Archives 2008

FCAG Meetings 2008-2009

Meetings will be held at 7:30 pm at 1134 Litton Lane, McLean 22101 on the following dates:

FCAG Summer Guide

2008 Summer Enrichment Guide

FCAG Summer Enrichment Camp Guide

FCAG's 2008 Summer Camp Guide is available on the Publications page.

Twice Exceptional

Work continues to improve instructional services and support provided by FCPS to twice exceptional (gifted and learning disabled) students. For more information, contact

Connie Lorentzen.

Ms. Lorentzen began spearheading this effort when she was the vice president of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs.

At Risk — Gifted Education in Virginia

You must act now to preserve Gifted Education in the Commonwealth of Virginia! Below are two proposed changes and how they will affect gifted students. We need your help!

Sadly, the proposed new regulations governing programs for gifted students in Virginia move services for gifted learners backwards instead of forwards. There are many concerns about the proposed changes, but there are two proposals that all Virginians must work toward changing if we are to support the needs of gifted learners within public education in the Commonwealth.

(1) 8VAC20-40-60. Local plans.

The proposed revision states that the local plan will no longer be submitted to the Department of Education (DOE) for approval, and will instead be approved annually by the local school board. This change is detrimental for several reasons:

  1. The only quality control and outside review of a division plan is through the approval process by the DOE. Without DOE approval, no central authority will be responsible to confirm that the plan is in compliance with regulations.
  2. Educators and community stakeholders invest significant time and effort to create a 5-year plan and in the process seek peer review from other gifted education colleagues. To shift this process to the local level will eliminate the productive insights that emerge from this peer review.
  3. It is not productive to develop a plan on an annual basis. The local advisory committee is given the responsibility to review annually the local plan to determine effectiveness and submit recommendations in writing to the superintendent and school board.
  4. As a whole, school board members are not considered experts in the field of gifted education and will not be able to provide feedback for gifted program plans.

2) 8VAC20-40-70

The repeal of the funding language which previously stated,

"State funds administered by the Department of Education for the education of gifted students shall be used to support only those activities identified in the school division's plan as approved by the Board of Education"

is seriously problematic.

  1. Currently, Standards of Quality (SOQ) Basic Aid Funding for gifted education supports the state share of one full-time equivalent instructional position (FTE) per 1,000 students in adjusted average daily membership (ADM) of a school division.
  2. What happens to the funds that were intended for gifted program services? In the absence of this regulatory language protecting the funding for gifted program services, funds could be used for other purposes which could reduce the quality of gifted programming in many school divisions.

Please let your voice be heard and request the following:

  1. Each local school division shall submit to the Department of Education for approval a plan, developed on a 5-year basis, for the education of gifted students to ensure that the regulations are being followed.
  2. State funds administered by the DOE for the education of gifted students shall be used only to support those activities identified in the school division's plan as approved by the Board of Education (BOE).

After reading the proposed changes to the Regulations, please post your concerns and comments on the Town Hall website. The public comment period is scheduled to open on June 9, 2008 and close on August 8, 2008. Send a copy of your concerns and requests to:

Dr. Mark Emblidge
President, Board of Education
413 Stuart Circle, Suite 130
Richmond, VA 23220
Dr. Billy Cannaday, Jr.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Virginia Department of Education
P. O. Box 2120 Richmond
VA 23218-2120

Specialist, Governor's School and Gifted Education

You may also want to contact other state board of education members.

Check the VAG website for updates. Click on "legislation" for additional information about the revision of the regulations. Please forward this information to others who may want to help ensure that the future of gifted education in Virginia will move forward.

TJHSST Summer Tech Institute 2008

TJ will be offering one-week day camps this summer for rising 8th and/or 9th graders. Registration opens on May 12th, and the camps are scheduled during July and early August. For detailed information about the offerings, visit the TJ website, including the Summer Tech FAQ. For ALL information regarding applications and the registration process, please visit the FCPS web site or ACE web site. Registration for the TJ Tech Institute will NOT be accepted at TJHSST.

Music Opportunities for K–12 — May 28

Does your child love music? Is he or she looking for opportunities to rehearse and perform outside of school? Come hear about music programs in this area for elementary, middle and high school students. The program will include five panel members, who will provide information about options for beginning to very advanced string, wind, brass and percussion instrumentalists, as well as singers. Panelists include: Tomoko Azuma, Executive Director of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras; Caroline Desmond, Managing Director of the Fairfax Choral Society; Tina Dove, Director of the Virginia campus of the Levine School of Music; Kerry Silva, Director of the Performing Arts Camp of Shenandoah University; and Susan Kervick, an experienced FCPS music department chair.

This program is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28, at 7:30 PM, in the Luther Jackson MS auditorium, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church, Virginia. It is sponsored by the Fairfax County Association for the Gifted. Admission is free and open to the general public. For more information, contact Louise Epstein at (703) 917-7960.

FCPS Transportation Task Force

SLEEP has been participating in a FCPS Transportation Task Force (TTF), which is exploring proposals to restructure bus transportation to enable base high school students to sleep later. Some preliminary TTF proposals could affect bus transportation to and from GT Centers and TJ. For more information, visit the SLEEP website.

Proposed Budget Cuts by FCPS

In January 2008 Dr. Dale proposed to reduce bus transportation to and from elementary and middle school GT Centers and from TJ. Dr. Dale also proposed to charge students to take PSAT, AP and IB tests, and to participate in high school sports. In February, the School Board voted not to adopt these budget cuts. Depending on funding received from the Board of Supervisors, FCPS may revive these budget cuts and/or find additional budget cuts later this spring. (See: FY2009 Budget) If you have concerns about proposed budget cuts and/or suggestions on other ways FCPS could save money, contact the School Board.

2008 Camp Fair — Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who helped with our camp fair, including A Class Act Acting, Audobon Naturalist Society, Best Academy, Brain Relief, Cardigan Mountain, Camp Friendship, Camp Watonka, Camp Rim Rock, Camp Hidden Meadows, Camp Horizons, Christchurch School, Fairfax Collegiate School, Ferrum College, Flint Hill School, GWU, JHU/CTY, JKST, Inc., Levine School of Music, Madeira School, MathTree, Mercersburg Academy, Nysmith, Northwestern University, Phillips Academy, Russian Music Academy, Score, TIC Camp, Traveling Players, and Wesleyan Summer Gifted Program for their donations.

FCAG Summer Enrichment Camp Fair — January 30, 2008

On Wednesday, January 30th, the annual FCAG Summer Enrichment Camp Fair will be at Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna, Virginia 22181, from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. The fair will feature representatives from mostly-local camps with academic, artistic, dramatic or other forms of summer enrichment. The fair is free and open to the general public. FCAG's 2008 Summer Camp Guide will be mailed to FCAG members by mid-January, and additional 2008 guides will be available for $5 at the camp fair. For more information, contact Louise at 703-917-7960.

SLEEP — Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal

Although the School Board did not vote this spring to reduce transportation to traditional GT Centers, this issue continues to be worth watching. For more information, visit the SLEEP website.

Middle School GT Centers

This spring, the School Board voted to create a new middle school GT Center at Jackson MS. In 2007-08, gifted students who live in the Luther Jackson MS area will attend its new GTC. In 2008-09, gifted students who live in the Thoreau MS area are supposed to attend the new Jackson GTC. Vienna parents have asked FCPS to create a new GTC at Thoreau MS. For more information, contact Jill Hecht at 703-281-2094.

Nation Deceived

Although educators often recommend enrichment over acceleration, research indicates that acceleration benefits most gifted students. To see an analysis and summary of the research on the impact of acceleration, visit A Nation Deceived website.