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Posted By Tyler Clark, EdD,
Monday, February 3, 2025
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When was the last time you thought about NAGC’s award programs? For many members, the answer might be "not often," especially if you haven’t nominated someone or attended an award presentation. But awards are an important part of how NAGC celebrates excellence, builds community, and recognizes the extraordinary efforts of gifted education professionals, advocates, and students.
Recognizing the importance of this program—and the opportunities to improve and grow—the NAGC Board of Directors convened the Awards Program Task Force (APTF) in early 2024. As chair of the task force, I want to share the story of our work and what it might mean for the future of our awards program.
Why Did the Task Force Form?
The task force was established to take a comprehensive look at the structure and management of NAGC’s awards program. With awards operating at different levels of the organization (organizational awards, network awards, student scholarships, and more), the Board recognized the need for a strategic evaluation. Were we meeting the needs of members? Were the awards aligned with NAGC’s mission? Were there inefficiencies or inconsistencies in how awards were managed? These were the kinds of questions we set out to answer.
What Was Our Charge?
The APTF’s charge was ambitious but essential. We were tasked with evaluating the scope, structure, and administration of the awards program; analyzing policies, guidelines, and funding models; and providing the Board with a menu of options for future improvement. Specifically, we explored:
- How to ensure clarity and consistency for existing and future awards.
- Opportunities to increase member engagement in nominations, volunteer roles, and award ceremonies.
- Ways to streamline the nomination and selection process while maintaining fairness and transparency.
- Options for sustainable funding models.
What Did We Do?
Over the course of several months, our group of dedicated volunteers and staff partners undertook an in-depth review of NAGC’s awards program. Here are some highlights of our activities:
- Data Collection: We reviewed policies, historical nomination data, member demographics, and input from staff and members. We also conducted a survey of network leadership to better understand the structure and administration of network awards.
- Identifying Gaps and Challenges: From policy inconsistencies to the need for more K-12 educator-focused awards, we dug deep into what was and wasn’t working.
- Collaborative Problem-Solving: Through Zoom meetings and robust discussions, we developed a range of options to address the challenges we identified.
- Developing Recommendations: We organized our findings into a series of options for the Board, emphasizing the pros and cons of each to support informed decision-making.
What Did We Find?
At a high level, we discovered both strengths and opportunities for growth within the awards program. Here are a few key takeaways:
- Member Engagement: While the awards program is highly valued, there is significant room to increase member involvement—whether through nominations, volunteering, or attendance at award events.
- Policy Inconsistencies: Organizational and network awards are governed by different policies, which has led to inconsistencies in naming conventions, benefits, and review processes.
- Diversity and Equity: The current award portfolio does not adequately reflect NAGC’s commitment to diversity and equity. For example, these values are only explicitly mentioned in the context of a few student scholarships.
- Committee Capacity: The growing number of nominations has created a significant workload for the Awards Committee. Exploring options like microvolunteer roles or expanding committee size will be essential moving forward.
What’s Next?
Our task force has now completed its work and submitted a final report to the NAGC Board. The report included a thoughtful menu of options to enhance the awards program. These options focus on aligning the program more closely with NAGC’s mission, improving efficiency and equity, and creating meaningful recognition opportunities for members.
The Board will take the next steps in determining the future direction of the awards program. Whatever path they choose, we are confident that it will strengthen the program and its impact on the NAGC community.
A Word of Thanks
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the incredible task force members who brought their expertise, passion, and creativity to this work, as well as to the NAGC staff who supported us every step of the way. This effort was a team endeavor, and it was a privilege to work alongside such dedicated individuals.
To our members, we hope you’ll continue to engage with NAGC’s awards program—by nominating someone, attending a ceremony, or even volunteering to support the process. The program exists to celebrate you and the extraordinary community of gifted education professionals, advocates, and learners.
Stay tuned for updates from the Board about the future of the awards program. In the meantime, if you have ideas or feedback about awards, feel free to reach out to us. Your voice matters, and we’re excited to continue recognizing excellence together.
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Awards
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Posted By Shelagh A. Gallagher, President, NAGC,
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Updated: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
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Are you ever curious about what exactly the NAGC Board of Directors does? A majority of the board’s activity involves governance, establishing priorities for the organization, and ensuring fiscal health. But that’s not all we do. The board is also a catalyst of activity in the form of special initiatives, task forces, and working groups that have more tangible results. In the process, we often reach out to other members from all corners of the organization to maximize involvement and support leadership development. Here’s a summary of some of the past, recent, and upcoming activities that the board initiated.
NAGC Colloquia
Dream Unencumbered follow-up conversation. NAGC's first colloquium funded under the James J. Gallagher Memorial Fund occurred in May 2023. The Dream Unencumbered colloquium engaged an expanded group of stakeholders in a conversation about equity for culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse gifted students. As a follow-up, we will gather with some of our new partners and a few additional NAGC leaders to have a strategic conversation around the amplified need for expanded access and opportunity for advanced learning in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action in college admissions. Now more than ever, we must advocate for equal access to advanced learning opportunities for students in every neighborhood and demographic so they can better compete for admissions in selective colleges.
Dream Unencumbered Planning Committee: Shelagh Gallagher, Tarek Grantham (Co-chairs), Jeffrey Blount, Shelli Frasier Trotman Scott, Steve Fredericks, Sally Krisel, April Wells, John Segota
Colloquium on Educator Preparation. A related initiative stems from the James J. Gallagher Fund's mission to hold interdisciplinary colloquia around three seminal issues in the field. These colloquia are designed for the NAGC board to gather with educators, advocates, and policymakers to share information and learn new perspectives. Planning is underway for the second colloquia, focusing on Educator Preparation. The tentative date for this event is May 2025. Be on the lookout for more information and planning proceeds!
Educator Preparation Colloquium Planning Committee (to date): Shelagh Gallagher (Chair), Christine Deitz, Mark Hess, Lauri Kirsch, Linda Robinson, Tamra Stambaugh, Mark Schwingle, Dornswalo Wilkins-McCorey
Universal Educator Preparation in Gifted Education. At the board's request, Dr. Cindy Gilson (UNC Charlotte) gathered a team of writers to create a new framing paper making the case that all educators should have a background in gifted education. You can find that framing paper here. The next steps for this initiative are to have the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee create a shorter policy brief based on the framing paper, to seek endorsement for the paper from other educational organizations, and to hold leadership forums to discuss how to use the paper and policy position to create positive change.
Framing Paper Authors: Cindy Gilson (Lead Author), Shelagh Gallagher, Nielson Pereira, LaToya O. Dash, Thomas W. Connors, Catherine Little
Task Forces and Working Groups
Early Childhood Gifted Education Task Force. President-elect Catherine Little and Treasurer Nancy Hertzog are leading a task force investigating the points of overlap and points of tension between the fields of gifted education and early childhood education. Together, this group will recommend directions for NAGC to pursue to advance the needs of PreK-grade 2 children with advanced ability.
Early Childhood Task Force: Nancy Hertzog, Catherine Little (Co-chairs), Kelly Kearney, Kisha McCray, Kimberly Myles, Megan Parker Peters, Alicia Schroeder-Schock, Aimee Sulit, Jennifer Williams
Social and Emotional Learning Working Group. Under the leadership of Board members Christine Deitz and Dornswalo Wilkins-McCorey, a group of professionals with backgrounds in counseling, educational psychology, and research gathered to create recommendations for how NAGC could augment its activity related to gifted and talented students' social and emotional needs. That group concluded its work in May, and discussions are now underway on how to actualize that group's recommendations.
Social and Emotional Learning Working Group: Christine Deitz and Dornswalo Wilkins-McCorey (Co-Chairs), Edward Amend, Tracy Cross, Austina De Bonte, Michael Demczyk, Jamie MacDougall, Megan Parker Peters, Anne Rinn, Yvette Robinson, Lisa Van Gemert, Chris Wells
Awards Program Task Force. NAGC offers a large array of awards, including the new Excelencia Latina award, which will be celebrated for the first time at the upcoming NAGC convention in Seattle. The number of awards has gradually expanded over time, which provides more opportunities for recognizing excellence. However, the infrastructure that supports the awards program has remained unchanged as the volume of awards has increased. The board appointed Tyler Clark to head a task force to look at the infrastructure for awards across the organization and address key questions regarding the organization, infrastructure, administration, and different categories of NAGC’s awards.
Awards Program Task Force: Tyler Clark (Chair), Christine Briggs, Joy Lawson Davis, Cappie Dobyns, Chandra Floyd, Roxane Hagedorn, Sarah Jackson, Celeste Sodergren
Development Working Group. Just about everything NAGC does requires money, and the length of our reach grows as our financial resources grow. Before the end of her Presidency, past president Lauri Kirsch asked the board to appoint a Development Working Group to develop a plan to build our development activity. Under the leadership of (past) board member Jen Stancil and current board member Dante Dixson, the group presented a series of recommendations on how NAGC might expand its fundraising and development activities. The Board will be evaluating the recommendations of the working group and considering possible next steps this fall.
Development Working Group: Dante Dixson, Jen Stancil (Co-Chairs), Laura Beltchenko, Tyler Clark, Natalie Jansorn, Lauri Kirsch, Catherine Little
It’s an honor and a pleasure to work with the members of the NAGC board, who share a collaborative spirit and a willingness to engage in deliberation, debate, and decision-making with the best interest of the organization in mind. Welcome back for another year Dante Dixson, Shelli Frasier Trotman-Scott, Nancy Hertzog, Catherine Little, Lauri Kirsch, Betsy McCoach, Darryl Peterkin, Kristie Spiers-Neumeister, Antonia Szymanski, April Wells, and Dornswalo Wilkins-McCorey.
And welcome incoming elected board members Mark Hess, Jen Madsen, Ashley Phelps, and Karen Rambo-Hernandez! Each new member is already hard at work and making meaningful contributions as we plan for the coming year. Finally, a heartfelt thank you to outgoing board members Christine Deitz, Tamra Stambaugh, Tracy Inman, Jen Stancil, and Michelle Swain. We will miss you and appreciate the time you’ve devoted to the leadership of NAGC!
I hope to see you all in Seattle in a few weeks--
Shelagh A. Gallagher
President, NAGC
Tags:
Awards
Board of Directors
NAGC24
Task Force
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Posted By Tyler Clark, EdD,
Monday, May 13, 2024
Updated: Monday, May 13, 2024
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Did you know NAGC gives more than 20 awards each year? If that number surprises you, you’re not alone! The NAGC Awards Committee manages and reviews nominations for organization awards, several NAGC Networks coordinate their own awards, and there are even awards for gifted students! This robust award system grew over time and is a testament to our success in bringing together stakeholders from all parts of gifted education.
Our awards system grew and evolved, largely due to the passion and persistence of members like you. We’ve now reached a point where it’s important to pause and reflect. Are there opportunities to streamline processes or implement best practices across multiple awards? Is there anything we should do to provide a consistent member experience with the award system? Are the current awards serving the needs of NAGC members? How can we better engage more members with the awards program?
The NAGC Board of Directors created the Awards Program Task Force to explore these questions and brainstorm ways to ensure the vibrancy and vitality of the awards program into the future. This task force is a time-limited group and will ultimately provide a menu of options for the Board to consider. Our formal charge is:
The Awards Program Task Force (APTF) is established as a time-limited group with the primary objective of providing the NAGC Board of Directors with a comprehensive menu of options, with associated pros and cons, regarding the structure and management of NAGC’s awards at all levels of the organization. The APTF will address key questions pertaining to the current organization, infrastructure, administration, and different categories of awards.
I was honored when NAGC President Shelagh Gallagher asked me to chair this task force. As past chair of the Awards Committee, I have seen the strength of our current awards system and areas where there could be more clarity. My first task was to assemble a group to tackle these questions. After an open call, I am excited to share that we have a dynamic group representing the Awards Committee, network awards, student awards, state affiliates, and a variety of professional roles and longevity with NAGC. The Awards Program Task Force includes:
- Christine Briggs
- Cappie Dobyns
- Chandra Floyd
- Roxanne Hagedorn
- Sarah Jackson
- Joy Lawson Davis
- Celeste Sodergren
In the initial stages of our work, we are asking questions and gathering data. This includes reviewing current awards throughout the organization and connecting with NAGC leaders and members to share their perspectives.
Our goal is for this process to be transparent and inclusive. The task force is not here to change things - our role is highlighting opportunities, challenges, and options for the Board to consider. The task force plans to provide its suggestions to the Board by the end of the summer. Should you have any questions about our work or if you would like to share your perspective on the current awards system, feel free to contact me directly at thomas.clark@wku.edu.
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Awards
Task Force
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Posted By Andres Melendez,
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Updated: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
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Every parent hopes that their child will achieve excellence, whether that comes in the form of money, career, family, love, and so on. As the parent of a gifted child, I know that wherever the wind blows my daughter Kris, excellence will follow. This inspires me everyday and is why I decided to get involved in gifted education to begin with. It was quickly revealed to me that gifted students’ excellence was not adequately celebrated, especially in minority communities, which deeply saddened me as a proud Latino parent and has pushed me to make this unfortunate reality change for the better of our children.
The idea to highlight the excellencies of Latinx students began at the 2018 National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Annual Convention in Minneapolis, MN. This was the first NAGC convention that Kris and I attended, so we were both pretty anxious and overwhelmed by the scale and environment. Kris and I were running our state affiliate’s (NMAG/SCNMAG) booth when I learned that NAGC has often given student awards throughout its history. On the second day of the convention, our booth was approached by a gentleman who kindly introduced himself and thanked us for supporting gifted education. These were his parting words: “If there is any way that I can help you, please let me know.” I tested these words the following January when I reached out to him with questions about creating or supporting an award to uplift Latinx students. This is how we met Dr. Jonathan Plucker.
Over the next several years, I worked with Jonathan to propose this award. He thought it was a great step for NAGC, especially following closely behind the Latina/o Task Force created during his term as NAGC president. Many NAGC members and staff have provided helpful guidance and assistance along the way, most notably Dr. Shelagh Gallagher, who led the charge to make the award a reality. With the assistance of the NAGC Awards Committee and the Rompiendo Barreras SIG, the award will be launched on May 1, 2024.
Excelencia Latina is intended to open opportunities and celebrate Latinx gifted students first and foremost. This award recognizes those gifted students who strive for excellence in all aspects of their life and in what they are most passionate about. It’s hoped that every parent of a Latinx gifted child will encourage them to apply so we can recognize as many extraordinary children as possible. Finally, this award will shed light on the plethora of issues and barriers that our gifted Latinx students experience while navigating our education system. Although some are able to overcome these barriers, this is tragically not the case for many. Every gifted child should have ample opportunity to exhibit excellence with as few hoops to jump through as possible, especially our Latinx youth.
After a 5-year journey, my wife Christina, daughter Kris, and myself are grateful that this award is finally coming to life. We are counting down the days to celebrate our first group of students to be named Excelencia Latina Scholars this upcoming November in Seattle at the annual NAGC conference.
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How to Apply
Parents of students should complete the application for Excelencia Latina scholarships which are open from May 1 to June 30, 2024 at 11:59pm. Parents of applicants must submit an online application form, a letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor, and include a personal statement from the student describing their achievements and goals. Click here to learn more and view the application.
Support Excelencia Latina
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network
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Posted By Arts Network,
Thursday, March 7, 2024
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Arts Network Research Award recognizes excellence in research about high-ability arts education and arts talent development and aims to increase understanding and availability of research about the needs of artistically gifted and talented and to bridge boundaries between professional organizations and scholarly fields.
The NAGC Arts Network hosts the annual Arts Network Research Award competition. Winners of the award receive a certificate, a Super Sunday Session to present their findings at the NAGC 2024 National Convention, and an early-bird registration discount for the convention.
Reviewers critically examine recently published articles that have been nominated in the following categories:
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Senior Researcher (Published)
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Junior Researcher (Published)
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Action Researcher (Unpublished)
Arts Network Research Award nominations are open. The deadline for nominations is July 1, 2024.
We are also actively recruiting reviewers. Email Research Award Committee Chair, Juliana Tay for information about becoming a reviewer.
- Reviewers are appointed by the chair of the committee.
- Reviewers are members of NAGC Arts Network (may join Arts Network in order to be a reviewer) and represent diverse backgrounds in an effort to ensure multiple points of view, as per strategic plan DEI principles/guidelines].
- Reviews of assigned cases are completed using online evaluation form independently in single-blind review.
- Chair convenes the Arts Network Research Awards Committee by video conference to discuss and select.Reviews conducted between July 1 and August 31, 2024.
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Arts
Awards
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Posted By Curriculum Studies Network,
Friday, March 1, 2024
Updated: Thursday, February 29, 2024
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The Curriculum Studies Network is accepting nominations for the 2024 Curriculum Awards!
Application Process
- Review the Award Guidelines.
- Review the Award Rubric.
- Gather nomination materials.
- Complete and submit the application.
Award nominations are due by June 1, 2024.
Tags:
Awards
Curriculum Studies
Network
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Posted By Research & Evaluation Network,
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
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The Research & Evaluation Network needs you! There are two opportunities for NAGC members to get involved with the network as reviewers for the Dissertation Award Competition and Graduate Student Research Gala. Follow the links below to learn more about these opportunities!
Tags:
Awards
Network
Research & Evaluation
Volunteer
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Posted By Research & Evaluation Network,
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
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You are invited to participate in the NAGC Research & Evaluation Network's annual awards!
Dissertation Award Competition
This event provides an opportunity for graduate students to network with experts in the field of gifted education and showcase their research. Winners will receive a certificate, a special session to present their research at NAGC24, and early bird conference registration for NAGC24.
Application Process
- Review the Dissertation Award Competition Guidelines
- Complete Dissertation Award Competition Submission Checklist
- Submit the following two documents by email to the Research & Evaluation Awards Chair:
- A title page
- A de-identified manuscript (.doc or .docx format); no longer than 25 pages based on your dissertation by 11:59 pm Eastern on March 31.
All steps must by complete by March 31, 11:59 pm Eastern.
Graduate Student Research Gala
We are accepting submissions for the Research & Evaluation Network Graduate Student Research Gala, held at NAGC24. The Research Gala provides an opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to receive valuable feedback on their research, network with experts in the field of gifted education, and showcase their research.
Learn more about eligibility and submission requirements.
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Awards
Network
Research & Evaluation
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Posted By Special Populations Network,
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
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The nomination deadline has been extended for the Special Populations Network Awards! Nominate deserving individuals for the Dr. Marcia L. Gentry Early Career Award and the Dr. Alexinia Baldwin Gifted & [Special Population] Award.
For more information:
Nominations are due September 30.
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Awards
Network
Special Populations
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