is made up of parent representatives from each school in the district. Topics of discussion include GATE programs, testing, assessments, differentiation, social and emotional needs, etc.

The GATE-DAC is chaired by the Associate Director of Pupil Services, Dr. Linda Calvin, and an elected parent representative

Additional information is available in the Parent Resource Library located near the school's front office. The GATE Parent Notebook has copies of past years' agendas, minutes, and handouts. A copy of the District's GATE Funding Plan is also available. This document contains detailed information regarding plans for identifying and addressing the needs of GATE students in grades K-12.

 

California Association for the Gifted (CAG):

CAG is a non-profit association whose members include parents, educators, community members, and others interested in the education of the gifted and talented.

 

Goals:

-  Improve education of gifted individuals as defined by current legislation

-  Sponsor and foster activities significant to the education of gifted individuals by producing and disseminating information, and conducting research and other scholarly investigations

- Support and encourage specialized professional individuals in fields related to the education of the gifted

- Support activities that encourage advocacy and parent awareness on behalf of gifted education

 

Publications:

 

- Gifted Education Communicator – journal published four times a year.

- Intercom – the association newsletter

- Books – various topics (see website for list)

 

Throughout the year, CAG provides professional development opportunities, parent education and student support. More information is available via the CAG website at www.cagifted.org

 

Individual and family memberships are available for $65/$75. A school membership is available for $65.

 

Sycamore Canyon School Site Council (SSC):

The SSC is composed of parents, teachers, the principal, the assistant principal, and other personnel. The SSC has the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the educational program and to plan, implement, and evaluate the activities designed to promote student growth and achievement.

 

The SSC meets monthly, and the GATE-DAC Representative provides a report to the SSC at each meeting. The meeting agenda is available at the front office the day prior to the meeting. All parents are encouraged to attend.

 

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA):

The National PTA is a non-profit, volunteer child-advocacy organization of parents, educators, students and other citizens active in their schools and communities. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who is concerned with the health and welfare of children and youth. More information is available at www.pta.org  

 

The mission of the California State PTA is to represent members and to empower and support them with skills in advocacy, leadership, and communication to positively impact the lives of all children. More information is available at www.capta.org

 

The Sycamore Canyon School PTA strives to keep close relationship between parents and teachers while at the same time providing an enriched learning environment for students. Through various fundraisers during the year, the PTA is able to provide the school with materials, expertise, and equipment that enhances the educational program. PTA meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month at 7 pm and are open to everyone. More information is available at sycamorecanyonschool.com

 

Individual membership to the Sycamore Canyon PTA is $10 per person. Members of the Sycamore Canyon PTA are automatically members of both the California State and National PTA organizations.

 

 

Parent Resource Library

 

The Parent Resource Library is located in the school's front lobby. Books and videos on various education and parenting topics are available for check-out. A number of books and articles are available on gifted and talented education. Please complete the check-out card (located inside all books) and leave it in the box provided when checking out any books or materials. 

 

District Advisory Council (DAC), GATE-DAC and GATE Parent notebooks are also available in the Parent Resource Library. These notebooks contain agendas, minutes, and handouts from the various meetings. The notebooks must remain at school, however parents may copy articles and other material from any of these notebooks.

 

Books Available for Check-Out

• When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers - Delilse
• The Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids - Walker
• The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children - National Association for Gifted Children
• The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide - Galbraith
• Diverse Populations of Gifted Children - Cline/Schwartz
• Cross-over Children: A Sourcebook for Helping Children Who are Gifted and Learning Disabled - Bireley
• The Educated Child - Bennett

 

Articles in the GATE Parent Notebook 2003/2004

 

·         Ten Tips for Combating Perfectionism

·         How to Make Your Kids Feel Good About Themselves

·         Gifted Education: Make It Real – Compared to What?

·         What’s Wrong With Perfect

·         Gifted Adults: Characteristics and Emotions

·         What Parents Want: In Their Own Words

·         Parenting Gifted Culturally Diverse Children

·         Language Arts Curriculum for High-Ability Learners

·         Meeting the Needs of Talented Elementary Math Students

 

Articles in the GATE Parent Notebook 2002/2003

 

·         What Parents Want: In Their Own Words

·         Parenting Gifted Culturally Diverse Children

·         Language Arts Curriculum for High-Ability Learners

·         Meeting the Needs of Talented Elementary Math Students

·         Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Children

·         Parent to Parent – sharing ideas that work

·         Gifted Kids in Trouble

·         Meeting the Affective Needs of Gifted Students

·         The Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Children (workshop packet from Dr. Maureen Neihart; includes featured article “Systematic Risk-Taking”)

·         Some of the Best Resources in Gifted Ed

·         Must Have Books for Educators of the Gifted and Talented

·         CAG Resource List of Books and Journals on Gifted Education

·          “gifted all day long” by Margaret Gosfield

·          “Invitations to Learn” by Carol Ann Tomlinson  

·         Parenting The Gifted, The Same But Different

·         Curriculum and Instruction – some of the questions answered in this article include:

-        Should I enrich or accelerate the curriculum for gifted learners?

-        Should there be a separate or special course for gifted students

-        What is the meaning of the term differentiation?

-        How can a differentiated curriculum be developed?

-        Should all students be provided with differentiated curricular activities similar to those provided to the gifted?

-        When and how do teachers implement a differentiated curriculum?

·         Differentiated Programming: What It Is and What It Isn’t

·         Most Likely to Yield Sophisticated Products – examples of activities and projects