PAGE President’s Letter
As President of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE), I would like to welcome you and thank you for your interest in our organization. It is my goal for PAGE to continue to support all stakeholders when it comes to teaching gifted learners: parents, teachers, districts and administrators, and the kids themselves! Our Mission is to empower educators and parents to meet the diverse needs of gifted learners through awareness, advocacy, and action.
In fact, it is this broad-based diversity of interests that first inspired me to join the PAGE Board of Directors 4 years ago. As a teacher of gifted learners for the past 9 years and as a parent of 2 gifted children (now adults), I understand the unique challenges that educators and parents face when advocating and educating their children. Only by working together can we bring about the change that is needed to help our kids continue to learn, grow, and thrive.
There are many exciting things happening at PAGE in the coming months! Having developed a productive partnership with the leaders at PDE, we have several partner programs that are ongoing. Our PLUG (Professionals Leading and Understanding Gifted) course has been developed to help train administrators across the State better understand the requirements of Chapter 16 as well as the needs of gifted learners in general. We are developing a series of partner presentations, Gifted 101 for Parents, with the state-wide Intermediate Units and we will be working closely with PDE as they begin the research recently made possible by the State’s recently awarded Javits Grant.
Please save the date for the NAGC Annual Convention, taking place November 13-16, 2025, in Pittsburgh, PA! PAGE is proud to serve as the host affiliate and welcome over 2,000 educators to our incredible state. We hope you’ll join us for this exciting opportunity to connect, learn, and collaborate with gifted education professionals from across the country. The NAGC convention will replace our annual conference for 2025.
Until November, please consider joining one of our MONTHLY Parent-to-Parent webinars! Each month, Members of PAGE and other professionals will share and present information from the basics of a GIEP to how to understand your child’s emotional needs.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing Gifted Education in Pennsylvania today is the fact that Gifted Education remains an UNFUNDED MANDATE! There are currently no funds in the State’s education budget to support Gifted Education. As a result, gifted support continues to look vastly different from district to district due to local funding. Fortunately, the political climate in Pennsylvania is changing and now is the time for us to act! PAGE has recently launched a campaign asking our State Government to allocate $73 million dollars as a budget line item for Gifted Education. Please visit our Legislative Advocacy page for more information on how you can help.
Finally, we can’t do all of this without your support. If you aren’t already, please consider becoming a member of PAGE. Perhaps become a lifetime member or “gift” a membership to one of your child’s teachers! I look forward to working with as many people as possible to continue to make Gifted Education in Pennsylvania the best that it can be!
Dave Mendell
President, PAGE