NOTES
Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Advisory Committee
Thursday, March 11, 2010
7:15– 9:15 PM, CESC 127
By the end of the meeting, participants will have
 shared updates and reviewed action steps
 discussed the relationship between equity & excellence and the role of the family
 observed concrete examples of equitable practices in advanced courses
 expanded understanding and shared perspectives on practical and desirable applications of
equitable practical schools and classroom
 established the May agenda and provided meeting feedback
Attending: Mia Allen, Marty Creel, Monique Felder, Michelle Gluck, Donna Graves, Ebony Langford,
Dan Lee, Naomi Lesley, Joann Liu, Margie Lope, Jennifer Lowndes, Lisa Murdock, Doug Nelson,
Cheryl Pulliam, Fred Stichnoth, Susan Joyce Thomas, Ted Willard, Kay Williams
Guests: Deborah Solomon and Scott Rogers
Action Items from March 11, 2010
Next Step
Mark upcoming meeting dates
on your calendar: May 13,
2010.
Provide AEI Advisory
Committee with regular
updates on SIPPI.
The Yahoo Group is available
for an electronic dialogue.
For the May meeting,
committee members agreed to
focus on the integrated
curriculum and the AEI
strategic plan
Who
All
By When
Kay
Ongoing
All
Ongoing
All
May 13, 2010
Kay welcomed all members and guests to the AEI Advisory Committee and reviewed the agenda and
meeting structure.
November Action Item Review and Updates
November Meeting Feedback Survey
The results of the January meeting feedback survey were provided to each member.



Everyone strongly agreed or agreed that the January meeting accomplished its outcomes, updates
were shared and action step reviewed, an update on the MS Reform Initiative and MS expansion
courses and MS grouping practices was received.
11 strongly agreed or agreed that the agenda was March was established; 1 respondent disagreed.
Feedback indicated that the presentations and curricular materials were helpful and informative.
More discussion was recommended. Questions can be added to feedback sheets.
Awards
Monique Felder, supervisor of elementary programs in the Division of Accelerated and Enriched
Instruction shared state recognition of MCPS staff and students.
 Six staff and 2 students were recognized at the Maryland State Department of Education’s State
Reception for Gifted and Talented Education for their achievements in Gifted and Talented
education. The Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education, The
Maryland Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education (MCGATE) and the Maryland Educators
of Gifted Students (MEGS) were partners in the event.
 MaryCay Ricci was recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education as a State
Leader in Gifted Education.
IB Americas
Margie Lope, acting supervisor of secondary programs in the Division of Accelerated and Enriched
Instruction, shared that the International Baccalaureate (IB) Global Centre has chosen to relocate to
Montgomery County in a large part due to the success of the IB program in Montgomery County. The
IB Americas office will open in Bethesda in August. We are excited to have the IB offices in our county
because of the potential for a stronger partnership and collaboration with the organization.
Student Instructional Program Planning and Implementation (SIPPI)
 31 SIPPI pilot schools and MCPS central offices are collaborating to identify data, and develop
processes and electronic tools to ensure that consistent data are used to ensure that all students
receive the appropriate level of services on the continuum of accelerated and enriched
instruction.
Budget
 Programs, transportation, and positions continued to be threatened by budget reductions.
 The maintenance of effort waiver is pending state approval.
Educating Children Birth-18 -- Role of the Family
In November, AEI Advisory members requested that the discussion on equity and excellence be
continued at the March meeting. Members also expressed an interest in hearing more from the
representative of Organization of Chinese Americans Greater DC Chapter on her perspective with
regard to equity and excellence. As a result, at the March meeting, this representative shared a
presentation on Families (Parents, Guardians, Caretakers): Key in Achieving Early, Cost-Effective, and
True Equity and Sustaining Excellence in Children’s Education and GT Education.
She defined her focus on families, schools, GT Education, and achievement gap by
1) singling out families as a crucial equalizing factor in effectively closing achievement gap and
promoting excellence;
2) identifying schools’ need to proactively, interactively, substantially link up with families and
communities/societies to branch out to the earliest childhood education and to empower, enrich, and
educate families;
3) urging equal attention to GT education and closing achievement gap which should carry the same
weight for students, parents, educators/GT educators, communities, society, world.
She outlined the purpose of her talk as the following:
●To provide a cross-cultural perspective to demystify Asian American academic
excellence;
●To stress the need for a holistic approach to education as a whole & GT education in
particular;
●To call for an international vision in addition to the local, national, demographic lines;
●To put all children of all ethnicities in the forefront of our attention;
●To illuminate the vital role of families/parents as the key for sustaining equity and excellence,
and for effectively closing the achievement gap;
●To propose a holistic 0-18 model (ages 0-3, 4-5, 6-18) to ensure equity and excellence in
education and GT education every step of the way;
●To elicit innovative strategies in MCPS and Montgomery County to forge an effective synergy
of families, communities, schools, and county to provide truly first-class education and GT
education for all children;
●To suggest periodic AEIAC retreats to continue the discussion.
Expanding Understanding and Sharing Perspectives on Equity and Excellence
As requested by committee members, the discussion on equity and excellence continued in March. Prior
to the March meeting, members were sent two articles on equity, Mind-Sets and Equitable Education by
Carol Dweck and “Yes, But How do we do it?” Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy by Gloria
Ladson-Billings. These two pieces of research served as spring boards for both small group and whole
group discussions. Two equitable classroom strategies for group reading and discussion, Save the Last
Word for Me and Shared Inquiry, were modeled and used to facilitate discussions among committee
members.
In small groups, committees used the equitable strategy of “Save the Last Word for Me” to begin their
discussion of the two research articles on equity. The strategy allows each member of the group to share
and be heard by all group members. Small groups made connections to both articles.
Video Clips – Equitable Practices in Classrooms
 Members watched Jennifer Bado-Aleman, an English teacher at Gaithersburg High School,
implement equitable practices in her AP English Language and Composition course. She speaks
to dispelling the myth that the “AP student” fits a certain mold. She believes in “AP courses” and
that all students should have the opportunity to be prepared for and access such rigor.
 Members also saw Patricia Carballo, a social studies teacher at Einstein High School, speak and
implement equitable practices in her 9th Grade AP U.S. History Class. She speaks to the
importance of all students having access to high levels of rigor. She believes that effort relates to
ability and that high expectations are essential.
Shared Inquiry Discussion
As a whole group, members of the committee participated in a shared inquiry discussion. Margie Lope
facilitated the discussion and began by posing the open ended question: How do equitable practices help
students identified as gifted and students with potential succeed in advanced level work? Members
responded both to the question and each other. Members discussed the ultimate equitable practices,
definitions for potential, belief systems, persistence, and high expectations.
Agenda Setting
o For the May meeting, committee members agreed to focus on the integrated curriculum
and the AEI Strategic Plan.