|
PC-TAG kicked off the 2019-20 school year with a Fall Membership Coffee.
0 Comments
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) Advocacy and Legislative Alert E-mail List3/6/2019 Important news: Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) has a free advocacy and legislative alert e-mail list for TAG parents. It is important for every TAGT parent in Texas to sign up! You will not want to miss this information for your child. Stay in the know about TAGT laws, legislative action needs, and issues impacting your children both locally and at the state level.
Sign up HERE. TAGT is the voice of TAG education in Texas, and our parent group is affiliated with this reputable nonprofit organization. Find additional advocacy information from TAGT HERE. If you do one thing for your child’s advanced learning needs this week, please sign up for these e-mail alerts! After school on January 30th, members of the HPHS Robotics team gave a demonstration of their robots to elementary and MIS/HPMS students in the Raider Library. These VEX robots were partly funded by grants given by PC-TAG. Once again, our grants are directly enriching our children. From Mrs. Hilton: "Thank you so much for funding this experience! It is such a great activity for our kids after learning about the brain! I'm so appreciative!"
PC-TAG was thrilled to present Yvonne Janik with the Teacher of the Year Award after receiving several nominations by students and parents. "She is dedicated to teaching and preparing her students and determined to educate students for their edification.” "Ms. Janik makes a huge impact on the kids she teaches. She is a teacher with high demands from her students (meaning they come away having learned so much from her). However, she balances that with the ability to show students she cares and that she is truly interested in them. I can’t say enough good things about Ms Janik!” "She welcomes us to class every day with a passion for teaching. I feel that she deserves this award because of how dedicated she is to her students' educations.” "Because she is everything a teacher should be and more. She teaches with passion everyday and pushes our children to think and be creative.”
Texas Senate Bill 2145 De-Funds Gifted Education
Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 18 at 9:00 a.m., Chairman Larry Taylor and the members of the Senate Education Committee will be holding a hearing to discuss Senate Bill 2145 (relating to the public school finance system). This proposed bill seeks to REPEAL the Gifted and Talented Student Allotment. If this is something you would like to weigh in on, you may contact the senators on the Senate Education Committee and tell them the importance of the G/T weight and allotment, explain that it was created to support gifted students for a reason, and voice your concerns about how detrimental it would be to revoke the allotment. Members of the committee: Chairman Larry: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=11 Don Huffiness: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=16 Paul Bettencourt http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=7 Donna Campbell http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=25 Bob Hall http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=2 Bryan Hughes http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=1 Kel Seliger http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=31 Van Taylor http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=8 Carlos Uresti http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=19 Royce West http://www.senate.state.tx.us/member.php?d=23 Sample letter: Dear Chairman Taylor and Members of the Senate Education Committee: Senate Bill 2145, which seeks to repeal the Gifted and Talented Student Allotment in the public school finance system (§ 42.156 of the Texas Education Code), would have a direct negative impact on the educational opportunities afforded to our gifted and talented students in the Highland Park Independent School District. I am a member of PCTAG, a non-profit 501(c)(3) parent organization for individuals interested in improving the education of talented and gifted children in HPISD schools. Gifted students from every cultural background are unique in the way they process information in and out of school, and thus require differentiated curriculum and instruction to accommodate those differences. These students have the potential to greatly impact the future of Texas, from medicine to the arts. Being identified as gifted and talented is not a badge of honor, nor a reward for good behavior. It is an educational diagnosis requiring gifted program services that will encourage gifted and talented students to reach their full potential. Allocating specific support to the gifted and talented students in Texas is vital to promote their intellectual development in a challenging educational setting. I strongly OPPOSE the repeal of the Gifted and Talented Student Allotment set forth in § 1.79 of SB 2145. The loss of funds will negatively impact more than 400,000 students identified as gifted across the state of Texas. Our gifted learners need opportunities to cultivate their strengths, to better understand and accept themselves, and to make positive contributions to the world. I urge you to OPPOSE SB 2145 and continue to support the education of gifted students in Texas. Sincerely, xxx Please take action today. |
