New Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Policy Recommendations Align with Giftedness Knows No Boundaries
March 20, 2018

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), whose mission is to enhance the growth and development of gifted and talented children, welcomes the release of the second edition of Equal Talents, Unequal Opportunities by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The report includes several policy recommendations that align with NAGC’s Giftedness Knows No Boundaries campaign.

This influential study and analysis assigns states letter grades for their success in fostering academic talent policies that promote high-ability learners as well as those that seek to close the excellence gap between gifted low-income students and their more affluent peers.

The primary author of the study is Dr. Jonathan Plucker of Johns Hopkins University and President-Elect of NAGC, who is the leading authority on excellence gaps and policies to close them.

“We strongly support the six policy recommendations put forward by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation—They are the right formula for providing supportive educational environments for gifted children,” said M. René Islas, NAGC Executive Director. “NAGC stands with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and offers adaptable, draft policies to support policy makers, leaders, and advocates as they work to advance state laws and policies to address the needs of gifted learners, particularly those from low-income and minority backgrounds.

“NAGC’s model legislation and advocacy tools in our Giftedness Knows No Boundaries campaign are being used across the nation to improve policies at the state and local levels. Leaders in Connecticut, Illinois, and Washington are successfully securing changes to monitoring, acceleration, and funding policies. In Washington, Senate Bill 6362, which will help ensure equitable identification, is awaiting Governor Jay Inslee’s signature. These achievements are a result of engaged advocates who rallied around a collective goal of supporting children with extraordinary gifts and talents to achieve their personal best,” Islas added.

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For more information and access to the NAGC model legislation on equitable identification, professional development, acceleration, state system of support, and monitoring progress, visit www.GiftednessKnowsNoBoundaries.org.

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is a membership organization whose mission is to support those who enhance the growth and development of gifted and talented children through education, advocacy, community building, and research. 

CONTACT:  Cathleen Healy, chealy@nagc.org/202-365-4636

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