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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Mark Your Calendars: WATG Town Hall: Following the Dream: Justice for All (How to Narrow Excellence Gaps Through Inclusive Gifted Education) - Wednesday January 26, 2022, 3:45-4:45pm
This informative and interactive virtual Town Hall is for educators, parents/caregivers, and others interested in narrowing excellence gaps through inclusive gifted education.
In this Town Hall, we will provide definitions and examples of "excellence gaps" and will suggest best practice examples from all over the country for narrowing those gaps so that advanced programming enrollment is representative of a district’s demographics.
Town Hall participants will be invited to share their experiences and to discuss ways to reach excellence with equity in all of Wisconsin's school districts.
Please join us in celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream by exploring ways to narrow excellence gaps in our state. LINK
~The WATG Justice for All Task Force
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Check out the following on the WATG News Page:
Government Action Update, New Board Members, Town Hall Details
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News From the Board - Two Updates
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Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director
There are two things I’d like to draw your attention to this month. One is an update and the other is a call to action.
First, here is an update on #GivingTuesday. Despite the fact we’d never participated in the yearly event, we managed to raise $3,045! We are so grateful for those individuals that shared and supported us.Thank you for helping us continue our important mission. And remember, you can always donate throughout the year on our website or our Facebook page.
Second, here is a call to action.
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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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From your Government Action Committee
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Your WATG board and Government Action Committee were very active in 2021, and the results of that activity are highly encouraging! In addition to the doubled DPI grant funding that took effect in mid-2021, there is a new gifted education accountability bill (LRB 3080) that will be introduced in the legislature in the next few weeks, and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) will introduce a resolution supporting advanced learning at their conference in late January. Thanks so much to those of you who have contacted your state legislators and school board members to help make this happen! Details and upcoming action when you click on Read More. |
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Jackie Drummer
Past President and Board Advisor
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As we enter the new year, gifts have been exchanged and unwrapped. We’ve celebrated and enjoyed the holidays and are now settling in for the rest of a long Wisconsin winter. For some of us, this season brings a welcome time of quietude. For others, it is a difficult time of year. The festivities are over, the days are short, the nights are long, and our weather and the pandemic limit socializing. It is easy to become moody and introspective. Yet there are so many things to be thankful for, and one of the greatest of them is the gift of awe, a gift that can be enjoyed all year long. |
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Happy New Year!
It’s that time of year again when we lay down our resolutions for the new year ahead. I have gone back to my resolutions from the last several years and I noticed a pattern. Each and every year for the last several years I have made a resolution to “surprise myself”. I have to say that this has become my favorite resolution, because I intentionally make myself do something new and uncomfortable… and I truly am surprised by the outcome. I’d like to challenge you to try it!
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Cathy Schmit
Past President and Board Advisor
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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, over 150 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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