A Letter From the Executive Director
Welcome to the Fall 2015 edition of The Bridge, the biannual newsletter of the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary. I am excited to introduce this issue, as so many good and exciting things are happening. Please note, although everything highlighted in this newsletter is very important, it only reflects a portion of the activities that all of these professionals are involved with on a daily basis. For example, they all participate actively with international, national, local professional organizations; work on boards and journals; write for publication; write grants; teach classes; advise students; and so forth. These professionals are exceptional in their commitment to the field of gifted education and even more importantly, to students with gifts and talents. I am very proud to be associated with them.
One of the most exciting aspects of the Center is the addition of Dr. Yara Farah as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focusing on gifted education curriculum. She comes to us from Baylor University, having been trained by the legendary Dr. Susan Johnsen. Yara is working most closely with Dr. Kim Chandler to enhance our research in curriculum-related areas and to help us develop new assessments for extant curriculum materials. As Director for Research at the Center, Dr. Jennifer Cross will also support this important endeavor. Yara began this new role at the beginning of Fall 2015 term and will be with us for two academic years.
A second brand-new aspect to the Center is the grant funded by the Jacob K. Javits Fund. A very exciting aspect to this project is the collaboration among the Center, the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, and the Ohio Department of Education. Details are provided in the newsletter. Yet another new exciting aspect of the Center is the recent creation of the Institute for Research on the Suicide of Gifted Students. Details about the Institute follow.
Continuing the exciting activities of the Center are new curriculum materials. Dr. Chandler describes recent publications that she and her colleagues have created for gifted students. The last two years have been exceedingly productive years in the curriculum materials arena.
Our precollegiate programs area continues to offer high-quality programs for gifted children. These programs exist in numerous forms and locations including Williamsburg and Richmond, VA. We also offer ongoing programs for top middle school students in math and science from South Korea. Camp Launch is now in its fifth year and provides special programming for high-ability students in a residential model. Focusing on the Future is a longstanding, highly subscribed event for families with gifted students. More than 400 people attend this event each year. Dr. Mihyeon Kim oversees all of these programs. Rounding out our programming for precollege-age students are our two Virginia Governor’s Schools. While small, they are mighty. Dr. Margie Greenfield provides some detail about them in the newsletter.
Professional development is another hallmark of the Center for Gifted Education. Dr. Jenny Robins oversees numerous opportunities for the professional development of educators. They include the National Curriculum Network Conference and the Summer Institute. She and Dr. Kim Chandler collaborate to create many of the professional development products that help thousands of teachers and students. Jenny also collaborates with Laura Curtis in coordinating a 12-university reception held during the National Association for Gifted Children conference. Now in its sixth year, the reception is becoming a very important opportunity for gifted educators, researchers, administrators, and students to build connections. Jenny also serves The Association of the Gifted as the Managing Editor of the Journal for the Education for the Gifted.
Rounding out our professional development for teachers are our Advanced Placement courses. This summer we trained approximately 600 teachers about how to teach specific content areas within the Advanced Placement curriculum. Laura Curtis has been overseeing this program for several years now.
Across all areas of the Center cuts our research. Dr. Jennifer Cross oversees the Center’s research while conducing many studies of her own. She also provides evaluations of grant activities and writes grants. She is editing a new international book entitled Provisions for Gifted Learners that will be published this winter. She has provided a column in this issue of The Bridge about her research about developing positive peer relationships among gifted students.
Our final contribution comes from one our current doctoral students: Melanie Lichtenstein. She provides a thoughtful piece about culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse (CLED) students.
Each year we are fortunate to be able to highlight the efforts of those making up the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary. Sakhavat Mammadov will be given the NAGC Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student this November at the international conference. We are very proud of him. One of our English Language Arts curriculum units entitled The Pursuit of Justice will be given an award from NAGC’s Curriculum Network. More detail is provided about these award winners in the newsletter.
I have completed my first two official months living in Ireland as a Fulbright Scholar. It has been what you might imagine. It has been a wonderful experience and everyone has been very helpful and caring since my arrival. Dublin City University and the Centre for Talented Youth have been great hosts. Dr. Colm O’Reilly (Center Advisory Board member), has been an incredibly kind and supportive colleague to have here. Dr. O’Reilly, Dr. Jennifer Cross, and I been very actively conducting research, presenting at conferences and to groups of parents, gathering and analyzing data, and writing since even before my arrival here. An update will be provided in the spring issue of The Bridge.
Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D.
