WATG Mission: To educate about and advocate for the needs of gifted in Wisconsin. |
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As you may have noticed, WATG’s activities and reach have been growing! To keep you more informed on a more timely basis, our Board of Directors voted to send out news TWICE each month. The first installment will always arrive at the beginning of the month, and the second installment will arrive in the middle of the month. With this change, we hope to keep you more curious, informed, motivated, and engaged. |
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The WATG Board Welcomes Ayesha Penesetti
Ayesha Penesetti is a former CFO and has been in finance in the manufacturing industry for over 15 years. She has an MBA from Rutgers University in NJ. Two years ago, Ayesha stepped back from her role in finance to focus on the growth of her children. Ayesha lives in Middleton, WI with her husband and 2 kids (4 and 6 years old). Ayesha enjoys hiking, reading, and meditation. She is very excited to have this opportunity to be on the WATG board and expand her knowledge as well as advocate for advancing education in Wisconsin. The WATG Board welcomes Ayesha, and is excited to begin this journey with her “on board.”
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Check out the following on the WATG News Page:
WATG welcomes two new partners, logo contest, call for presenters and more!
Cory's latest podcast: Cory and Dr. Pam Clinkenbeard discuss legislative advocacy actions taking place in our state.
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News From the Board - Mark Your Calendars!
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Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director
Wow, for a short month, February has been busy for the WATG Board! We are already very busy with our Annual Conference planning. At this time, we are hoping/planning for a face-to-face conference in October. Let’s keep our fingers crossed! Be sure you mark your calendars for October 2-4, 2022 at the Wilderness Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells. We plan on having our Parent and Teen Conference on Sunday, October 2. We have secured two well-known and AMAZING Keynote speakers, Dr. Matthew Zakreski speaking on Monday, and Colin Seale, speaking on Tuesday. Dr. Matt is co-founder and lead clinician at The Neurodiversity Collective and is also an official WATG Partner. Colin Seale is the founder of thinkLaw. Both speakers are sure to be dynamic and “can’t miss”.
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(WATG would like to extend its deep appreciation to Dr. German Diaz from Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can be found on our website blog.) |
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Legislative Update
From your Government Action Committee
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Things continue to move rapidly with the legislation that will add a layer of accountability to the funding of Gifted and Talented education in the state. We have found this to be a real “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” situation. Many have asked why we need this legislation, as gifted education is so underfunded in the state. However, without this legislation we don’t have any accountability in place so increasing funding is almost impossible. Thus the circle continues. It has been very promising to see things progressing recently, though! |
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Ask the Doctor: Open Enrollment |
Each year in Wisconsin, February marks the beginning of the school open enrollment period. This is the time when families may apply to other school districts in hopes of enrolling their students. For many families it is a viable and desirable educational choice for their children. Open enrollment includes face-to-face public and charter schools, and virtual public and charter schools.
This year, the open enrollment time frame for the 2022-2023 school year is February 7 to April 29 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
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Dr. Wanda Routier
Former WATG Board Member
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Parenting gifted children can be an exciting, yet challenging journey, and WATG is committed to providing information, resources, and networking opportunities for parents and caregivers of gifted children.
As a service to gifted children and their families, WATG is offering FREE memberships to all parents/caregivers beginning now and extending through September of 2022. Benefits of WATG membership include:
- Support for educational outreach
- Support for parents/caregivers and advocates
- Voting privileges
- Consultation and coaching
And so much more!
So far, almost 200 parents/caregivers have taken advantage of this outstanding opportunity! We encourage more of you to join us by filling out this Free WATG Parent Membership Form, and look forward to meeting you and growing with you.
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Any organization mentioned in this newsletter does not constitute an endorsement by or partnership with WATG. No recommendation regarding the services of these organizations is being made by WATG. Families and educators are urged to perform due diligence in researching all organizations. |
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