Spring Newsletter 2024

Welcome Back to School! Let’s start learning together. Now that you and all your students have started your new routine, we at Guilford Gifted would like to introduce ourselves! Guilford Gifted, formerly known as Guilford County PAGE, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supporting our community’s brightest young minds with strong advocacy for the advancement of gifted education. We provide the tools to engage and empower all those involved with gifted children, thereby building tomorrow’s leaders today. PAGE stands for Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education. We affiliate with the North Carolina Association for Gifted & Talented (NCAGT). The board consists of volunteers whose children are currently involved in AG services through GCS. We thank the past board of directors for keeping the chapter alive through COVID! The board of directors may have changed, but the mission of Guilford Gifted remains the same. We aim to provide parental resources, assistance to our local schools, and advocacy for our children. We Need You Become a member today! We don’t believe advocacy and resources should cost money, so membership is free. We appreciate and accept donations that will assist us in providing our community with events such as speakers or other educational opportunities! If you are looking for a way to get involved- we want to hear from you! We are seeking volunteers to assist with membership, advocacy, and a secretarial role! Why join Guilford Gifted? You will receive invitations to events such as speakers that are member-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! Elementary Considerations What is an Aptitude Test? Parents are often informed that their students may be eligible for AG services through their elementary school after receiving a high score on an aptitude test. An aptitude test evaluates a child’s reasoning and cognitive abilities. Guilford County schools administer the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) to elementary students. This test is appropriate to be given to any child K-12. If a child receives a 98th% on the Verbal, Quantitative, or Nonverbal Battery - they are deemed appropriate for intellectually gifted services (IG). Games and Toys - Educational? Games and toys allow children to explore different ways of thinking, moving, and interacting with friends and family. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find the perfect fit for your child because the manufacturers' recommended ages are often incorrect for gifted children. Read the NAGC 2015 Toys and Games List in NAGC's Parenting for High Potential . If you’re puzzled about how to engage your high-ability learner, the annual toy and game review features the top toys, games, and puzzles currently on the market as selected by more than 250 junior reviewers. Middle School Mentions Looking for an exciting way to access more resources and learning opportunities? The Davidson Institute has partnered with Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development (CTD) to offer the opportunity to take an official practice SAT powered by Khan Academy. Scores from this administration can be used to apply to any Davidson program, including Davidson Institute’s Young Scholars program, Davidson Academy, Davidson Academy Online, and Davidson Institute’s THINK Summer Institute. These test administrations are for potential Davidson program’s applicants only. Test Administration Dates: October 1, 2022 (Saturday) 8:00 AM Pacific November 5, 2022 (Saturday) 8:00 AM Pacific Register here Visit the Davidson Institute site for more information! STEM through competitive robotics! Do you have a student who loves engineering new ideas? A robotics team might be for them! At robotics competitions, teams of students must design and build a robot that can compete against opponents in a series of specific challenges. Robotics teams target students of almost every age group, starting with kindergarten and going all the way to college. There are some robotics clubs in our local middle and high schools. But if your child's school does not offer a robotics club, ECG Robotics might be for you! ECG Robotics is a student-led, non-profit robotics club based in Greensboro, NC. Their teams compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge and welcome students from all over Guilford County. Registration for FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is open year-round for children ages 8-12th grade. High School Matters Early College vs. Dual Enrollment High school is an important time for every child as they prepare for their future goals. Advanced learners may consider early college programs or dual enrollment at a local community college or university. Take a peek at this article from Profoundly Gifted Parenting that outlines the pros and cons of each. In Guilford County, we are fortunate to have both choices available for our students. At The Early College at Guilford , high school students can graduate with two years of college credit from Guilford College. Students can also attend STEM Early College at NC A&T , graduating with a two-year college degree or earning transferable credits. In North Carolina, Career & College Promise (CCP) is North Carolina’s dual enrollment program for high school students. This program allows eligible NC high school students to enroll in college classes at North Carolina community colleges and universities through their high school. Dual Enrollment is available at Guilford College, University of North Carolina - Greensboro, N.C. A&T State University and Guilford Technical Community College. Students can choose from more than 40 academic classes. Remember- you and your child should start this conversation at the beginning of their 8th-grade school year. ACT vs. SAT- which is best for my child? Regarding the ACT vs. the SAT, both exams are widely accepted by U.S. colleges, which often prompts students to ask: Which test should I take? US News and World Report say the answer to that question lies in understanding the differences between the two tests. The two exams may appeal to different types of students. A key difference is that students with a strong English background "may flourish on the ACT," which puts more emphasis on verbal skills, she says. In contrast, for students who are strong in math, "the SAT may reflect that much better," says Mai Jumamil, former director of college prep programs at Kaplan, a New York-based education company. The average SAT score for 2020 high school graduates was 1051, and the average ACT score was 20.6. For a more detailed comparison, read the entire article here . Local School Highlights Good news for the GCS School district! Guilford County Schools (GCS) continued to outpace the largest school districts in North Carolina and the state by hitting another milestone in 2021-22 with a four-year cohort graduation rate of 91.8%, the highest graduation rate in the district’s history since accountability measures have been collected. GCS was recently featured as a model of American Rescue Plan (ARP) best practices. Well done GCS school district! New Guilford schools superintendent sees academic recovery, mental health, and safety as top priorities! Guilford County Schools Superintendent Whitney Oakley is planning on a series of conversations with parents, staff, and community members in the coming days to help inform her approach to those priorities and other matters of school district administration. She doesn’t anticipate that process will take as long as it would for a superintendent new to the district. Guilford County Schools revised their AG Plan. The board approved the new plan in June 2022. The plan must be updated every 3 years. The biggest change to the new plan is what makes each student eligible for AG services. Follow this link to read the plan .  Resources listed in the Newsletter: http://www.nagc.org/sites/default/files/Publication%20PHP/PHP_2015_ToyList.pdf https://www.davidsongifted.org/ https://ecgrobotics.org/ http://profoundlygiftedparenting.com/early-college-programs/ https://www.gcsnc.com/early_college_at_guilford https://www.gcsnc.com/STEM_Early_College_at_NC_AT https://www.dpi.nc.gov/students-families/enhanced-opportunities/advanced-learning-and-gifted-education/career-and-college-promise https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/act-vs-sat-how-to-decide-which-test-to-take#:~:text=Broken%20down%20by%20test%20components,and%2035%2Dminute%20science%20test. https://www.gcsnc.com/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=174&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=168498&PageID=1 https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/new-guilford-schools-superintendent-sees-academic-recovery-mental-health-and-safety-as-top-prioritie s s/article_e1fc90d2-2eeb-11ed-a709-4b3e293ca115.html https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/5427