Alberta Academic Talent Summit
Expanding Giftedness in a Complex Classroom
Date: March 31, 2027 - April 1, 2027
Location: Banff, Alberta
What you can expect to experience:
- Introduction to new ideas and alternatives to traditional practices
- Dialogue with experienced veterans in helping districts change their mindsets/policies/practices
- Connection to existing resources to help you/r district
- Time to think and work toward aligning actions with aspirations
- Feedback and support on how you can journey from your current to desired reality
- Opportunity to focus on this specific problem from a new lens
Sample framing of what you’ll hear:
- Giftedness ≠ IQ
- There are gifted students in every school
- How to better serve some students in the classroom
- How some students may best be served by being in different classrooms
- Informed about alternative pathways
- Strategies to change mindsets, policies, and practices for gifted education in your district
- Individualized plan for change management within your district
- Connections with Community of support for introducing change
What you will NOT get:
- a lot of lectures
- a(nother) generic prescription of “sure thing” that won't pan out
- reframe how to identify and serve gifted students?
- respond to classroom complexity?
- restore wellbeing for students whose needs differ from their peers?
- Alberta school leaders looking for innovative ways they can respond to classroom complexity and student wellbeing concerns
- Attendance for 2 staff from your district
- Compensation for travel costs for 2 staff from your district (more details to come)
- Free meals and accommodations at the Banff Centre (March 31st and April 1st)
Cost: $0 for invited attendees
Courtesy of generous support from Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and Professor and Research Chair in High Ability Studies at the Werklund School of Education University of Calgary.
Register:
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Matthew C. Makel, PhD
Professor and Research Chair in High Abilities Studies
University of Calgary
Meeting Convener and Facilitator
Matthew C. Makel is Professor and Research Chair in High Abilities Studies in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on advanced educational opportunities and open science research methods. In advanced education, he investigates the equitable allocation of advanced academic opportunities including gifted identification and services. He works with schools to help them develop policies and practices that can better meet student learning needs. He has published over 100 research articles and book chapters that have been cited nearly 8,000 times. Previously, he was on the faculty at the school of education at Johns Hopkins University and the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Duke University Talent Identification Program. He has earned degrees from Duke University, Cornell University, and Indiana University.
Sneha Shah Coltrane, MEd
Senior Director
Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Sneha Shah-Coltrane serves as Senior Director of the Office of Advanced Learning & Gifted Education and Academic Policy at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. In this role, she collaborates with public school districts and charter schools, educators, policymakers, families, higher education institutions, and advocacy organizations to ensure that the advanced learning needs of North Carolina’s students are effectively addressed. She also serves as the agency lead for academic policy. Most recently, she received the NAGC Advocacy Award in recognition of her leadership and advocacy for advanced education at the local, state, and national levels. Throughout her career, Sneha has been dedicated to helping schools cultivate, recognize, and respond to exceptional—and often untapped—potential by advancing mindsets, policies, and practices that support all advanced learners.
Beth Cross, MEd
Assistant Director
Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Beth Cross serves as the Assistant Director of the Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). In this role, she provides statewide leadership to support local districts and charter schools in the development and implementation of high-quality Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) programs. She also leads North Carolina's initiatives for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Cambridge International Education, championing rigorous learning opportunities that prepare students for success beyond the classroom. Her path has included serving as a middle school teacher and high school state champion volleyball coach, AIG specialist, and Director of Advanced Academics in a district serving 30,000+ students, for which she was awarded the North Carolina Gifted Administrator of the Year. She is currently serving a national organization as President of the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted (CSDPG). Her work reflects a deep belief that excellence in education is achieved by cultivating talent, removing barriers, and inspiring continuous growth.
Rebecca McKinney, Ed.D
Gifted Education Director
Colorado Department of Education
Dr. Rebecca McKinney holds a Master’s in Gifted Education and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Gifted Education. As Director of Gifted Education for the Colorado Department of Education, co-founder of Rising Tide Education Consultants, and co-author of Accelerating Learning for All: Equity in Action, she draws on nearly 30 years of experience across early childhood, leadership, gifted education, curriculum, and instruction to build equitable systems where every student can thrive. Off the clock, she enjoys running and spending time with family, especially her two grown children.
Heather Baskin, MS
Gifted Education Assistant Director
Colorado Department of Education
Heather's experiences vary from preschool teacher to college professor, biopsychology major to ESL Master’s Degree, teaching elementary students to directing districts of varying sizes, and trainer of lifeguards to developing leaders. Currently, she is the Colorado Department of Education Office of Gifted Education Assistant Director. In the last 29 years of working in education, she has consistently focused on advocating for all students to grow through education.
