Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP)

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.2

1.2 Gifted/talented education policies and procedures are reviewed and recommendations for improvement are made by an advisory group of community members, parents of gifted/talented students, school staff, and gifted/talented education staff, who meet regularly for that purpose.

This is a new addition to the State Plan, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to get going. This item is a simple “Yes, we have an Advisory Group,” or “No, we don’t.” And the Advisory Group could be as simple or robust as we want it to be so long as it fulfills the requirements of membership and communication.

The responsibilities of the group, as laid out in the TSP, include:

1. Members will familiarize themselves with the TSP, especially those statutes that may be supported by business, community, parent, and district partnerships.

2. Review policies and procedures using data from annual surveys

3. Make note of policies and procedures that are effective

4. Make note of policies and procedures that are ineffective

5. Make recommendations for how to improve those policies and procedures that are deemed ineffective

6. Deliver findings and recommendations for policy and procedure improvement to the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction, Superintendent, and Board of Trustees.

Long-term goals include the implementation of the following "exemplary" statutes of the TSP:

1. 6.4.1 Support and assistance is provided to the district in gifted/talented service planning and improvement by a parent/community advisory committee.

2. 6.11.1 Professional development opportunities are offered by the gifted/talented coordinator in collaboration with the parent advisory committee to staff, parents, and community members.

Decisions to make:

1. Where will meetings be held (Administration Building for the first meeting, then decide after that)?

2. Members:

   • Which community members should we invite to attend? Invite community members and even businesses to invest in our children?

   • For equity, we may want 1 parent representative per campus, or at least 1 vote per campus when making decisions. We'll need to decide if we'll need more than 1 member/vote for secondary campuses due to size and impact.

   • School staff - if we rotate meetings between campuses, perhaps we can get principals/teachers to attend at each campus we visit.

   • G/T education - Blake Haygood and other District Admin.

3. In what format/how often should the Committee share their findings and recommendations to district leadership? The Thought Exchange program, if purchased, could be highly beneficial for sharing ideas with leadership.

4. How much guidance should be provided from district G/T education staff?

5. Translation services?

6. Food is always a plus.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.3

1.3 To the extent that state funding is provided for gifted/talented student education, no more than 45% of state funds allocated for gifted/talented education is spent on indirect costs as defined in the Financial Accounting and Reporting Module (Financial Accountability Resource Guide). At least 55% of the funds allocated to gifted/talented education is spent on assessment and services for gifted students (19 TAC §105.11).

"To the extent that state funding is provided[...]" We're only 8 words into this standard, and there's already a problem. If you'll remember, HB3 took away the G/T allotment. That money is now in the general fund, which means that it's up to districts to be responsible with our money. I, personally, trust our BOT and Administration to do what's right, but how many other districts in this great state of Texas will think, "Oh! I have all of this money in my general funds now... I'll just use the bare minimum required to meet the needs of my G/T students on paper, but save the rest for, let's say... football."

And, that's not to say that if we use the funds for whatever we want, we won't get audited by TEA, but there's a LOT of wiggle room for districts to make bad choices for our G/T kids. Community oversight is key. If you feel like your child's needs aren't being met over the next few years, please make your voice heard.

"[...]no more than 45% of state funds [...] for g/t education is spent on indirect costs."

As defined in the document mentioned above, Indirect Costs are costs that cannot be directly attributed to a specific fund, function, object, organization, or program intent. Expenditures to a district’s business office, personnel, payroll, human resources, and purchasing activities are typically indirect costs, unless these can be traced to a specific fund, function, object, organization, or program intent. For example, printer ink for the business office is an indirect cost because the office supplies are used to benefit multiple funds.

Indirect costs are a big part of that "wiggle room" I mentioned earlier.

"At least 55% of the funds [...] is spent on assessment and services for gifted students."

This means, basically, that only 55% of all funds used for G/T have to be explicitly tied to assessment and services.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.3.1

1.3.1 To the extent that state funding is provided for gifted/talented student education, additional funding from business partnerships, scholarships, parent group fundraisers, etc. is used to supplement the state and local funding.

"To the extent that state funding is provided[...]" Again, G/T monies come from the general fund. It is, however, a bit complicated because if we're audited by TEA for not using that money properly it will still be withheld.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.4

1.4 To the extent that state funding is provided for gifted/talented student education, local funding for gifted/talented education programs is used to supplement the state funding.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.5

1.5 Annual evaluation activities are conducted for the purpose of continued service development.

NBISD meets this requirement by, first, surveying students, families, and teachers on our services. Next, Admin, Specialists, and G/T Leads pick through, sort, and recommend changes to G/T services to the Superintendent and Board of Trustees. Once our G/T Parent Advisory Committee gets off the ground, we'll also have their guidance and support to share with the Superintendent and Board of Trustees.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.5.1

1.5.1 Ongoing formative and summative evaluation strategies, based on quantitative and qualitative data, are reviewed by the school board and used for substantive program improvement and development.

This standard is in the "Exemplary" column of the TSP. Once the G/T Parent Advisory Committee is up and running, Committee Members will be asked to review the quantitative and qualitative data from the G/T surveys, as well as state and local tests and populations data. G/T Admin and Lead teachers will do the same. They will then pass this data on to the Board of Trustees for "substantive program improvement and development."

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.7

1.7 The development and delivery of curriculum for gifted/talented students is monitored regularly by trained administrators.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.8

1.8 District guidelines for evaluation of resources used to serve gifted/talented students are established and used in selecting materials that are appropriate for differentiated learning.

NBISD addresses this standard by:

• Community, parent, student, and teacher surveys

• eCourse collaborative meetings promoting research-based, TEA-approved resources such as Elements of Depth & Complexity

• G/T administrators evaluating teacher-created materials prior to their use

• G/T administrators and teachers review curriculum and resources annually to discuss what is effective and what needs to be changed

• Textbook committees have to look at how prospective text can meet the needs of all learners, including G/T

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.9

1.9 Curriculum for gifted/talented students is modified based on annual evaluations.

• In Elementary, G/T Pull-Out teachers collaborate to improve their curriculum every year under the direction of the Lead Elementary G/T Specialist.

• Middle School G/T Advisory teachers collaborate to improve their curriculum every year under the direction of the Lead Secondary G/T Specialist.

• K-12 teachers are responsible within their teams for improving their lesson plans; discussing what works and what doesn't for G/T throughout the year.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.9.1

1.9.1 Gifted/talented curriculum is designed and evaluated through collaboration by specialists in content areas, special populations, instructional techniques, and gifted/talented education.

• This standard elaborates on 1.9 and adds specific areas of focus in collaboration with involved parties.

Breakdown of the TX State Plan for the Education of G/T Students (TSP) - 1.10

1.10 Develop a comprehensive manual or program guide describing all gifted/talented programs, services, assessments, and communication, which is accessible to parents, community and students and includes district G/T contact information.