Advancing GATE February 24, 2026

Happy Tuesday! Just 8 days until Spring Break — and with this week’s cold weather, that feels especially important.

Please read this week’s newsletter carefully. You’ll find details about additional students added for testing, a few items to complete before Spring Break, feedback from our family survey, and some exciting updates.

What are you most looking forward to during Spring break?

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We have now completed 88.3% of testing — thank you for your focus and flexibility throughout this process. We appreciate your patience as the district finalized FastBridge scores for the winter testing window.

We now have confirmation that an additional 939 K–7 students will need to be tested based on newly qualifying FastBridge scores. We’re excited for this opportunity for students and recognize that this will impact your schedule. You can view the list of students here. Note there are two tabs - the first one has the number of students by grade and the second one has the list of individual students.

The testing notifications for these students will be sent out by the communications office. You do not need to print and distribute letters. Students are expected to be added to Riverside by the end of this week. Please schedule as many of these students as possible next week. If you are unable to complete testing before Spring Break, please email Robbin by Friday, March 6 with the number of students remaining to test during the week of March 16 - 20.

Last week, our first districtwide GATE family newsletter, GATE Connections, was sent out and received 8,732 views. Of 219 family responses to the embedded survey, 79% rated GATE as Very Valuable.

Families most frequently highlighted:

Growth in critical thinking and reasoning
Increased academic challenge
Stronger curiosity
Higher engagement

Many parents shared that their children are more excited about learning, enjoy exploring complex topics, and feel intellectually confident as a result of their GATE experience.

Among the 46 families who rated GATE lower than Very Valuable, the most consistent feedback centered on communication and clarity.

Families requested:

Greater transparency about what students are learning
Clearer curriculum structure
More consistent scheduling
Stronger differentiation and sustained rigor

We will be talking about the Home-School connection at our Professional Development on March 16. See the session information below!

Because we have extended testing and in prioritization of supporting students, our March Professional Development meeting has been condensed to 2 hours, from 1:30 - 3:30. We will meet at 12:30 at Martin center, and conclude at 3:30, when the celebrations for our retirees begins. Linked here is an agenda for the day. We look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!

It’s hard to believe Andrea’s final days in the office are here! We are wishing her well as she celebrates her wedding, move, birthday, and retirement 👰🏻‍♀️ 📦 🎂 🥳 — all at once!

Her last day in the office will be March 6. She will join us again on March 16 for the retirement celebration. Until her position is filled:

Direct internal questions to Robbin
Direct family questions to GATEquestions@mnps.org
Return any library items by March 5 or plan to hold them until the role is filled

We look forward to celebrating together soon.

Help us make this day special for Andrea, Judi, Judy, and Michelle. If you have photos to contribute to the celebration slideshow, please email Allison Argo and Jennifer Rogan by Monday, March 2.

It's that time again! To ensure accurate data collection, please submit your anticipated Talent Development Rosters for the remainder of the year by Friday, March 6. For this submission, we just need Student ID, Last/First Name, and Grade Level. To simplify the process, you have two choices for the file you upload.

You may update the same form you completed last semester, just adding or removing names.
You may use this simplified form.

You will need to download a copy of the form to your computer (File / Save a Copy) and then change the title of the file to be [School]_TD_Spring2026. For example, AZKelley_TD_Spring2026.

A few notes:

Only one person per school needs to complete this form.
If you have two schools, you will have the opportunity to enter responses for both using this one form.
If you only see TD students at one of your schools, just enter information for one school, and email Robbin indicating that you do not see TD students at your second school.
If you do not see TD students at all, you do not need to complete this form. Email Robbin and indicate that you do not see TD students at your school(s).

Please submit your talent development rosters on this form by March 6. Thank you for helping to gather data about the students we support!

To ensure compliance with state regulations, please review your TN Compass profile before leaving for Spring Break on March 6. We need all teachers to complete this verification as some certificates seem to be missing from prior completions.

Log in to TN Compass and confirm that your Gifted preparation is accurately documented. If you completed Best Practices in Identifying and Teaching the Gifted Learner: Tennessee Employment Standard through Vanderbilt, please upload your certificate:

TN Compass → Preparation → Attachments → Add Attachment

If you cannot find a copy of your certificate, please email Sarah at sarah.s.delisle@vanderbilt.edu to request a copy. While Vanderbilt may send documentation to the state, uploading your certificate yourself is the most reliable way to ensure your record is complete. Thank you for taking care of this.

ES Computer Science Collaborative Planning Session: March 3, 8 am - 3 pm

Please prioritize testing prior to registering for this.

Join the Computer Science team for the Quarter 4 Elementary Computer Science Collaborative Planning Session—their final K–5 CS professional learning opportunity of the year! In this hands-on workshop, teachers will design an Earth Day–themed CS lesson, explore district-supported AI tools, discover new resources and Lending Library materials, and collaborate to build ready-to-use lesson plans and a shared resource bank. Walk away with practical strategies and strong instructional tools to integrate computer science and computational thinking into everyday instruction—register today to secure your spot.

Tapping Individual Potential (TIP) Scholarship Opportunity: March 15 Deadline

The Tapping Individual Potential (TIP) Scholarship, offered through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, supports rising 5th–8th grade MNPS students who demonstrate exceptional academic or artistic talent and face financial or other barriers to enrichment opportunities.

Funding may support:

Advanced academic courses
Music or art lessons
Mentorships
Specialized enrichment programs
(Athletic camps are not eligible.)

Families are directed to connect with their school counselor or GATE teacher to apply. If families reach out to you, please direct them to the TIP Scholarship portal to apply: Tapping Individual Potential (TIP) Scholarship. The deadline to apply is March 15.

MNPS Battle of the Books: April 10 & May 14

There are exciting Battle of the Books events this spring!

Elementary BOB -- April 10, Apollo Middle, 9:45 AM-1 PM
Middle School BOB -- May 14, Martin Center, 10 AM-2 PM

Please reach out to Lindsey Kimery, Coordinator of Library Services, with any questions.

Repeat Information (this information is repeated from prior Advancing GATE Newsletters)

Up Next in Testing

Feb 2–Mar 5 GATE Teachers test K–G7 students. Grades 3 and 4 will be prioritized earlier in the window. See Spring Testing Guidelines for details.
Mar 2–Mar 20 Additional Students for testing based on January FastBridge
Mar 16–27 Early Learning Center (ELC) CogAT Testing for PreK.
~May 18 PK–7 decision letters will be sent to families.

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