The Gifted Network Initiative
We are a group of parents, educators, and community members working to improve the educational health of gifted and talented children in the community. The ‘gifted’ learner designation covers a very large spectrum of learners, who are often misunderstood and underrepresented.
Many may be surprised to learn that the gifted learner is at a higher risk of failing, dropping out, being bullied, underachieving, and even committing suicide than other learners. And yet, when identified early and given appropriate services to meet their unique needs as children, these same children also hold a higher percentage of leadership roles in the community as adults and are our progressive innovators in the fields of science and tech.
Many gifted learners are twice exceptional (2e) and may have an extraordinarily high IQ and strength in one or multiple areas while being extraordinarily weak in another or others. The many unique circumstances and qualities that gifted children display and endure make it a challenge to serve the needs of each in the classroom and to keep up with their ever changing needs, much like those who have a handicap.
The lack of adequate services offered to meet the unique and challenging educational needs of gifted students in Brevard is astounding. We have many schools in Brevard that have no gifted certified teachers on staff and the gifted students that attend those schools get no services at all, even though funding comes in for them from the state for those services.
Unlike some other counties surrounding Brevard, we do not test every student at the 2nd grade level. Right now as a district policy in Brevard, a teacher must identify a student for being possibly gifted and create a recommendation to test for giftedness. Considering very few teachers are gifted certified, the question must be posed, “How do they know what to look for in a gifted child and how many times do they wrongly identify a child as ADHD or troubled when the child may just be bored and gifted”?
We envision changes in the gifted identification policy in Brevard and a change in services offered to gifted children living in Brevard. We intend to help support a healthier school and educational environment for the gifted, talented, and high achieving underrepresented and under-identified children of Brevard.
Advocating for schools and students, we also seek corporate educational partnerships to enrich the educational services provided for children and young adults across the gifted, talented, and high achieving spectrum.
If you are interested in partnering with Local Movement to offer educational enrichment opportunities in Brevard County, Florida, please submit a contact form or give us a call.
Working together to enrich students’ educational experiences, we invest in the future.
Join us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegiftednetwork/