Start Seeing and Serving Underserved Gifted Students

“Enormous kudos to the authors! Many have written on the need to ‘see and serve’ underserved and underresourced gifted students, including English language learners, culturally and linguistically diverse students, economically disadvantaged students, and twice exceptional students. But this book is unique; it is practical and strategic in that it extends to the how to ‘see and serve’ these students by providing a plethora of classroom-friendly steps and activities any teacher can take to create an environment of equity and excellence for all students in their classes. The abundant strategies, vignettes, checklists, and surveys help teachers home in on all students’ diverse learning needs. This book essentially operationalizes NAGC’s tenets of See Me, Know Me, Teach Me, and Challenge Me, which very successfully represent the framework of the book itself. Founded in research, teaching pedagogy, and practical experiences, this resource should be in every teacher’s classroom. Start Seeing and Serving Underserved Gifted Students poignantly guides us to reflect on our own personal biases and inherent views of others and move toward newfound respect and relationship-building.”—Dina Brulles, Ph.D., director of gifted education, Paradise Valley Unified School District, and School District Representative, National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Board of Directors
 
“Start Seeing and Serving Underserved Gifted Students is an easy-to-read, easy-to-use, practical, and much-needed resource for educators. The authors not only demonstrate research- and evidence-based best practices in the field of gifted education, but also give real-world examples from educators who have identified and met the needs of underserved and underrepresented gifted students in their classrooms and schools by using the toolkit strategies. This book is a valuable tool that is greatly needed to identify, understand, and meet the needs of underserved gifted students whose potential, creativity, curiosity, and gifts must be nurtured and developed.”—Lois Baldwin, Ed.D., 2e educational consultant and president and cofounder of the Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students (AEGUS)
 
“From start to finish, this creatively formatted, multilayered book feels new—unclichéd, generative, and crackling with energy and optimism about caring adults responding to complex needs of diverse students. It is full of practical, personalized strategies, including for engaging families and community, flexibly grouping students according to interests and needs, and attending to social and emotional development. Concepts do not feel ‘borrowed’ because they are explained through real-world experiences of creative educators, and strategies are often unique to the book. Particularly important is the continual emphasis on teacher and student self-reflection, on incorporating the arts, and on the importance of language development. Fundamentally, the perspective of this book is developmental, with a focus on growth for everyone involved.”—Jean Sunde Peterson, Ph.D., professor emerita, Purdue University, and author of Counseling Gifted Students and Get Gifted Students Talking