TAGT Advocate for the Gifted Awards

TAGT is seeking nominations for the 2013 Advocate for the Gifted Award!
Potential honorees can be self-nominated or nominated by others. Contributions to the gifted community can only be recognized if we have nominations, so nominate a colleague or yourself! The nomination deadline is May 24.

Nomination Form

About the TAGT Advocate for the Gifted Award
The TAGT Advocate for the Gifted Award is presented to one advocate from each of five geographic areas in recognition of outstanding service, contribution, and commitment to gifted education. The five area winners will be considered for the TAGT State Advocate for the Gifted Award. embers of the TAGT Membership Involvement Committee will review the nomination materials of area award winners. From that pool, the Committee selects the State Advocate for the Gifted.

The TAGT State Advocate for the Gifted is honored at the TAGT Annual Conference. He/she receives a plaque, a lifetime TAGT membership valued at $500, in addition to a two-day complementary registration and two nights of hotel accommodations at a conference hotel.

Required Information

• Completed two page nomination form.

Optional Information (used to strengthen the nomination)

• Up to three additional letters of recommendation (recommended: one from a student, a parent and an educator).

Criteria
The TAGT Advocate for the Gifted demonstrates a commitment to gifted education by:

• Providing distinguished support for gifted students among key educational administrators and policy maker;
• Contributing time and effort in support of the education of gifted individuals;
• Promoting practices that benefit all gifted children;
• Impacting gifted education at the local, regional and state levels; and
• Encouraging shared leadership and participation among other parents, professionals and/or community leaders.

Area Winners
Area winners will be announced by July 15 and will be presented with an award at the TAGT Award Program held during the Annual Conference, December 4-6 in Houston. All area winners are encouraged to attend the TAGT Annual Conference but attendance is not required. Please note that TAGT does not cover area winner registration or related travel expenses.

If you have questions or comments, please contact Lisa Varner at lvarner@txgifted.org.

TAGT Geographic Areas
TAGT has designated five Geographic Areas based on the Texas Education Agency’s service regions.

2012 TAGT State Advocate for the Gifted
TAGT has selected Todd Kettler of the University of North Texas as the 2012 TAGT State Advocate for the Gifted for his outstanding efforts in advocacy for gifted education.

Todd Kettler, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at the University of North Texas. Dr. Kettler’s areas of research and teaching include gifted education, advanced academic programs, and critical and creative thinking. He served on the work team of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) to revise and validate the NAGC Pre-K-12 Gifted Education Programming Standards, and he was recently one of the contributing authors of Using the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts with Gifted and Advanced Learners (2013, Prufrock Press). He is the chair-elect of the Texas Association for the Gifted/Talented (TAGT) Leadership Division and recently chaired the TAGT Research Division. Dr. Kettler previously worked as a program administrator in two Waco ISD and Coppell ISD designing and coordinating gifted and advanced academic programs, and he has served as a consultant in gifted education to school districts across the United States. He is a graduate of the Baylor University School of Education.

2012 TAGT Area Advocate for the Gifted Awardees

TAGT congratulates each of our awardees and recognizes their outstanding work and dedication to meeting the unique needs of gifted and talented individuals.

Past Recipients

Other TAGT Award Categories:

• TAGT Administrator of the Gifted
• TAGT Parent of the Gifted
• TAGT Rising Star Teacher of the Gifted
• TAGT Teacher of the Gifted