SPECIAL EDITION: ANNUAL FOCUS AREA

Happy New Year, MSAN Educators! We are excited to share our “new year, new look, new format” MSAN MINUTE newsletter with you. The topic for this special edition newsletter is our newly-established annual MSAN focus area:Increasing the number of students of color enrolled and succeeding in advanced learning opportunities. But first, two important announcements:

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ANNOUNCEMENT: 2018 MSAN INSTITUTE

The 2018 MSAN Institute will be held April 26-27 in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Register for the Institute by March 23
• Submit your proposal to present a breakout session at the Institute (deadline extended)

The MSAN Institute is MSAN’s annual conference on ending the effects of racism on schools. Open to MSAN members as well as to the wider community, Institute keynotes and breakout sessions highlight practices for classroom teachers, building- or district-level decision makers, and family engagement leaders--outlining current initiatives and informing future research. Visit the Institute website to register or submit your breakout session proposal today!

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ANNOUNCEMENT: 2018 MSAN STUDENT CONFERENCE DATES

The 2018 MSAN Student Conference will be held October 24-27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. Thank you to our hosts, the Public Schools of Brookline.

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INTRODUCING...THE MSAN ANNUAL FOCUS AREA

In order to better link learning across MSAN events and programs, MSAN is including an annual focus area. The focus area for this year is increasing the number of students of color enrolled and succeeding in advanced learning opportunities. This year's MSAN newsletters, our conferences, and MSAN meetings will include research, resources, and other opportunities to engage with the focus area. 

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RESEARCH YOU CAN USE 

In this brand new study on diversity in gifted education programs, Drs. Donna Ford and Ramon Goings review 15 years of scholarly literature exploring the intersection of giftedness, poverty, and race--noting specifically the limited discussion on the recruitment and retention of gifted students of color who come from families living in poverty. Read the full study here.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Donna Ford will deliver the keynote address at the MSAN Institute on April 26, 2018! In 2012, Dr. Ford delivered the keynote at an MSAN mini-conference on racial diversity in honors courses. Access the slides from her still-pertinent presentation on The Scholar Identity Model here.

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EQUITY IN ACTION

Equal Opportunity Schools Bringing Equity to AP and IB
Racial disparities in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs are a challenge across the country--and beyond. For a description of the problem, view this report by Education Trust and MSAN partner Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), titled Finding America’s Missing AP and IB Students.

Through the EOS Lead Higher initiative, school districts receive supports for increasing diverse participation in AP and IB. About a third of MSAN’s high school districts are involved with the project. Read about Lead Higher work inCleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, currently featured on the EOS website.

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LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT 

Paradise Valley’s gifted education director Dina Brulles was quoted in a recent ASCD Education Update article on diversity in gifted education:“The awareness [of the gap] has always been there...the willingness to do something about it is changing.” Thanks to our partners at ASCD, MSAN stakeholders can access the full article, Opening Doors to Diversity in Gifted Education, as an attachment to this email. If your email service deleted the attachment, contact us at msan@wcer.wisc.edu so we can help you to access your copy of the article. 

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EQUITY-FOCUSED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Archived Webinar: Beyond Color Blindness from the National Association for Gifted Children
Click here to access the webinar recording / notes sheet / SoundCloud audio for this still-timely webinar on integrating cultural competency work in gifted education, presented by Dr. Joy Lawson Davis of Virginia Union University. 

We are excited to announce that Dr. Joy Lawson Davis will be delivering a virtual breakout session at the 2018 MSAN Institute, which will be broadcast live online as well as archived for future use. The topic of the session will be Keys to Enhancing Service Delivery for Diverse Populations of Gifted Students. Watch the MSAN Institute website for details.