25 YEARS OF COMMITMENT
TO GIFTED EDUCATION
1976-2001

Development & Advocacy with Parents and School Systems
Members of the M.A.G.E. Professional Development team have compiled and published a Professional Development Directory, and have worked tirelessly with parent advocacy groups and local school administrators to develop appropriate educational opportunities for gifted students in many communities, including: Agawam, Arlington, Ashland, Bedford, Beverly, Boston, Brockton, Bridgewater, Brimfield, Burlington, Canton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Cohasset, Concord, Dedham, Framingham, Grafton, Hanover, Haverhill, Holliston, Hopkinton, Lakeville, Littleton, Lynn, Mansfield, Marion, Marlboro, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Medfield, Nantucket, North Adams, Norwood, Old Rochester, Oxford, Reading, Sandwich, Sharon, Southboro, Springfield, Sturbridge, Tewksbury, Walpole, Waltham, Wakefield, Westford, Whitman, Winchester, and Worcester.

Advocacy Breakfasts
Informational forums for parents provided opportunities for questions to be answered in informal venues. Saturday morning breakfast sessions were held in Barnstable, Brockton, Gloucester, Quincy, Reading, Seekonk, and Worcester.

Information Services
Recognizing the ongoing need for information about gifted children and their educational needs, M.A.G.E. provides the following services:
Hotline: We answer hundreds of calls, providing immediate responses to parental concerns.
Information Services: We send information on various relevant topics at nominal cost.
Website/Email: A newer way of communicating with our constituency.
Newsletter: Published quarterly for our members, the newsletter provides timely information about conferences, literature of interest, resources and professional articles from around the country.
We thank our volunteer newsletter editors for their many hours of commitment: Bill Freeman, Nancy Weiner, Clista Dow, Joseph Harrington, and Linda Silverstein.

Kids' Conferences
In order to provide enrichment activities for our gifted student population, M.A.G.E. has sponsored ten Kids' Conferences, in collaboration with school systems and other institutions. At these gatherings, students interacted with talented adults, working professionals, and their peers — exchanging ideas and enjoying the joys and challenges of exploring exciting topics. We thank the following for their support: Northeastern University, UMass/Boston, Mt. Wachusett Community College, Framingham State College, and the public school systems in Brookline, Framingham, Lynnfield, Milton, Plymouth, Sandwich, and Somerset.

Summer Curriculum Institutes
The M.A.G.E. Professional Development team developed two summer Content Institutes in conjunction with the Mass. Department of Education and Plimoth Plantation, assisting more than fifty educators, working in educa-tional teams, to develop differentiated programs for their school systems in connection with the new state Curriculum Frameworks. M.A.G.E. also provided information about gifted children and their needs.

Collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Education
M.A.G.E. has been instrumental in advocating for legislation crucial to gifted education in this state. Our advocacy efforts have helped to make the following possible:
      Office for Gifted and Talented within the DOE
      Advisory Council for the Gifted and Talented
      Legislation providing grant funding for gifted programming
      Consideration for certification of teachers of the gifted
      Establishment of a Liaison Teacher for the Gifted and Talented
      Assistance with information services
      Assistance with guidelines for gifted programming

New England Conferences
Seven years ago representatives from three New England state gifted advocacy organizations met to combine their resources to cosponsor a major conference in Warwick, Rhode Island. A year later, with leadership from M.A.G.E. and the Mass. DOE, all six New England states joined together to organize the second annual conference in Worcester, Massachusetts. Due to the conference's overwhelming success, with over 500 parents and teachers in attendance, the New England Association for Gifted Education was formed. Conferences have since been held in Vernon, Connecticut; Nashua, New Hampshire; Killington, Vermont; and Providence, Rhode Island. The 2001 Conference will be held this fall in Portland, Maine, and the 2002 meeting will be in Massachusetts.

Affiliation with Gifted Organizations
M.A.G.E. is the Massachusetts affiliate of the National Association for Gifted Children. We send representatives to the NAGC Annual Conference and to affiliation conferences in Washington, D.C. M.A.G.E. has conducted workshops in advocacy at world conferences in Salt Lake City; Montreal, Canada; and Manila, Philippines.

Support for Organizations that Provide Gifted Services
M.A.G.E. has provided organizational and scholarship support for the following state and national programs that provide major creative programs for gifted students:
     Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth — CTT Program                    College Gate
     Odyssey of the Mind                       College Academy
     Future Problem Solving — initiated in Massachusetts by M.A.G.E.

Collaboration with Colleges and Universities
M.A.G.E. has worked with many local academic institutions by providing seminars, informational meetings, and conferences to advance understanding of the unique needs of gifted and talented students. The following have provided facilities, faculty, and financial support for our activities: Bard College (Simon's Rock), Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis Univ., Bridgewater State, Curry College, Emmanuel College, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, M.I.T., Lesley College, Mt. Wachusett Community College, Northeastern Univ., Salem State, Simmons College, University of Connecticut, UMass/Boston, and Wheaton College.

Collaboration with State Educational Organizations
M.A.G.E. has provided professional services to the following important state leadership groups: Mass. Teachers Association (MTA), Mass. Assoc. of School Committees, and Mass. Assoc. of School Administrators.

Recognition & Awards
Through our annual Public Service Awards, we have honored over fifty legislators, public officials, school systems, teachers, parent advocates, and media representatives for their efforts on behalf of gifted children. For the past three years M.A.G.E., as the NAGC affiliate in Massachusetts, has presented the Nicholas Green Award to a young gifted student in Massachusetts. We support the efforts of Channel 5 TV in its A+ program to salute our most able students. This program honored Kirby Perkins, a M.A.G.E. Public Service Award winner.

Board of Directors
The M.A.G.E. Board of Directors consists of 9-14 committed advocates from all over the state who meet regularly to plan programs and conferences, serve individually as speakers and advocates, and provide networking and information services — often traveling throughout the state on various missions and driving considerable distances for "love of cause." Board members have come from: Agawam, Barnstable, Boston, Canton, Chelmsford, Gloucester, Grafton, Groveland, Mansfield, Marshfield, Middleboro, Milton, Needham, Newton, Plymouth, Reading, Sharon, Somerset, Springfield, Stoughton, Townsend, Winchester, and Wrentham.

M.A.G.E. extends its heartfelt thanks to its members for their support, and to
the dozens of volunteers who have contributed endless hours to the success
of this effort on behalf of the gifted children of Massachusetts.

M.A.G.E. was formerly known as MA/AIP, Massachusetts Association for the Advancement of Individual Potential.