Useful Links

Resources Related to Giftedness – Updated May, 2019

Provided strictly as resources. GCABC does not endorse any specific resources.

GCABC Feedback to the Ministry of Education in 2018

48 Essential Links for the Parents of Gifted Children

What’s in the New BC Curriculum for Gifted Learners by Maureen McDermid

What is the current status of gifted children reporting across school districts?

Readings on the Nature and Nurture of High Ability Learners collected by Prof.Lannie Kanevsky

Gifted Navigation: Finding Help in Understanding your Gifted Child

Locally:

Independent Parent Groups or “Fast Brained Kids” groups

  • Parent groups in several locations throughout the Province.  Active in Vancouver, Surrey, Chilliwack, Victoria(?), Coquitlam and Maple Ridge. Provincial organization is re-establishing at this time.

Lower Mainland Gifted Contacts (LMGC)

Local Facebook Groups

There are a number of relevant Facebook groups for parents of gifted children across BC, run by different parent volunteers. Please, note that neither of these are associated with the GCABC, but that our board members finds them very relevant and helpful.

Some local professionals specializing in working with gifted students and/or their families

  • Coach Susan Hogarth facilitates SENG (see below) parent groups (Surrey), and offers other coaching services; http://czcoaching.com/wordpress/
  • Professor Lannie Kanevsky at SFU has a website about learning of gifted students’ interests within their education: http://possibilitiesforlearning.com
  • Dr. Joan Pinkus, registered psychologist, does giftedness testing http://joanpinkus.ca

Lower Mainland School programs for the Gifted

Provincial programs

  • Transition Program:
  • Langley School of Fine Arts
    • Grade 1 – 12 school focused on the fine arts
    • Out-of-district application is possible but they have the lowest priority ranking when applying
    • http://langleyfinearts.com

Specialized Private Schools

  • Choice School
    • K – 9 School for the gifted; Accredited Independent school
    • Choice School for the Gifted has now been recognized as a Special Education School by the BC Ministry of Education devoted to the education of gifted students, including those who have dual exceptionalities.
    • In Richmond, near the Alex Fraser Bridge; http://www.choiceschool.org
  • Madrona School

International resources

Open Education Database: 48 Essential Links for Parents of Gifted Children.

Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG)

  • Organization started by psychologists and counsellors in the US with a focus on the social-emotional aspects of giftedness
  • Founder, James (Jim) Webb has created numerous resources for counsellors, psychologists and families of gifted children, most notably:
    • Book on misdiagnosis of giftedness, commonly as ADHD
    • Videos for parents, available through the Fraser Valley Regional Library
  • Offers training for parent support group facilitators, and monthly webinars on a variety of topics of interest to counsellors, teachers and parents.
  • Has a conference every summer (in the US) for parents, teachers, counsellors and also has a children & teen program
  • www.sengifted.org

National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC)

  • US organization primarily for teachers and parents
  • Large conference every November (in the US)
  • Good resources available, including a parent newsletter, information on advocacy, and lots of publications
  • http://www.nagc.org

Davidson Institute

  • Gifted high school in Nevada, US
  • Website offers a lot of very well-researched articles and resources, primarily for teachers and parents
  • http://www.davidsongifted.org/

Hoagies Gifted

  • US-based website that is a very comprehensive collection of information and resources related to giftedness – Great info for an introduction (Gifted 101)
  • http://www.hoagiesgifted.org

Homeschooling/homelearning Resources

HS-Van Yahoo Group

Greater Vancouver Homelearners

  • Comprehensive local homeschooling 101 Resources (not specifically to gifted homelearners only but very comprehensive)

BC Gifted Homelearners Facebook Group

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Online classes for gifted Homelearners (All US based)

  • Athena’s Advanced Academy http://www.athenasacademy.com
    • From biology, history, geography to French and literature
    • For the slightly younger crowd (6-12 years)
  • Guinevere’s Gifted Group (G3) http://www.onlineg3.com/OnlineG3/Home.html
    • Similar to Athena’s but for the slightly older crowd (~11, 12 + years old, some special teenage classes)
  • AoPS (Art of Problem Solving) http://www.artofproblemsolving.com
    • Problem solving math curriculum geared towards math competitions
    • Middle and high school curriculum
    • Specifically for gifted children – it explains the “why” behind math
    • Classes available as well as books
    • Classical Education
    • Workshops about ancient Rome and Greek
    • Latin and Greek classes leading up to AP level