GT Educators of the Month

SAGE would like to thank our members for sending in the many wonderful and heartfelt nominations for the Educator of the Month.  It is encouraging to see how our community appreciates the extraordinary lengths that our educators are going to in order to support our GT students during these unusual times.  The thankfulness of our members towards our educators and ...
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SAGE honors Mr. Tim Bressler, 7th and 8th grade GT History teacher at Heritage Middle School as the November SAGE Educator of the Month. Mr. Bressler was nominated by several GT parents. Here is what one SAGE member who nominated Mr. Bressler had to say: "Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Mr. Bressler is able to not only juggle in ...
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SAGE honors Mrs. Ciera Still, 3rd grade math and science teacher at Grapevine Elementary, as the SAGE Educator of the Month.  Mrs. Still was nominated by a GT parent for going the extra mile in helping students prepare for acceleration exams by differentiating math and science education according to her students' needs and desires. Thank you Mrs. Still for your dedication to ...
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This school year has brought changes and challenges that could not have been predicted. Time and time again, we have seen the employees of GCISD step up and make endless changes to their jobs, their curriculum, and their teaching styles. In an effort to provide our students with the best education possible, they have pivoted and pivoted again. Teachers, custodians, ...
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Today is School Lunch Hero Day, and SAGE is thrilled to name the entire Nutrition Services team as our Educator of the Month! Thank you for keeping our community well-fed during our closure (and always). Special thanks to Julie Telesca, Director of Nutrition Services, and your staff. #SAGElovesGCISD ...
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For SAGE Educator of the Month, we'd like to honor the entire Instructional Technology team who launched the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Learning@Home website, hosted teacher tech training, and kept our kids learning. You've been vital to keeping our community connected! Special thanks to Dr. Suzanne Newell, Director Curriculum & Instruction; Tony Zahn, Dir Science & Instructional Technology; Janie Stach, InTech Coordinator; ...
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Starting in First Grade, ASPIRE students may ride a bus from their neighborhood's elementary campus to their ASPIRE Campus. Moms and Dads are very grateful for all the bus drivers who ensure that our students arrive safely to school. In gratitude, several families nominated one bus driver, Ms. Tarianne Johnson, as SAGE GT Educator of the Month: One parent wrote: ...
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The SAGE Member who nominated Jane Simmons wrote: "Jane ALWAYS does what it takes to make sure her GT kids have what they need to be successful. She works with the GT Specialist at HES on a regular basis to provide enrichment and extensions to all high achieving students she has. Jane as is intentional with her instruction with all students ...
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The parent who nominated Mr. Spitsberg wrote: "My twice-exceptional 7th grader is in Mr. Spitsberg's Humanities class. He has gone above and beyond with a solution-focused mindset to engage and motivate my child in a subject that is not their favorite. Mr. Spitsberg's willingness to communicate with me and try a variety of strategies until we find success has increased ...
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The parent who nominated Mr. Carter wrote: "My ASPIRE 4th grader takes Accelerated 7/8th grade math via iUPrep. Mr. Carter is his iUPrep math teacher (he also had Mr. C in 3rd grade for Accelerated 6/7th grade math). Mr. Carter has gone above and beyond to ensure my child does not miss a single concept. It’s Sunday afternoon and Mr ...
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Cheers to a team effort!  Melanie Gable and Lori Kirkhuff are honored as the first combined SAGE GT Team Educators of the Month! Melanie Gable, GT Specialist, Cannon Elementary Lori Kirkhuff, GT Specialist, Bransford Elementary Lori Kirkhuff and Melanie Gable organized the first LIVE conference. LIVE stands for Leadership Innovation Voice Enrichment. The 250 GT 5th graders participated in activities like photography, escape room, origami, physics, ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Ashley White, Learning Liaison, Colleyville Heritage High School. The person who nominated her wrote: "Ashley's impact on gifted education at CHHS is hard to quantify.  She facilitates professional learning communities for GT teachers and works tirelessly to ensure teachers have the training and support they need to design differentiated learning experiences for gifted ...
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Sterling Bristow, Math Teacher, ASPIRE Middle School Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Sterling Bristow, ASPIRE Math Teacher at Cross Timbers Middle. The person who nominated him wrote: "I have seen Mr. Bristow interact with his students at school and at a couple of field trips. He has the ability to connect with each one of his students in a ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Cheryl Taliaferro, ASPIRE Humanities Teacher at Cross Timbers Middle. The person who nominated her wrote: "Cheryl has a special heart for gifted students and their writing abilities. As teacher for ASPIRE at Cross Timbers Middle School, she has implemented interventions to improve students' writing by a large percentage. She presented her classroom curriculum ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Jon Turner, Colleyville Heritage High School, English I GT, AP Language and Composition. The parent who nominated him wrote: "This is directly from the 9-4-18 edition of CHHS' Panther Applause, sent weekly. I agree wholeheartedly! ... Jon Turner is one of the best teachers I have ever met. He constantly pursues best practices in his classroom, ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Kim Gale, GT Specialist at Dove Elementary! The parent who nominated her wrote: “Mrs. Gale’s passion for teaching children, gifted children in particular, is truly overwhelming. It is truly amazing how she looks into the all around development of the gifted kids. Our kids are blessed and we are blessed to have her ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month for September is Debbie Lewis, 2nd grade teacher at Grapevine Elementary. Two parents nominated Mrs. Lewis this month. They wrote: "When my daughter had a bad first day of second grade (change is hard!), I Tweeted about it. Mrs. Lewis emailed me just before 9pm letting me know that she would work to ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month for May is the Principal of Timberline Elementary, Shelley Ingram, who is completing her first year at the school. The person who nominated her wrote: "Principal Ingram is supportive of the GT program and GC-SAGE. She's always energetic and personally attends as many school functions as her schedule allows. She often goes above ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Colleen Patton, ASPIRE Glenhope 3rd grade teacher. The person who nominated her wrote: "Mrs. Patton goes above and beyond for her students. Her knowledge of G/T characteristics and strategies helps her support her students academically, as ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Dr. Sheri Robbins, GT Specialist at Bear Creek Elementary. The two people who nominated her wrote: "The biggest compliment we can pay Dr. Robbins is she has made our two children independent thinkers and intellectually curious." ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Crystall Petersen, GT Specialist at Colleyville Elementary. ​Nominated by a student, Mrs. Petersen is described as fun and energetic: "She always makes class fun. She stretches our minds and has us think deeper and in different ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Melanie Gable, GT Specialist at Cannon Elementary. The person who nominated her wrote: "My child comes home excited about what’s she’s done in GT that day. She looks forward to the days she gets to GO to GT! Ms. Gable ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Travis Sampson, music teacher at Bear Creek Elementary and founder of the GCISD District String Orchestra. The person who nominated him wrote: "Mr. Sampson's GCISD District Orchestra, now in its 5th year, is comprised of at ...
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Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month for November is Gina Ballweg, 3rd grade humanities teacher at Heritage Elementary. The person who nominated her wrote: "Mrs. Ballweg is a teacher that goes beyond the word extraordinary. Everyday she engages her students, she pulls them into whatever they are studying and challenges them to think beyond what they see on the ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who’s going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Jennifer Spence, who teaches 4th grade in ASPIRE Academy at Glenhope Elementary. The person who nominated her says,"Jennifer challenges the students to go beyond traditional practices and basic thinking. She encourages each student to be him/herself. My ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Jill Parker, who teaches Algebra 2 and Pre Calculus at Grapevine High. The person who nominated her says, "Mrs. Parker has been an amazing teacher this year for the Algebra 2/Pre-Calculus class. ... She fulfills her teaching duties to ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. Our SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Angie Connell, GT Specialist for Heritage Elementary School. The person who nominated her says, "Angie Connell is our GT Specialist. She has stepped into big shoes by taking our beloved Delaine Hamilton's place. She has made ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. This month's SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Will Boykin, 5th grade teacher at ASPIRE Academy. The people who nominated him said: "Mr. Boykin regularly meets individually with students to asses their needs. He has created a classroom climate to help every child ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. This month's SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Meagan Pryor, GT Specialist for Colleyville Elementary School The person who nominated her says, " In addition to all the wonderful things Meagan does as a specialist, she also facilitates online GT professional leaning for other ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. This month's SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Gypsy Mishoe, instructional coach for GCISD. The person who nominated her says, "Instructional coaches spend much of their time working behind the scenes to support teachers and students. Gypsy goes above and beyond to ensure the ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students. This month's SAGE GT Educator of the Month is Wynette Griffin, Principal of Glenhope Elementary School. Two SAGE parents nominated Dr. Griffin. They say: "Dr. Griffin is amazing! She is a great communicator and effective leader – qualities that I hope will rub off on ...
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We asked SAGE members to nominate an educator who's going above and beyond for gifted students — and the first SAGE GT Teacher of the Month is Kami Anderson, ASPIRE 2nd grade, Glenhope Elementary School. The SAGE parent who nominated her says: "Mrs. Anderson exceeded all my expectations! She is challenging kids on a daily basis, truly cares about them, ...
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