Overview of the day

Panelists Include:

• Karen Brown, Scottsdale Unified School District
• Rowe Van Meter, Washington Elementary School District
• ElizaBeth Warner, Paradise Valley Unified School District
• Adam Laningham, Deer Valley Unified School District

SEL and Supporting Child’s Mindset

This talk will specifically touch on perfectionism & how to support kids & their families in the season they are in; especially in terms of learning, if a child feels like they are too advanced for the material being taught, how do they handle that & how do we equip parents to empower & support their kids in that season.

Panelists Include:

Colin Seale, ThinkLaw

Dr. Jason McIntosh, Avondale Unified School District

Jamie Dana, MC, LPC, Owner & Clinical Director of Elevate Counseling

Kid in the Corner, The Penny Pledge

Kid in the Corner is a grassroots organization started by Zach’s family and friends shortly after he died by suicide. During his journey, Zach often said that although he was fighting so hard to conquer his mental illness, he felt alone, like nobody cared. Kids at school or youth groups or extracurricular clubs never asked him where he had been after he’d been gone for weeks. It was as if mental illness had made Zach invisible. After a two week stint in the hospital, he felt deflated he felt like he didn’t matter. Zach was a funny, smart, well-liked kid. But he was convinced that he was the Kid in the Corner. This sense of isolation and insignificance fueled his depression and enabled his decision to end his life. If only he could have seen the outpouring of love and support for him after his passing. It wasn’t that nobody cared. It was that nobody knew what to say, and when people don’t know what to say, they say nothing.

In this session parents will:

• Hear Zach’s story and the role that stigma played
• Learn about the Penny Pledge, an individual call to action
• Gain Resources for themselves and youth

Gifted Brains and Gifted Intensity

The structure of gifted brains leads to different needs and behaviors in gifted students. This presentation will discuss Dabrowski’s theory of Overexcitability

Panelists Include:

• Dr. Otto Siegel, Genius Coaching
• Lisa Roddy, Paradise Valley School District 
• Rebekah West Keur M.Ed., Paradise Valley Unified School District

In this presentation, Hudson will be sharing his experiences as a gifted learner in both a non-gifted and gifted environment. Join him as he shares his journey with you from Pre-K to his junior year in high school and how his experiences have influenced his life and attitudes toward learning.

Tech Safety for Families

Technology is one of the most powerful tools a teacher has to engage students. Exposing students to tech in the classroom allows them to find a voice through choice. Additionally, EdTech can stimulate students thinking beyond paper and pencil and allow them to express themselves in an engaging and meaningful way. In this GifTED Talk, you will learn how educators determine what tech is appropriate for students, how much tech is too much, and some resources to ensure your student is using tech appropriately in the classroom at home.

The Social and Emotional Side of Giftedness

Gifted and talented children and youth have intellectual and academic needs that have been well-researched. However, they also have needs in the realm of social and emotional factors – emotional being the domain of inner feelings and relationship with self, and social being the domain of engagement and relationships with others. While there are needs that all humans share, there are social and emotional factors that are inherent in giftedness. Some of these are beneficial and represent good news, but some present challenges to the gifted child and adult. Parents often find that these factors explain not only things observed in their children, but quite often in themselves!