2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

I am an elementary school administrator who is formerly the TAG coordinator for my school, and I am also currently the interim president of OATAG (the Oregon Association of Talented and Gifted). I have been attempting to call in, but the line is very busy, so I'll try to post a quick reply here.

At my school, we have dedicated a teacher at .5 FTE as well as a small budget at both the school and district level. This allows the teacher to spend 20 hours per week identifying and developing our program for TAG students. We use a variety of strategies to address the needs of our TAG students, including acceleration, ability grouping, pull-out program, etc.

As I see it, there are two main problems: first, TAG is not a priority for our state. The legislature is only now setting aside a tiny amount of money toward TAG. The other is at the district and school level. While my district does allocate funds for TAG, many districts do not. Additionally, even when TAG funds are available from the district, some principals do not direct those funds to TAG.

The main thing is for parents to get involved. Legislators, principals, and superintendents listen to parents. Parents must tell them what they want. OATAG.org provides resources on how to do this. We are hosting a number of "meet-ups" that will allow parents to network and begin this process. Go to www.OATAG.org to learn more.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
view in context