The last GATE Advisory Committee Meeting for the 2008-2009 school year will be held at Riverside Meadows on May 27, 2009, from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm.  All parents, GATE and non-GATE, are welcome to attend.  Topics will include plans and directions of our GATE program for 2009-2010.  Hope to see you there.

GATE SPRING TESTING SCHEDULE

The focus of PLESD's Gifted and Talented Education Program is to identify and serve those students who have demonstrated exceptional intellectual ability and outstanding academic achievement.  Referrals for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) testing may be initiated by teachers, parents, or the student.  If you have a student who has not been tested in the fall and would like to have tested this spring for the Gifted and Talent Education program, please contact your child's teacher or school office for a referral form.  If you have questions about the screening process, please contact Kevin Xiong at (530) 743-1271, Ext.104, or kxiong@plusd.org.

Referrals for Spring Testing - Referrals will be accepted through May 11, 2009.  Testing will begin May 13, 2009.

GATE UPDATE

If you have been following our GATE program, you may recall we are focusing on increasing GATE instruction within our core curriculum.   

So far this year we have been able to support 12% of our teachers in becoming GATE Certified.  In March, they completed approximately 72 hours of professional development and received their GATE Teacher Certifications.

Building on this foundation, we are scheduling training again in June of 2009 to accommodate 30 teachers.   This provides the opportunity for an additional 53% of our teachers to receive 35 hours of professional development targeting GATE instruction during core subjects.  

Although our aim is to significantly increase Gifted and Talented Education within core academic courses, we recognize the need to continue providing after school GATE enrichment classes as we transition. 

The chart below shows GATE classes and activities provided during the 2008-2009 school year.     

GATE AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENTCLASSES:

CLASS TITLE	SITE	TEACHER	START/END DATES	DAYS	TIMES	GATE STUDENTS	NON GATE STUDENTS
Beginning Guitar	Riverside	D. Wiseman	Dec. 3 - April 29	Wed.	3:00 - 4:00	5	7
Introduction to Spanish	Riverside	L. Acosta	Jan. 26 - March 16	Mon. & Wed.	3:00 - 4:00	1	6
Junior Great Books	Riverside	L. Acosta	Jan. 27 - March 5	Tues. & Thurs.	3:00 - 4:00	2	1
Slightly-Mad Science 2/3	Rio	A. Hallback	Jan. 21 - Feb. 26	Wed. & Thurs.	3:00 - 4:00	18	0
Slightly-Mad Science 4/5	Rio	A. Hallback	March 18 - April 29	Wed. & Thurs.	3:00 - 4:00	13	0
Drama & Performing Arts	Rio	K. Wilson A. Ruhl	Jan. 20 - Feb. 27	Tues. - Thurs.	2:45  - 4:00	16	31
Tactics and Strategies Through Chess	Rio	D. Amawi	Jan. 27 - March 3	Tues.	3:00 - 4:00	13	0
PowerPoint	Rio	D. Amawi	March 10 - April 28	Tues.	3:00 - 4:00	12	0
Journalism Lab	Cobblestone	T. Drake	Feb 18 - May 25	Wed. & Thurs.	2:45 - 4:15	11	0
Music with Boom Whackers	Cobblestone	D. Wiseman	Mar 10 - May 26	Tues.	2:45 - 3:30	8	0

GATE ACTIVITIES:

ACTIVITY	LOCATION	SPONSOR	DATE of ACTIVITY	TIME	GATE STUDENTS	NON GATE STUDENTS
4/5 Historian Project	Cobblestone	K. Spallino	Ongoing from Jan. 14 to May 26	Varied	13	0

We appreciate your interest in our GATE program and encourage you to contact us with any comments, questions, or concerns you may have.

Kevin Xiong

GATE Coordinator

530-743-1271, Ext 104

kxiong@plusd.org

Joe Hendrix

Director of Educational Services

530-743-4428, Ext.  111

jhendrix@plusd.org