2025 Q1 Newsletter

As the first quarter comes to a close, it’s a great time to pause and reflect on your child’s growth so far this year. In this edition of our quarterly gifted newsletter, we’re sharing information to help you make sense of fall MAP test scores and understand how they relate to your child’s learning journey. You’ll also find tips for preparing for meaningful parent-teacher conferences, and insights into how giftedness can shape social relationships. Finally, we’re highlighting a parenting resource that offers strategies and support for raising gifted children. We hope this issue helps you feel more informed and confident as you partner with us in supporting your gifted learner’s success.

Students in grades 1 through 10 recently took the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. MAP is a test of reading and math skills, and students take the test via computer up to three times per year during the fall, winter, and spring. What makes MAP unique is that it is an adaptive assessment that summarizes students’ current skills and can project and measure students’ academic growth over time.

There are some things to keep in mind when understanding MAP scores for gifted and advanced learners.

• MAP may be used for gifted identification in grades 2 through 10. Per Ohio law, students who earn a score of 95th percentile or higher in either reading or math will be identified as gifted in that specific area if the student has not already been identified.

• It is common for scores to fluctuate a bit over time. So, if your student’s percentile rank varies 2-5 points or so between sessions, their performance has actually been fairly stable.

Scores will either be shared at conferences or will be sent home from the school or via email sometime in October. Fall conferences are a great time to talk with your child’s teacher about MAP scores in relation to their classroom performance. You can read more about MAP in their Family Guide.

Written education plans (WEPS) were emailed to families of students in formal gifted services (GATE, Tier II, ACE, AP, CCP). Keep in mind that WEPS are a guide for services, not a detailed plan. They will include general goals related to your learner’s area of gifted identification along with when and how those goals will be measured. Teachers who provide gifted services listed on the WEP will report progress to families during conferences, via email or phone call, or via comments on the report card. If you have questions about how a teacher is implementing your student’s WEP, please reach out to the teacher providing the gifted services listed on the WEP. Remember, WEPS are only allowed to be provided for students receiving a formal gifted services that aligns with their area of identification. Not all gifted learners will receive a WEP, and gifted students taking additional advanced classes that do not align to areas of gifted identification will not have a WEP for those classes.

Gifted children often navigate the world differently from their peers, and that can impact how they form relationships. Three common characteristics—asynchrony, overexcitabilities, and introversion—can influence how they connect with others and may require support to help them build strong, healthy relationships.

• Asynchrony refers to the uneven development often seen in gifted children—for example, their advanced thinking or language skills may not align with their emotional maturity or age. This mismatch can make it challenging for them to relate to same-age peers, and they may feel more comfortable connecting with older or younger individuals who match their developmental level in specific ways.
• Overexcitabilities describe the intense ways some gifted individuals experience the world, whether through deep emotions, vivid imagination, heightened sensitivity, or boundless energy. These traits can enrich friendships but may also lead to misunderstandings or overwhelm if others don’t share or understand the same intensity.
• Introversion is more common among gifted individuals than in the general population. While introverted children enjoy social connection, they often prefer fewer, deeper friendships and need alone time to recharge. Helping them balance social interaction with solitude—and not expecting extroverted behavior—can support their emotional well-being.

Strategies to Support Gifted Children in Relationships

• Encourage interaction across age groups by allowing connections outside their grade level, especially where shared interests exist.

• Enroll them in interest-based activities that naturally bring together like-minded peers of various ages.

• Role play social situations to practice conversation, handling disagreements, and reconciling after conflict.

• Observe and reflect on social interactions during playdates or group events, then gently coach your child afterward on what went well and what could be improved.

For more information about this topic, visit the following:

• Play Partner or Sure Shelter: What Gifted Children Look For in Friendship

• 5 Tips for Helping Gifted Children Make Friends

• Introversion: The Often Forgotten Factor Impacting the Gifted

• Family Life with Gifted & Talented Children

This book is written by Dr. Gail Post, a psychologist who focuses on supporting gifted children and families. While this book certainly includes tips and ideas to support gifted children, it has a unique purpose in helping those who raise gifted children understand and navigate their own experiences in parenting. Dr. Post is also the author of the Gifted Challenges blog, and she spoke about her book as a guest on the Adventures in Being Gifted podcast.

Gifted conference, enrichment programs and college scholarships

OAGC Family and Community Day - THIS SUNDAY!!!

The Ohio Association for Gifted Children is once again holding their annual conference in October. The kickoff to that event is a Family and Community Day open to parents and guardians, educators, and community members with an interest in understanding and supporting gifted children. This event will be held virtually on October 12 from 1:30-5:30pm and is FREE. For more information, download the flier. Interested participants can register using the paper form or electronically.

Scholarships (School Age and College)

Families often wish to enroll their children in afterschool programs, summer camps. Or other special opportunities to help develop their talents or expand areas of interest. Those programs often have a cost associated with them. Or, students may be preparing to graduate this spring and are in search of scholarships to help with college tuition and fees. There are multiple programs that can help offset those costs for students who are gifted (and even one below for any student, regardless of gifted identification.) Check these out!

The Ohio Association for Gifted Children has three different scholarship programs to support the pursuits of gifted learners in Ohio. These programs are for both school-ages and rising college freshmen. Visit their website for applications for the three programs described below:

• 2025 OAGC Susan Faulkner Arts Scholarship - Deadline is November 15, 2025. Scholarships will be awarded to students currently in grades K- 12 who are applying for a special program or activity to further encourage or nurture an interest or talent in an area of the visual or performing arts

• 2026 OAGC Student Scholarship - Each year OAGC offers scholarships to K-12 Ohio students for special activities that extend their special talent/interest areas. Note: The deadline is February 15, 2026 for applications.

• 2026 OAGC College Scholarship Award - For any student who is about to enroll in his/her first year of college and/or a student currently enrolled full time in an undergraduate program of an Ohio college. The extended deadline is April 15, 2026.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation also offers two programs to support students, one a college scholarship and one a program from current 7th grade students.

• The 2025 Cooke College Scholarship Program is an undergraduate scholarship program available to high-achieving high school seniors with financial need who seek to attend and graduate from the nation's best four-year colleges and universities. The application is open until mid-November 2025. For more details, visit the website.

• The Cooke Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for high-performing 7th grade students with financial need. It provides comprehensive academic and college advising, as well as financial support for school, Cooke-sponsored summer programs, internships, and other learning enrichment opportunities. Applications will open February 2026. For more details, visit the website.

Support for Talented Students (STS) is a local organization that provides scholarships for gifted students in grades 3 through 12 to access summer programs aligned to their talents and interests. Awards are based on financial need. The application window typically opens in December or January. For more details and the application, visit their website.

The Columbus Foundation sponsors the Carol Strip Whitney College Scholarship. Applications open on January 1 of each year for graduating seniors with a GPA of 3.75 or higher and who have been identified as gifted. Applications can be accessed on the Foundation's website.

National Math Stars is an organization that identifies extraordinary math students in grades 2 and 3 and provides mentorship and enrichment programs through grade 12. Participants receive funded access to online math courses, summer STEM programs, and advising during their 10-year involvement. Families can apply directly with the program online

This newsletter is sent to families of all GJPS students identified a gifted in one or more areas, even if not receiving gifted services. We hope it is informative to all.