September 2026 Newsletter

The Adams 12 GT Parents Group is here to support parents and guardians of gifted students throughout the school year ahead, offering a resource for information on the district and research on gifted education as well as a sounding board for questions and concerns on academic and social-emotional issues. This year promises to bring some unique challenges for gifted education in Adams 12. Declining student enrollment and ongoing funding gaps are expected to lead to school consolidations across the district (watch for the official announcement on September 3rd), which means more change for some of our gifted learners. Compounding this, the loss of dedicated gifted advocates in schools last year has resulted in variation in the types of gifted services offered from school to school, but please know that each Adams 12 school will still have a GT Coordinator who will work with teachers to support your GT student.

We're fortunate to have a board with decades of combined experience in Adams 12 and in parenting gifted kids ourselves, so we understand these challenges firsthand and are ready to help families navigate them. We're excited to welcome Jennifer No to the board this year as our new Secretary! She has a third-grader at Rocky Mountain Elementary and provides great perspective on the challenges of twice-exceptional students.

This continues to be a volunteer-run organization, so we appreciate everyone who takes the time to help volunteer for an event, provide input at one of our planning meetings, or take part in one of our committees. If you are interested in becoming more involved or learning more about the group, we encourage you to attend our upcoming planning meeting on Sept. 9th. See details below.

Our group uses the Membership Toolkit platform to communicate, sign up for events, and provide resources. As a part of that platform's processes, you will be asked to confirm/update some family & student info when you login to our website for the first time each fall. It should take less than five minutes and will help us maintain relevant communication lists, so please take the time to "re-activate" your account if you are prompted to do so.

Thank you and hope you have a great school year!

Upcoming Events - At a Glance

Click on these calendar links to be redirected to our website OR continue reading below for all the details and sign-ups!

Wednesday, September 9

7:00p Planning Meeting

Friday, September 25

11:00a Daytime Social

September Planning Meeting

Wed. Sep. 9th 7-8:30pm at Education Support Center (ESC)

All parents of Adams 12 GT and talent pool students are welcome to join us for our next planning meeting on Wednesday, September 9 from 7-8:30pm at the Educational Support Center (Flatirons Conference Room) (1500 E 128th Ave, Thornton, CO 80241).

During this meeting, we will discuss priorities for the year, including student events as well as topics for speakers and GT forums for parents. In particular, we will be making decisions on whether to hold a middle school student event, so if you have a GT middle school student and would like to weigh in on the future of this event, please attend. If you would like to see more GT-focused programming, attending this meeting is a great way to learn more about the Adams 12 GT Parents Group and how you can get involved. Remember, we are a group made up entirely of volunteering parents and our events are not possible without your help! Newcomers as well as familiar faces are welcome.

Please RSVP to let us know you are coming! Questions? Email us at info@a12gifted.org

September Daytime Parent Social

Fri. Sep. 25th 11am-1pm at Panera

Our first parent social for the year will be an in-person gathering on Friday, September 25, 11am-1pm at Panera at Grant and 120th (100 E 120th Ave, Northglenn, CO 80233). As always, feel free to join us for any portion of this informal gathering that you are able to attend. We will have a sign on our table so you can find us.

Our social hours are a wonderful opportunity to share experiences or concerns and/or find out more about the GT Parents Group in a casual setting. As the new school year is just getting underway, we'll use this social as a chance to discuss ALPs or other ways to make the most out of this school year. See the Signup to get more details and let us know you are coming!

Sep. 15th Author Visit: Lily Williams

While not a GT Parents Group event, we wanted you to know about the following enrichment opportunity being offered in our district. Please use their link to RSVP and send any questions to Sarah Worosylo at dos013934@adams12.org.

Adams 12 families are invited to Century Middle School to an author event by Lily Williams, author and illustrator of the popular picture book series "If Sharks Disappeared" and other middle grade graphic novels, on September 15 from 5:00-6:30pm! This event is FREE to the Adams 12 community but we do ask that guests RSVPvia this form. Ms. Williams will talk about her latest graphic novel, Exposures, a memoir about her struggles with mental health. This book has been selected this year as one of the Adams 12 Middle School Battle of the Books titles. Free food and beverage will be provided at the event and a local independent bookseller, Composition Shop, will be hosting a book sale on site.

CAGT 8th Annual Art Contest

Deadline: September 14th

We invite students attending any K-12 school or homeschool in Colorado to create their artistic interpretation of this year's theme: Cultivating the Extraordinary.

As always, the Art Contest Committee will be very selective about which artwork will be chosen and displayed this fall due to limited space at the Annual CAGT Conference, October 18-20, 2026, at the Embassy Suites and Convention Center in Loveland.

Conference participants from across our state and beyond will view and vote for their favorites.

Click here for the flyer with event information and to submit your incredible artwork.

Questions about ALPs

Last fall, we held a parent forum on Advanced Learning Plans (ALPs). Each student in Adams 12 identified as gifted will have an ALP each year. Every school approaches the process somewhat differently, but typically you are able to discuss them with your student's teachers during Fall Parent-Teacher conferences. Click this link for the slides from last year's presentation and feel free to attend our social on Sept. 25th to ask questions on how to approach your student's ALP this year.

SUBJECT: September 2026 Newsletter