Please join the Oklahoma State Department of Education and Gifted Educators from across the state in a new 3 part webinar series aimed at improving your gifted program and better serving your community.

Revising your District Gifted Education Plan 

Tuesday, March 5, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

When was the last time your district's Gifted Education Plan was revised? Join us to hear from other district leaders in Oklahoma who have successfully updated their Gifted Education Plan recently and learn about their processes, including how to include your Local Action Committee, getting feedback from vital stakeholders, and creating a robust plan that enriches the curriculum and creates high expectations.       

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Revising your District Testing Protocol

Tuesday, April 2, 3:330 - 4:30 p.m.

Spring is when many districts across the state use an assessment to identify gifted students and qualify them for services, but are you using the best assessment possible? Join us to look at research and the latest assessments available to make an informed decision of the best assessment available to serve your students and meet the needs of all learners.  

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Preparing your District Expenditure Report 

Tuesday, May 7, 3:330 - 4:30 p.m.

As the school year comes to a close, the last thing on the to-do list is for all districts to submit their expenditure report. What is this report? Where does it go? Am I supposed to do that? All these questions and many more will be answered as we talk with the personnel from a school's finance department about how to streamline this process and make sure you still make the deadline. Teamwork is the name of the game!  

Register here

Every classroom has a few eager students who always participate and a less enthusiastic majority content to sit back. Often asking students to raise a hand when they know the answer exacerbates this problem because some students process the question more quickly and their eagerness to answer can undermine others' confidence. Many times our gifted students fall into both categories because they are torn between the thought of eagerly wanting to answer the question while many don't want to participate at all because they aren't being challenged. 

Employing simple yet effective instructional strategies to encourage participation by all students allows everybody an entry point, particularly at the beginning of the class. 

Have you tried the "Thumbs Up" strategy? It is a quick assessment strategy that replaces raising hands, encouraging more students to contribute by accommodating their different processing needs.

Read more about this strategy and others you can easily start implementing today!

As educators struggle to understand anxiety and its implications for student success in schools, so too do the parents of these students.Gifted students struggle with anxiety as they try to find their place amongst their peers and adults, wondering where they belong. Whether it’s failing to complete work at home, not turning in assignments, or avoiding school altogether, students with anxiety display an affect often confused with disinterest and complacency. Anxiety, however, couldn’t be more different than the conclusions we often make about those students diagnosed. Anxiety is an illness associated with general fear and worry; it is not nervousness and it most certainly is not complacency. 

Partnering with parents to help them better understand how to support their gifted child with anxiety is a benefit to all involved. Read more about strategies and supports available here.

When students write with an authentic purpose and audience, they are motivated to craft powerful words into prose and poetry.

Jason Stephenson, Secondary ELA Director at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, has compiled numerous writing contests—state, national, and international—as a way for students to share their writing with a broader audience. The contests are organized chronologically by deadline.

Visit the website today and get your students writing!