Hello and welcome! Thank you for taking the time to visit the Adams 12 GT Parents Group website. This website was built and is maintained by parents of GT students in the Adams 12 school district to share information relevant to parents, students, administrators and others who are interested in GT resources in the Adams 12 school district. Please email us at info@a12gifted.org to let us know your thoughts.
Jill Cables
2024-2025 President, A12GTPG
Become involved in your student's education!
Meet Your Executive Board
An Executive Team is required per the A12GTPG bylaws with elections held in the spring of each year at a general membership meeting or through a digital vote. For the 2024-2025 school year, Executive Board members include:
Leadership Team
At the core of the A12GTPG is the Leadership Team. This team is comprised of the Executive Board and any parents or other community members that want to be more deeply involved in the governing and coordination of A12GTPG activities. We currently meet monthly. Lynn Saltzgaver, Director of Advanced Academic and Gifted Services, is our liaison to the Adams 12 District and also attends meetings regularly. Members of the Leadership Team may volunteer to take additional responsibility within the organization such as coordination of communications, leading efforts for twice-exceptional students, website administration, or chairing special events.
In-School Parent Liaisons
In-School Liaisons are parents within district schools who volunteer to coordinate with A12GTPG leadership to share updates on A12GTPG events and resources. As applicable, Liaisons may help to support other GT programs and initiatives in the school and act as a resource for families within the school. If you are an active parent at your school and would like to represent your school in this way, please let us know!
Membership
Membership is free and currently includes approximately 1400 parents/guardians of GT students in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district who have attended A12GTPG events or wish to receive information from the group. Since everything that is done by the A12GTPG is done through volunteerism, we rely on the interest and involvement of our membership.
Organization
The A12GTPG is an affiliate of Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT) and is an organization supported through the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district. Any donations received through events or through our website are used to pay for activities supporting GT students in our district as well as to pay for speakers at Parent Nights. Accounting is managed and reported by our Treasurer. Because we are affiliated with the Adams 12 school district, finances are also overseen and managed through the district. For more information about administration of our group, please see the A12GTPG bylaws or join us at a Leadership Team meeting to learn more.
Events
A12GTPG hosts a Parent Education Series each school year where experts in the field of Gifted & Talented are invited to speak. Special events like "Super Saturday," "Middle School Madness," "Cultural Symposium," and others, are held throughout the year, where students are offered unique experiences and opportunities to connect with peers and mentors.
The Adams 12 Gifted and Talented Parents Group
Viviane Del Pizzo, Past-President
Vivi Del Pizzo has a daughter who is in 5th grade at STEM Lab. She joined the group in 2021 after her daughter was identified as gifted and she wanted to learn more about the GT world. She is an immigrant from Brazil and DEI in GT is a big passion of hers. Vivi loves connecting with parents and providing opportunities so parents don't feel alone in this journey. This is her second year as president of the group and she is looking forward to continuing supporting parent and student events.
Jill Cables, President
Jill Cables is a mother of 4 children in the Adams 12 School District. She got involved with the GT Parent Group in the spring of 2022 after her 3 sons attended the Super Saturday event and her daughter attended the Middle School Madness event. The next year she was volunteer coordinator for both these events, and she loves coming up with activities, games, and challenges for students, both for the GT Parent Group and for her kiddos' schools. Her daughter is in 8th grade at Rocky Top Middle School. Her eldest son is in 7th grade and started going to Stargate Charter School last year. Her youngest two sons attend their neighborhood school, Meridian Elementary, in 5th and 4th grade, where Jill can be found volunteering most days of the week.
Joanne Bliss, Secretary
Joanne Bliss has three children attending Legacy High School and Prospect Ridge Academy in the Adams 12 district. Her oldest son attended Super Saturday shortly after he was identified and she has been involved with the GT Parents Group ever since! She is a past President of the group and will fill the role of Secretary this year to continue the important work of building our Adams 12 GT community. The gifted journey is so much easier with friends along for the ride!
Carianne Colwell, Treasurer
Carianne Colwell is the parent and guardian of two children in the Adams 12 District. She has been passionate about gifted education for the last 20 years and was the gifted and talented coordinator for a middle school in rural Virginia before moving to Colorado. One of her children is in high school and Carianne is interested in how to continue meeting the needs of older gifted students and helping them prepare for college and life beyond high school. She joined the GT Parent Group in the Spring of 2023 and looks forward to continuing to build and support the community of involved parents in the district.
Our Mission
The A12GTPG was founded in 2012 by Steve Bonneau, a parent of a GT student in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district. Steve had a vision of creating an organization that served GT students and their families district-wide. The organization was founded on the basis of several areas that were believed to be important to the GT community:
● Resources: Identify GT resource gaps and work to provide needed resources through collaboration with parents, schools, the school district, and the community.
● Policy: Participate in the development, implementation, and communication of GT-related district guidelines and policies in conjunction with district staff.
● Advocacy: Act as advocates for GT students, families, parent groups, schools, and GT programs to affect change at the school, district, and state levels.
● Education: Facilitate unique educational opportunities for advanced learning and GT-related topics for students and their families.
● Community: Cultivate a strong GT community in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district by creating opportunities for interactions between families, schools and the community.
These areas of interest have guided our activities since the group's inception.
Statement of Political Neutrality
The Adams 12 GT Parents Group is a parent-led group that is affiliated with the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented and works closely with (coordinates with) the department of Advanced Academic and Gifted Services in the Adams 12 Five Star School district. It is made up of all volunteers with no paid staff. The group exists for the GT families within the district and is meant to support, enrich and educate them on matters related to being gifted. The group does not engage in political discourse nor does it endorse any candidates for local, state, or national parties. Information regarding legislation that directly impacts education and GT programming may be shared from time to time in a strictly informational way.