SDE Update
by Linda Grill

Our goal to incorporate the use of multiple criteria for identifying students for gifted services is finally a reality. On January 1, 2000, the changes to the Gifted Chapter of the Alabama Administrative Code were officially in effect. The changes, approved July 13, 1999, by the State Board of Education, represent three years of development and refinement by the state committee in cooperation with the Office for Civil Rights. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following committee members for their numerous contributions to this effort:

Part of the Code changes involves an observation of second grade students for potential gifted behaviors. To assist in training all second grade teachers on these procedures, we asked for help from Mobile County and Shelby County. Five Mobile County teachers, under the direction of Regina Smith, Gifted Supervisor for Mobile County, completed a packet of 18 lesson plans designed to generate gifted behaviors. Each lesson is aligned with second grade Alabama Course of Study standards and targets specific behaviors on the Gifted Behavior Characteristic Checklist. We are grateful to Regina and her talented group of teachers: Leigh Anne Akey, Jennifer Dansby, Susan Fearn, Janet Sue Leffard, and Theresa Vistart.

From Shelby County, Nita Thompson (former AAGC officer and teacher of the gifted) and Demery Shepard, a psychometrist who specializes in testing gifted referrals, developed a 20 minute video tape explaining how to complete the second grade observation procedures. This videotape will be invaluable to those school systems that do not have gifted teachers to do a live training. The lesson plan packets and videos were mailed to each special education coordinator prior to Christmas holidays.

Under the new Code changes, there are no longer two sets of standards for eligibility (regular and disadvantaged). Now, all students must meet the same criteria. However, school systems are asked to ensure that the tests they are using are appropriate for the students they are testing. Current research and practice indicate that some students should be tested using a non-verbal intelligence test. Because this is a new concept for some, the SDE provided three training opportunities for psychometrists and other school personnel during October of 1999.

Nina and I are hard to reach sometimes because we are on the road providing training to school personnel on the new eligibility procedures and second grade requirements. We have completed 18 formal presentations to groups ranging in size from 20 to 250 and including gifted teachers, second grade teachers, principals, psychomotrists, curriculum supervisors, special education coordinators, and even superintendents. Plus, we continue to provide individual technical assistance to school systems on a variety of issues. If your school system is in need of training, please contact one of us to schedule a time and place. It is really helpful if small school systems get together to arrange one meeting, but we will do whatever we can to meet your needs.

School systems should be implementing the new Gifted Referrals Tracking Log that went into effect on January 1, 2000. This data is required so that we can monitor the progress of every school system and report the results of the new eligibility criteria to OCR. Special Education Coordinators have until July 1, 2000, to turn in new LEA Plans for the Gifted to reflect the changes required by the new Code and for the OCR resolution agreement.

We hope to have a group come together this summer to iron out any problems with the new identification system or any of the other changes. We also plan to offer additional assistance with gathering and evaluating products for gifted eligibility. And, if there's time, Nina will put together a presentation of the TABS, a behavior rating scale that not many people are familiar with but one that she used in Huntsville and found it to be economical (in terms of time and money) and more user-friendly than the traditional behavior rating scale. More on all of this later.

Let us hear from you during this first year of implementation. We want your concerns, criticisms, and suggestions for improvement.

Best wishes to all of you.