It's Still Not Too Late to Register!

Space is still available for all sessions if you wish to register for the conference.  You can register online through Monday, April 19th, at http://www.giftedpage.org/.  After that, you can register on site at the Sheraton.  Hope to see you there!

Featured Speaker - Nathan Levy

Applying his experience from over thirty year as a teacher, principal, author, and educational consultant, Nathan Levy has traveled extensively across the United States as well as South America, Europe, and Asia to bring his message realting to thinking and creativity.  His workshops cover many topics for a wide array of participants, and his publications assist people in discovering new and creative ways to develop their critical thinking skills.  Mr. Levy is the author of the famous book series Stories with Holes as well as several other books, including Whose Clues? and 100 Intriguing Questions for Kids (Adults, Too!).

Join Mr. Levy for his breakout session, Powerful Strategies to Enhance Learning of Gifted and Highly Able Students, on Saturday, April 24th.

Featured Speaker - Charles Jelley

Charles Jelley has an LLM in Health Law, having graduated from the University of Loyola School of Law, Institute for Health Law in Chicago, Illinois.  In April of 1993, he joined the firm of Tremba & Jelley in Westmoreland County.  His practice focuses on multiple areas of the law, including children’s issues, school law and legislative analysis.  Mr. Jelley has more than ten years of experience working with not-for-profit boards.  He is a member of the Bar Association Rules Publications committee, and is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Exceptional Children’s Committee.

Join Mr. Jelley for his breakout session on Saturday, April 24th, Legal Issues in Gifted Education.

Note: CLE credit is available for attorneys who attend this session.  A credit request form will be available at the conference registration table.  To receive this credit, a fee of $1.50 must be paid to PACLE.

Concurrent Sessions - Saturday, April 24th - Session D (2:00-3:00)

Understanding Your Child's Assessment: What Do Those Test Scores Really Tell You?
Presented by Dr. Victoria Damiani
Strand: Assessment and Identification

What Do Colleges and Universities Teach Their Students about Gifted Education?
Presented by Dr. Jennifer Rotigel
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Educaton

Ability Grouping: Helpful or Harmful?
Presented by Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

The Standing Machine
Presented by Deborah Smith
Strand: Math and Science

Caught in the Middle: GIEPs and Programming for the Middle School Level
Presented by Charlton Wolfgang
Strand: Programming and Services

Perfectionism in Gifted Students: Burden or Bonus?
Presented by Linda Deal
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

Concurrent Sessions - Saturday, April 24th - Session C (12:45-1:45)

Advocating for the Gifted Child: Working with School Personnel
Presented by Dr. David Mason and Marilyn Thomas
Strand: Parent and Community

Creativity: A Gift to Be Fostered
Presented by Linda Deal
Strand: Creativity and the Arts

More Rigor, Not More Work
Presented by Diane Chessman, Madeline Keri, and Joanna Mangiapane
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

Encouraging the Participation of Girls and Women in Computer Science: Research and Action
Presented by Dr. Carol Frieze
Strand: Computers and Technology

Generators vs. Replicators: A New Perspective on Giftedness
Presented by Colette Silvestri
Strand: Assessment and Identification

It Takes a Community: Fostering Intellectual Identity Development in Students from Underrepresented Populations
Presented by Dr. Kimberly McGlonn-Nelson
Strand: Special Populations

Concurrent Sessions - Saturday, April 24th - Session B (11:15-12:15)

Parenting Gifted Kids: A Counselor’s Perspective
Presented by Dr. Jean Peterson
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

The Top Five Fundamentals of Gifted Education
Presented by Donna Benson, Julie Krause, Franny McAleer, and Dr. Jeanne Van Briesen
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Gender and Giftedness
Presented by Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

From Confusion to Clarity: Navigating through Jargon to a Better GIEP
Presented by Kimm Doherty and Melissa Bilash
Strand: Programming and Services

Working with High Achievers in Critical Thinking
Presented by Scott Hobson
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

Academically Gifted and Artistically Talented
Presented by Kasey Kennedy
Strand: Creativity and the Arts

Concurrent Sessions - Saturday, April 24th - Session A (10:00-11:00)

Bullying of and by Gifted Students
Presented by Dr. Jean Peterson
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

Legal Issues in Gifted Education
Presented by Charles Jelley, Esq.
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Powerful Strategies to Enhance Learning of Gifted and Highly Able Students
Presented by Nathan Levy
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

Gifted Myths: A Reality Check
Presented by Marilyn Thomas
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Resources for Gifted Preschoolers
Presented by Dr. Victoria Damiani and Susan Brianne Rambeau
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

High School Gifted Programs: Four Years with the Letters
Presented by Donna Benson
Strand: Programming and Services

Concurrent Sessions - Friday, April 23rd - Session D (3:00-4:00)

Due Process: Views from the Sides
Presented by Jay Clark, Esq., and Linda Deal
Strand: Parent and Community

Everything I Wish I’d Known about Gifted Education Before I Started Teaching
Presented by Sharon Kroll, Kathy McHugh, Daniel Rosenberg, and Charlton Wolfgang
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Giggles and Chuckles: Humor and the Gifted Learner
Presented by Janet Aaker Smith
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

Questions and Answers about Academic Acceleration
Presented by Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

Biomimicry and Invention
Presented by Susan Clarke
Strand: Creativity and the Arts

Game Design: Using Computer Games to Promote Thinking Skills
Presented by Susan McCoy
Strand: Computers and Technology

Conducting Effective Parent-Teacher Conferences
Presented by Dr. Susan Sour
Strand: Parent and Community

Concurrent Sessions - Friday, April 23rd - Session C (1:45-2:45)

President’s Panel: Questions and Answers about Gifted Programs
Moderated by Dr. Judith Mosse
Presented by Dr. Victoria Damiani, Dr. Karen Rogers, and Dr. Ann Lupkowski Shoplik
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

What You Need to Know about the New Chapter 16 Guidelines
Presented by Dr. David Mason
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Extreme Makeover: Brain-Compatible Differentiation
Presented by Janet Aaker Smith
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction   

Math Mystery Night
Presented by Kathy McHugh and Barbara Lewis
Strand: Math and Science

Challenges to Learning: Gifted Children in the Autism Spectrum
Presented by Dr. Diane Williams
Strand: Special Populations

Animation and Game Programming for Kids
Presented by Julia Tebbets
Strand: Computers and Technology

Expanding Gifted Pedagogy to All Students without Sacrificing the Gifted
Presented by Ron Schmiedel
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Concurrent Sessions - Friday, April 23rd - Session B (11:15-12:15)

Teachers Who Make a Difference in Gifted Children’s Lives
Presented by Dr. Karen Rogers
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

Early Indicators: Revealing Learning Problems for the Twice Exceptional
Presented by Andy Mahoney
Strand: Special Populations

Giftedness and High Potential in a Corporation
Presented by Jane Schenck
Strand: Assessment and Identification

Guiding the Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted Children in Early and Elementary Years through Literature
Presented by Dr. Anne Slanina
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

Out of This World with Six Hats®: A Leadership Tool for the 21st Century
Presented by Franny McAleer
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

Favorite C-MITES Math Activities and Resources
Presented by Pamela Piskurich
Strand: Math and Science

The Learning Enrichment Center: Programming, Screening, and Evaluation
Presented by Kellie Blasco, Butch MacQueen, Nancy Warner, Amy Stimmell, Diane Martin, Michelle Johnson, and Kim Angove
Strand: Programming and Services

Concurrent Sessions - Friday, April 23rd - Session A (10:00-11:00)

Do Australians Do It Better? An Outsider’s Perspective on Education “Down Under”
Presented by Dr. Karen Rogers
Strand: Programming and Services

The Price of Achievement
Presented by Andy Mahoney
Strand: Counseling and Guidance

Collected Wisdom: Reflections from Three Neuber-Pregler Award Winners
Presented by Ted Davis, Dr. David Mason, and Dr. Ann Lupkowski Shoplik
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

You Have the Right to Extend, Enrich and Challenge!
Presented by Janet Aaker Smith
Strand: Curriculum and Instruction

Gifted ABCs: An Overview of Gifted Education Terminology
Presented by J.J. Baker
Strand: Foundations of Gifted Education

A Private School’s Journey with Gifted Education
Presented by Kathy Dunlop and Susan Feguson
Strand: Programming and Services

Goal Setting and the Gifted Student: Using Interdisciplinary Enrichment Units to Address and Monitor Students’ GIEP Goals
Presented by Elizabeth Santucci, Kathleen Clark, Stefania Davidse, and Maureen Stanko
Strand: Programming and Services

Unveiling the Conference Logo

Special thanks to noted Baton Rouge artist Kefrin Woodham for her design of our logo.

Featured Speaker: Dr. Diane Williams

Diane L. Williams, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Speech-Language Pathology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, conducts NIH-funded behavioral and neuroimaging studies of language and cognitive processing in high-functioning children and adults with autism in collaboration with the Center for Autism Research at the University of Pittsburgh and the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Williams has extensive clinical experience with children and adults with autism with a wide range of cognitive abilities and has served as a consultant for numerous school districts. A primary focus of her research program is the design of interventions for children with autism based on a neurobiological model. She is the author of Developmental Language Disorders: Language, Learning, and the Brain.

Join Dr. Williams for her breakout session on Friday, April 23rd, Challenges to Learning: Gifted Children on the Autism Spectrum.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Special thanks to those sponsors whose contributions will add so much to our conference.  This year's major sponsors include:

The Summer Institute for the Gifted, Event Sponsor

Commonwealth Connections Academy, Sponsor of the Children's Program

The J.W. Foundation, providing each attendee with a complimentary copy of the book The Art of Learning

Conference Committee Emails

If you have any questions or wish to reach members of the conference committee, use the emails listed below.  While email is the preferred form of communication, you may reach someone by phone by calling the PAGE Helpline at 888-736-6443.

Conference Committee: PAGEgoes2Mars@gmail.com

Dr. Judith Mosse, Conference Co-Chair: JMosse@asd.k12.pa.us

Dan Rosenberg, Conference Co-Chair: danielr222@yahoo.com

Amy Villa, Exhibit Hall Coordinator: avilla1@pghboe.net

Linda Deal, Awards Committee Chairperson: lindajdeal@gmail.com

A Note about Meals

Breakfast

A full breakfast will be provided for all hotel guests as part of the room rate.  Due to costs and the fact that breakfast is included for those staying on site, breakfast will not be provided for those attendees not staying at the hotel.  Those who wish to purchase breakfast may do so at the hotel, as both a restaurant and a cafe are located in the lobby area.


Lunch

Lunch is on your own on Thursday.  A lunch buffet is available for purchase in the hotel restaurant for less than $10.  Numerous other restaurants are within close proximity to the Sheraton.


Friday's lunch (included with a registration for that day) consists of a chicken entree and will be a sit-down lunch.  Because many attendees will be traveling across the state on Saturday afternoon to return home, that day will feature a boxed lunch (included with registration).  By having this lunch option, we are able to end earlier than the previous day, giving attendees a chance to attend all four breakout sessions while still arriving home at a reasonable hour.

Note that the lunches on both Friday and Saturday contain meat items.  If you require a vegetarian option, please contact the conference committee at PAGEgoes2Mars@gmail.com.  A vegetarian lunch will be provided for you.

A Note to Exhibitors: If you prefer a boxed lunch on Friday so that you will be able to eat at your booth, please email PAGEgoes2Mars@gmail.com.

Featured Speaker: Marilyn Thomas

Marilyn Thomas is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a B.S. in Nursing.  After a career in public health nursing, health education, and medical sales, she and her husband became the parents of two gifted children, one of whom also has a learning disability.  She has been the president of the PAGE Affiliate in Lancaster County—the Lancaster County PArtners for Gifted Education (LC PAGE) since 2005.   In the fall of 2008 she helped to establish a parent support/advocacy group in her own school district known as the Hempfield Partners for Exceptional Children (HPEC).  She has presented at local affiliate meetings throughout Central PA, at previous PAGE Conferences, and at the national level at the annual Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) Conference in Washington, DC.  She has recently been a member of the Chapter 16 stakeholders' group and was the 2008 PAGE Parent of the Year.

Join Mrs. Thomas at the conference where she will present the workshop Myths about Gifted Education and Gifted Children: A Reality Check and will co-present the session Advocating for the Gifted Child: Working with School Personnel with PAGE Past President and former school administrator Dr. David Mason.

Featured Speaker: Franny McAleer

Franny McAleer has several degrees in education, curriculum, supervision, and administration and taught in the classroom for over thirty years.  She is presently on the faculties of Indiana University of Pennsylvania as well as Wilkes, Chapman, Waynesburg, and Duquesne Universities. She has taught professional development courses for the Pennsylvania Department of Education for over twenty years.  She also developed and supervised educational programs throughout the United States in the areas of differentiating instruction, creativity, career planning, gifted and talented education, and restructuring America's high schools.  Ms. McAleer has authored 20 books as well as numerous magazine and journal articles.  She has served as PAGE president and has also been the Regional President of the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (PASCD), She is a member of various advisory boards, promoting educational practices that teach students to use their minds well and talents creatively.  She also facilitates gifted education reviews for districts wanting to improve their gifted programs.  For more information about Ms. McAleer, visit www.learnerslink.com.

At this year's PAGE conference, Ms. McAleer will be presenting the workshop Out of This World with Six Hats: A Leadership Tool for the 21st Century and will be serving on the panel The Top Five Fundamentals of Gifted Education along with Dr. Jeanne Van Briesen of Carnegie Mellon University, teacher of the gifted Charlton Wolfgang, and 2009 PAGE Parent of the Year Julie Krause.  In addition, Ms. McAleer will also be coordinating a course for graduate credit revolving around this year's conference.  If you are interested in earning graduate credit for your conference participation visit Learners Link.

Conference Forms

Here are the links to download conference forms:

Conference Registration Form

Additional Registration for Those Wishing to Receive Graduate Credit for Attending the Conference

Exhibitor Application

Full Day Session: Best Practices for Meeting the Needs of All Gifted Learners

This session will focus on the key components of a strong gifted program as well as specific and practical instructional strategies for use with gifted students.  We will discuss not only the importance of rigor but also how rigor can be heightened with certain choices for instructional strategies and curricula.  Time will also be spent looking at typically underserved populations of gifted learners such as the twice exceptional, students who are gifted and ELL, as well as underachievers and students of poverty.   Students' needs will be identified as well as coupled with best practices in curriculum and instruction to address their unique learning needs.  Strategies will be presented and demonstrated across grade levels and subject matter.

This workshop will be presented by Dr. Mary Slade of James Madison University from 8:30-3:30 (with one hour for lunch on your own) on Thursday, April 22nd.

Half-Day Sessions

The following 3-hour sessions are being offered on Thursday, April 22nd.

The Challenges of Parenting and Teaching Gifted Children
Presented by Andy Mahoney, Counselor of the Gifted

This session will include a discussion of some of the unique concerns for gifted children, their parents, and their teachers. We will discuss what it means for a child to be gifted and what it means to be a parent or teacher of a gifted child. We will focus on the needs of gifted children in educational, social-emotional, and developmental areas. The workshop will also explore the identity formation of the gifted child. How a well formed gifted identity impacts learning and the development of gifted ability, and how parents and teachers can foster a healthy productive identity for the gifted child.

This session will be offered from 8:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.


Developing Mathematical Talent
Presented by Dr. Ann Lupkowski Shoplik, Director and Founder of C-MITES

Mathematically talented students need a program that is different from the regular school math program. That’s common sense, but how do we do it?  In this practical session, learn how to set up a comprehensive, systematic program for students who are exceptionally talented in math. Discover how to modify the regular program for the students, and develop an understanding of the Pyramid of Educational Options for gifted children.  The Diagnostic Testing -> Prescriptive Instruction model is the backbone of this process; students are tested to determine their level of ability and achievement in mathematics, and instruction is tailored to their individual needs.  This practical model has been used in full-scale school district programs as well as for individual students in supplementary programs.  Whether you are a parent looking for options for your individual child or a gifted coordinator looking for ways to challenge your students systematically, this session will help you meet the needs of your students. Case studies of individual students and sample exemplary programs will illustrate the steps of the process.  Curriculum resources will be described and other resources for establishing a program (such as sample letters) will be included.

This session will be offered from 12:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.

Featured Speaker: Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek

Mary Ann Swiatek, Ph.D., has been doing research on giftedness since exploring the topic of acceleration in a library research project as an undergraduate in the late 1980s.  She graduated from Oberlin College with honors in Psychology and immediately went on to Iowa State University, from which she received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology.  While at Iowa State, she was fortunate to work with Dr. Camilla Benbow and the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY).  Since receiving her doctorate, she has worked as a college professor at SUNY Fredonia and Lafayette College, and as a Research Specialist with C-MITES.  Currently, she is a psychologist at KidsPeace, a large psychiatric facility for children and adolescents.  She is a past member of the PAGE Board and continues to be an active member of the PAGE Speakers Bureau.  Her interests focus on academic acceleration and social coping among gifted students, but she regularly speaks on other topics related to giftedness, as well.

Join Dr. Swiatek for her breakout sessions Gender and Giftedness, Ability Grouping: Helpful or Harmful?, and Questions and Answers about Academic Acceleration.

Featured Speaker: Janet Aaker Smith

Janet Aaker Smith taught elementary and middle school gifted classes.  Subsequently, she took a position as a lecturer at the University of Melbourne and Deakin University and served as Vice President of the Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children.  Since Victoria (Australia) had no state policy concerning gifted education, Janet became involved in designing the government’s new policy and implementing its initiatives.

As an entrepreneur, Ms. Aaker Smith formed L.E.A.P., a consulting business to design and provide professional development for educators and co-founded Vibrant Learning, a company dedicated to educating teachers, administrators and businesses about Learning Styles. Along the way she has written nine books, including: Flying in Style with Altitude, Aptitude and Attitude; Bewitched, Bedazzled and Beguiled; and 90 Instructional Strategies for the Classroom and Challenging Puzzles Series: Social Studies, Science and Language Arts.

Join Ms. Aaker Smith for during the conference for her breakout sessions Giggles and Chuckles: Humor and the Gifted Learner, You Have the Right to Extend, Enrich and Challenge!, and Extreme Makeover: Brain-Compatible Differentiated Instruction.

Thanks to Our Exhibitors

Thank you to all of the exhibitors for our event.  To learn more about exhibitor and sponsor opportunities, email Dan Rosenberg at danielr222@yahoo.com.  PAGE encourages you to to support the following exhibitors, all of whom will have a presence at our conference.

Carnegie Science Center - http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org

C-MITES - http://www.cmu.edu/cmites

Commonwealth Connections Academy - http://www.connectionsacademy.com/pennsylvania-school/free-online-public-school.aspx

Creek Connections/Allegheny College - http://creekconnections.allegheny.edu

CTY/Johns Hopkins University - http://cty.jhu.edu

Educational Impressions - http://www.brightideascatalog.com

EMC/Educators Source - http://www.emcp.com

Great Potential Press - http://www.giftedbooks.com

H.J. Heinz History Center - http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Center for Gifted Education - http://www.coe.iup.edu/gifted

Invent Now Kids/Camp Invention - http://www.invent.org

Johns Hopkins University/CTY - http://www.cty.jhu.edu

Just Ducky Tours - http://www.justduckytours.com

Lehigh University Pennsylvania School for Global Entrepreneurship - http://www.iacocca-lehigh.org

Millersville University's College of Graduate and Professional Studies - http://www.millersville.edu/academics/educ/eled/graduate.php#MasterofEducationDegreeinGiftedEducation

Nathan Levy Books - http://www.storieswithholes.com

Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School - University Scholars Program - http://www.palcs.org

Pennsylvania Treasury Department, TAP Bureau/529 College Plan - http://www.makecollegepossible.com

Pieces of Learning - http://www.piecesoflearning.com

SAE International's A World in Motion Program - http://www.awim.org

Shady Side Academy - http://www.shadysideacademy.org

The Summer Institute for the Gifted - http://www.giftedstudy.org

Travel for Teens - http://www.travelforteens.com

The University of Pittsburgh Health Career Scholars Academy - http://www.hcsa.pitt.edu

Usborne Books and More - http://www.usbornebooks.com

Keynotes

Join us on both Friday, April 23rd, and Saturday, April 24th for keynotes presented by Dr. Karen Rogers of The University of St. Thomas and Dr. Jean Peterson of Purdue University, respectively.  Both keynotes will be for an expanded 75 minutes and will include a wealth of valuable information.


Friday: An Update on the Latest Research in Gifted Education
Dr. Rogers will share the aspects of the field that have become increasingly clearer in terms of what we know about giftedness and gifted learners. These aspects include knowledge of teacher effectiveness, instructional management techniques, curriculum adaptation strategies, and instructional pedagogy. An extensive handout will accompany this presentation.


Saturday: Social and Emotional Issues: Essential for Advocacy
Interest in and concern about the social and emotional development of gifted children and adolescents continues to grow in the field of gifted education. Advocates for differentiated curriculum and other services for gifted students can enhance their effectiveness by making these concerns part of their arguments. Dr. Peterson will present her perspectives on pertinent issues and share strategies for general advocacy, based on her extensive work with the burden side of high ability as a teacher, counselor, and researcher and on her advocacy as both a parent and a teacher.

Featured Speaker: Dr. Anne Slanina

Dr. Anne M. Slanina has been an educator for 30 years and is an associate professor of elementary/early childhood education at Slippery Rock University.  Anne is also the author of The Adventures of Annie Mouse series of picture books, which are designed to guide social/emotional growth.  Anne holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Gifted Child Education and a Masters degree in Reading Education.  Prior to teaching in higher education, Anne taught Kindergarten, Reading K-12, and Gifted 9-12 classes throughout several Ohio schools.  She is a frequent presenter at state, national and international conferences where she enjoys interacting with her audiences, as well as entertaining them with tales of her own successes and failures.  For more information about Anne and her books, visit her website at www.anniemousebooks.com.

Join Dr. Slanina for her breakout session Guiding the Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted Children in Early and Elementary Years through Literature during the PAGE conference!