I recently spent several days in Washington, DC with the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). As president of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) I was invited to NAGC's affiliates' conference. After 1-1/2 days of networking with other state affiliate members, listening to presentations, and being trained in articulating NAGC's legislative platform, I spent another day and a half meeting with each of the Illinois' legislators' education assistants on Capitol Hill.

I delivered the following messages on behalf of NAGC and gifted students across the nation:

1. Teachers do not receive undergraduate coursework in identifying and meeting the needs of gifted students. Yet these students can be found in general education classrooms across the country. NAGC proposes amending NCLB to require training for teachers.

2. Many state tests do not measure or account for students who are above the proficiency level. NAGC proposes amending NCLB to require state tests to measure above-grade level achievement, and change the state report cards to report the performance of the most advanced students.

3. The Javits program is the only federal funding for gifted and talented students. It funds the National Research Center for Gifted and Talented and issues competitive grants. Javits has been affected by across-the-board cuts in domestic spending since 2002 (down to $7.5 million). At the minimum, NAGC requests that Congress restore the Javits program funding to its highest level of 2002, $11.25 million and asks offices to co-sign letters requesting this level of funding for 2009.

4. Modify NCLB to change the current competitive state grants program to a formula grant program to help compensate for the enormous disparity between states and districts on the availability and quality of gifted education programs and services. Formula grants can have a real impact on gifted students, particularly those in low-income communities where gifted students are wholly dependent on the schools to meet their educational needs. NAGC asks representatives of the House to cosponsor HR 2925 so that the education committee will include its provisions in NCLB.

While the messages were well received, support will only be evident by the actions taken by our national legislators. Stay tuned...

More will follow in the near future about my amazing experience in our nation's capitol...