MAGE is now accredited!

Las school year, MAGE completed a 2-year process to receive accreditation from the Illinois State Department of Education as a recognized private elementary and High school for grades junior kindergarten through twelfth grade.

In addition, MAGE completed the relocation to a new facility at 900 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610, in order to increase the number of students that MAGE is able to serve. The facility now includes 2 STEM labs, a library with over 5,000 titles, a cafeteria and a gym, among many other features.

CPS Accelerated Placement+Illinois GIFTED/AP REPORTING

State Advocacy and Gifted Legislature Info:

A big win for Illinois Gifted families! The GIFTED/AP REPORTING bill that we’ve invited you to support via witness slips passed both Illinois Senate and House and now sits with the Governor. You can follow the bill here.

CPS Advocacy ad Gifted Policy Info:

If you think that your chance to advocate for gifted children is on now on hiatus, think again. A very important window to enter public comment on the CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACCELERATED PLACEMENT ACT closes tomorrow, Monday, May 22nd. There is no progressive policy happening, if anything, it’s a regression.

  • This is the link for the current rule:

  • This is the link for the amended rule:

  • This is the link for public comment, open until some time on Monday, 22 of May.  

  • This is the link to our previous coverage and analysis of this policy:

Since we did the analysis and work up, CPS dropped single and whole grade acceleration for grades 3 and 7. We missed the memo on that one.  Now, only grades 4-6 are included, though students still can get early K and early 1st entry;  

The disappointments in this policy are:

  • IAR is required and is not objective, alternatives are not included.

  • No whole grade or single subject acceleration outside of grades 4-6

  • Still no multiple year skips

  • No local norms

  • No appeals and a limited application window 

  • Nothing for kids new to CPS from outside the district, or those wanting to switch schools.

  • There is an interesting note about PSAT and SAT and elementary students, which makes no sense since CPS doesn’t administer those and it is hard to find those for elementary students that are not attending gifted private schools.

If you wish to leave public comment about the changes OR, alternatively, lack of changes or considerations, you only have until Monday, May 22nd, 2023. Sign up for our newsletter to not miss out on future notices.

Free Parent Education Workshops

Midwest Academy for Gifted Education and the Chicago Gifted Community Center are excited to bring you a Free Gifted Parenting Education Series for the 4th season, this is still via zoom due to the pandemic. The format of each event in the series is an expert panel presentation on the topic, followed by 15-30 minutes of questions for the panelists.

We are announcing 6 additional zoom workshops this school year. Come to one or come to all!

We have a 3-part series about ABA Therapy:

Part 1 of 3: GIFTED+ABA 4 ASD. TUESDAY, April 26, 8:30 PM CST

Part 2 of 3: GIFTED+COMMON CHALLENGES OF DAILY LIFE: TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2022 8:30PM CST

Part 3 of 3: GIFTED+BIG BEHAVIOR: THERE’S HELP: TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022 8:30PM CST

We have a workshop on Vision in the gifted:

GIFTED+VISION: TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022, 7PM

These are parts 2 and 3 of a series about ADHD by popular request from the community::

GIFTED+TEEN ADHD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2022, 7-9PM 

GIFTED+ADULT ADHD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022, 7-9PM

You can find these events and their registration links on our Parent Education Workshops and Events pages.

April/May 2022 PG and 2E In Person Parent Support Group

WHAT: Parenting kids is hard. Parenting gifted kids is harder. Parenting 2E and or PG children is extremely hard! Come meet with others who are also seeking  support. Many of the struggles around perfectionism and anxiety are shared among the gifted. We will collect topics for input at registration.  Then we will pick one or two topics per discussion, along with making time for everyone to say what they need support with the most.  The SENG groups are designed to have others helping troubleshoot the challenge. 

Our community has asked us that we host this parent support group. The group will be hosted by our Director, Judy Wahl, who is a SENG facilitator.  This will be in person, and no part of this will be recorded. Limit 10 participants with a waitlist. You do not need to have a MAGE student to attend. 

When: You can only sign up for the whole series, not just one day. The group will meet for 45 minutes per week, over 4 weeks in a row beginning April 25.  

April 25, 6:00-6:45

May 2, 6:00-6:45

May 9, 6:00-6:45

May 16, 6:00-6:45

The cost of the group is $100 for all 4 weeks per adult participant. 

You must upload your vaccine record+booster to attend in person and you will be tested on site with a self-administered RAPID test as well that we will provide.

Gifted+ADHD

If you missed this incredible presentation, here is the recording. This was an advanced ADHD+Gifted class and is most appropriate for those who already know that their child is diagnosed, has strong traits that match this and you are basically under the assumption that this is what it is based on traits and challenges. You may have gotten some rudimentary recommendations from the neuropsychologist but some of them are impossible either at school and or at home, or they plain don’t work. Let’s say you tried medication but it’s touch and go or didn’t even work, or doesn’t take care of everything. A magic pill isn’t for 100% of the cases. Now what? Time to find out exactly what is possible. A lot is possible! Do not give up! Help is here. Learn about how the brain learns differently and functions in ADHD as the most powerful intervention for many parents to learn about. Educators welcome (but there will be a special educator workshop soon).

About our Presenter:

Jessica Brown-McBroom is a licensed clinical professional counselor who is passionate about providing quality individual and family coaching to children, adolescents, and adults using a positive strength-based approach. Jessica is a strong believer in laughter and lightheartedness as an essential part of her work with children and families. Jessica specializes in twice-exceptional children and adolescents with executive functioning deficits. This includes AD/HD children, children on the spectrum and children with learning disorders. Diagnosed with AD/HD as a child, Jessica carries her own personal story of struggle and success in both her educational presentations and in her coaching in order to provide encouragement for families in the midst of their own struggles with executive functioning deficits.

GIFTED+HEARING: THE PROCESS OF PROCESSING

If you missed this incredible workshop about auditory processing in the gifted especially as it applies to PG and HG children and the 2E, here is the recording.


This was an advanced presentation about hearing and auditory processing. Parents, educators, and medical professionals are welcome. 

The term auditory processing refers, in general, to “what we do with what we hear,” encompassing an array of skills beginning at the outer ear and ending when a response is provided – even if that response is incorrect. Skills include collection and detection of the signal (hearing acuity), analysis and synthesis of each sound (acoustic), meaning attachment (language), and execution of a response with these skills influenced by attention, memory, listening demeanor, motivation, wellness, and cognition. Thus, functional issues in auditory processing, i.e., day-to-day listening and usage, can result from and/or co-exist with specific auditory impairment, language impairment neurocognitive dysfunction, or health disorders (e.g., it can be difficult to “process” information when unwell). The central auditory evaluation is designed to determine factors that underlie a client’s reported functional listening issues, i.e., functional auditory processing concerns. Some gifted children may “hide” a hearing or processing problem, by using their gifts, and in turn, these issues may hide their giftedness. This presentation will discuss development and assessment of auditory skills, “red flags” for possible auditory impairments which indicate need for assessment, types of auditory impairments, and intervention for auditory/auditory processing deficits. Join us for answers to these frequently asked questions:

  • Why should we test for auditory issues? 

  • Who should be tested and when?  What role do other communicative, educational, and/or neurocognitive issues play in the assessment and intervention process?

  • What’s involved in an evaluation?

  • What information will tests give me – that I don’t already know about my gifted or

  • suspected gifted learner?- that is, what do results MEAN?

  • What can be done IF an auditory problem is diagnosed?

About our Presenter: Dr. Ferre is a nationally recognized expert on central auditory processing disorders (CAPD), with over 35 years experience providing evaluation and intervention of CAPDs to children and adults. She established her practice in 1988, becoming one of the first audiologists in the nation to open a practice devoted exclusively to the evaluation and treatment of auditory processing disorders and has provided these services at her Oak Park office for over 25 years. IIn addition to her clinical practice, she is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Northwestern and Rush Universities, teaching graduate classes in assessment and management of CAPD and serving as an off-campus practicum supervisor to improve students’ clinical skills in the area of CAP assessment and intervention. Dr. Ferre regularly attends special education eligibility meetings and assists with development of IEPs and 504 accommodation plans. She has provided consultation on auditory processing to school districts and education departments in Illinois, Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Hawaii and the District of Columbia. Dr. Ferre is on the advisory board of Audiology Online  and is a regular editorial reviewer of papers related to central auditory processing for several professional journals. She has contributed to “best practice” documents for central auditory processing assessment and intervention for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Her pioneering research in this area led to the development of the Bellis-Ferre model, currently one of the most widely used models for interpreting central auditory processing test results. She is the co-author of a widely used test for screening processing disorders among school-age children, the Differential Screening Test for Processing, available from www.proedinc.com .

Dr. Ferre has published extensively in professional journals and written chapters for collegiate texts and has given over 300 presentations on CAPD to school districts, related professional associations, speech-language-hearing conferences, and parent support groups at the local, state, national and international levels.

Dr. Ferre’s work has earned numerous awards. She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a Fellow of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and a Distinguished Alumnus of Illinois State University. In addition, she has received the Clinical Achievement Award and Honors of the Association from the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dr. Ferre mentors graduate students and young professionals regarding central auditory processing disorders and their impact on listeners/learners of all ages. She is an active volunteer leader of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Her current research interests include improving effectiveness of treatments for CAPDs, screening for processing disorders, and graduate clinical preparation.

Admissions Testing Days Added: April 24, May 2022

A part of our application process is IQ or academic qualification, where students must score 98% or above. We have representatives of PGR, MENSA, and DYS in the school community. Selective qualification on IQ and or academics does not guarantee admission and is a small portion of our admissions process. Many families have asked us to help with admissions testing. You can use your existing SEES letter, PSAT/SAT/ACT/BESTS/COGAT/ or even NWEA MAP to qualify for applying, besides IQ testing.

However, this year, it's still also one of the hardest portions. Many psycho-educational service facilities are closed and are not performing IQ testing. Many schools are not running standardized testing. Therefore, we are offering a test day to help our applicants. While our application is free, we can't offer this free of charge as we are still a new organization. This testing is not available to families not in our application cycle.

On May 16th, we will offer two types of testing. This testing is not equivalent to our full screening for our admissions and is for the gifted qualification portion only. 

A NEGATIVE COVID TEST IS REQUIRED IN THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE TESTING and our COVID policy has to be followed with regard to masking, distancing, exposure and travel.

Achievement 1:1 testing: We have 5 appointment slots available for children ages 4-8. Testing will take 1.5 hours, in person. Parent must stay on site for the duration of the test. This testing will cost $150.

Academic testing: NWEA MAP testing for grades K-12.  There will be 2 sessions: 8AM; 1PM. Academic testing will cost $150. Testing may take 1-4 hours, depending on student. 8 students are allowed per session. 

Depending on age and parental perception of achievement, students will be given the following batteries: K-2 NWEA, 2-6NWEA, 6+NWEA. The reading and math NWEA will be offered to all; language and algebra will be offered to appropriate grades and abilities. 

Help Pass Gifted Law in Illinois Now!

To help, you must do this and forward this to others by Tuesday, February 22, 2022, by 2PM

UPVOTE GIFTED BILL in IL by Tuesday at 2PM by filling out a witness slip. It takes 1 minute.

Click on the Learn More button below for how to fill out a witness slip. It takes about 1 minute. You can also learn everything about the bill by scrolling down or clicking Learn More. This is not MAGE content, the credit goes to IAGC. Go IAGC! Please share!

“All students, including gifted and advanced learners, deserve access to an appropriate education to meet their academic and social-emotional needs. Lack of access to gifted and advanced programming disproportionately impacts low-income students and students from culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse backgrounds.”

Gifted+Hearing: The Process of Processing

Chicago Gifted Community Center and MAGE have partnered to continue the Parent Education Workshop series virtually. In this workshop, you can take a deep dive into the world of auditory processing, what’s different for gifted, and how a difference in the process can cause a person to have 2e symptoms. This is a 2 hour, advanced presentation about hearing and auditory processing. Parents, educators, and medical professionals are welcome as it is appropriate even for medical professionals working with the gifted looking to further their knowledge and understanding. 

  • Registration required. Click on the blue link to register>>>click here! 

  • Free for CGCC and MAGE families, else $3.

  • Tuesday, February 22, 2022, 7PM-9PM Central Time

  • Presentation followed by Q and A session

The term auditory processing refers, in general, to “what we do with what we hear,” encompassing an array of skills beginning at the outer ear and ending when a response is provided – even if that response is incorrect. Skills include collection and detection of the signal (hearing acuity), analysis and synthesis of each sound (acoustic), meaning attachment (language), and execution of a response with these skills influenced by attention, memory, listening demeanor, motivation, wellness, and cognition. Thus, functional issues in auditory processing, i.e., day-to-day listening and usage, can result from and/or co-exist with specific auditory impairment, language impairment neurocognitive dysfunction, or health disorders (e.g., it can be difficult to “process” information when unwell). The central auditory evaluation is designed to determine factors that underlie a client’s reported functional listening issues, i.e., functional auditory processing concerns. Some gifted children may “hide” a hearing or processing problem, by using their gifts, and in turn, these issues may hide their giftedness. This presentation will discuss development and assessment of auditory skills, “red flags” for possible auditory impairments which indicate need for assessment, types of auditory impairments, and intervention for auditory/auditory processing deficits. Join us for answers to these frequently asked questions:

  • Why should we test for auditory issues? 

  • Who should be tested and when?  What role do other communicative, educational, and/or neurocognitive issues play in the assessment and intervention process?

  • What’s involved in an evaluation?

  • What information will tests give me – that I don’t already know about my gifted or

  • suspected gifted learner?- that is, what do results MEAN?

  • What can be done IF an auditory problem is diagnosed?

About our Presenter: Dr. Ferre is a nationally recognized expert on central auditory processing disorders (CAPD), with over 35 years experience providing evaluation and intervention of CAPDs to children and adults. She established her practice in 1988, becoming one of the first audiologists in the nation to open a practice devoted exclusively to the evaluation and treatment of auditory processing disorders and has provided these services at her Oak Park office for over 25 years. IIn addition to her clinical practice, she is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Northwestern and Rush Universities, teaching graduate classes in assessment and management of CAPD and serving as an off-campus practicum supervisor to improve students’ clinical skills in the area of CAP assessment and intervention. Dr. Ferre regularly attends special education eligibility meetings and assists with development of IEPs and 504 accommodation plans. She has provided consultation on auditory processing to school districts and education departments in Illinois, Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Hawaii and the District of Columbia. Dr. Ferre is on the advisory board of Audiology Online  and is a regular editorial reviewer of papers related to central auditory processing for several professional journals. She has contributed to “best practice” documents for central auditory processing assessment and intervention for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Her pioneering research in this area led to the development of the Bellis-Ferre model, currently one of the most widely used models for interpreting central auditory processing test results. She is the co-author of a widely used test for screening processing disorders among school-age children, the Differential Screening Test for Processing, available from www.proedinc.com .

Dr. Ferre has published extensively in professional journals and written chapters for collegiate texts and has given over 300 presentations on CAPD to school districts, related professional associations, speech-language-hearing conferences, and parent support groups at the local, state, national and international levels.

Dr. Ferre’s work has earned numerous awards. She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a Fellow of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and a Distinguished Alumnus of Illinois State University. In addition, she has received the Clinical Achievement Award and Honors of the Association from the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dr. Ferre mentors graduate students and young professionals regarding central auditory processing disorders and their impact on listeners/learners of all ages. She is an active volunteer leader of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Her current research interests include improving effectiveness of treatments for CAPDs, screening for processing disorders, and graduate clinical preparation.

Gifted+ADHD (Virtual Parent Education Workshop)

GIFTED+ADHD (VIRTUAL PARENT EDUCATION WORKSHOP)

  • Tuesday, March 8, 2022

  • 7:00 PM 8:00 PM

Midwest Academy for Gifted Education and the Chicago Gifted Community Center bring you a Free Gifted Parenting Education Series,. The idea is to bring together a parent of gifted child, a mental health professional, and a gifted educator, for different perspectives and ideas around solutions. For the privacy of our attendees, this workshop is not recorded.

More workshops are being planned, to learn more, follow this link on the Parent Education Series page.

This is an advanced ADHD+Gifted class and is most appropriate for those who already know that their child is diagnosed, has strong traits that match this and you are basically under the assumption that this is what it is based on traits and challenges. You may have gotten some rudimentary recommendations from the neuropsychologist but some of them are impossible either at school and or at home, or they plain don’t work. Let’s say you tried medication but it’s touch and go or didn’t even work, or doesn’t take care of everything. A magic pill isn’t for 100% of the cases. Now what? Time to find out exactly what is possible. A lot is possible! Do not give up! Help is here. Learn about how the brain learns differently and functions in ADHD as the most powerful intervention for many parents to learn about. Educators welcome (but there will be a special educator workshop soon).

  • Registration required. Click the Green button to register.

  • Free for CGCC and MAGE families, $3 fee for non-members

  • Tuesday, March 8, 2022, 7PM-8PM Central Time

  • Presentation followed by 30 minute Q and A session at 7:30

About our Presenter:

Jessica Brown-McBroom is a licensed clinical professional counselor who is passionate about providing quality individual and family coaching to children, adolescents, and adults using a positive strength-based approach. Jessica is a strong believer in laughter and lightheartedness as an essential part of her work with children and families. Jessica specializes in twice-exceptional children and adolescents with executive functioning deficits. This includes AD/HD children, children on the spectrum and children with learning disorders. Diagnosed with AD/HD as a child, Jessica carries her own personal story of struggle and success in both her educational presentations and in her coaching in order to provide encouragement for families in the midst of their own struggles with executive functioning deficits.

Gifted+Dyslexia (Virtual Parent Education Workshop)

GIFTED+DYSLEXIA (VIRTUAL PARENT EDUCATION WORKSHOP) |

  • Registration required. Click on the green button to register.

  • Free for CGCC and MAGE families, $3 fee for non-members

  • Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 7PM-8PM Central Time

  • Presentation at 7:00PM followed by 30 minute Q and A session at 7:30PM

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, affecting as many as 15-20% of all people. Gifted kids who are also dyslexic need specialized supports and understanding. Come learn more about the different types of this condition and how to identify it in gifted children, especially those that mask well. There will be 15-30 minutes of presentation followed by Q and A.

The link to join the presentation will be sent upon registration at this link. Free for MAGE and CGCC members.

About our Presenter:

Dr. Jessica Douglas is a nationally certified school psychologist who pursued a career in educational psychology because of her desire to help struggling students achieve social-emotional and academic success. She holds a masters and specialist degrees in school psychology and a doctoral degree in human learning and development at National-Louis University, where her research focused on social skill interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Dr. Douglas is Co-Chair for Everyone Reading Illinois (formerly the Illinois Branch of the International Dyslexia Association) and highly involved with outreach related to dyslexia.

Dr. Douglas worked as a school psychologist in public schools and is now in private practice at Psychoeducational Resource Services, Inc. Her current practice emphasizes the importance of working in unison with parents, schools, and private providers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the student’s learning profile, and to ultimately develop an educational plan that will support his or her individual needs.

PG and 2E In Person Parent Support Group

We have been hearing more and more from parents of both PG and or 2e children looking for support from other parents, and feeling more and more isolated as gifted funding and programming continues to get cut and as the pandemic rages on. These parents are interested in building a community with other parents whose children are also PG and or 2e, in person, in the Chicagoland area. There will be no way to participate virtually, and if you are sick and can’t make it, we won’t be able to refund your fee, in order to protect the privacy of attending families. There are privacy rules set in place, and light facilitation, with optional lightly supervised childcare.

Parenting kids is hard (but plenty of support), parenting gifted kids is harder (barely any support), and parenting 2E and or PG children is extremely hard (almost no support)! If you want to receive support with parenting your gifted child, please join us. Come meet with others who are also seeking support. Many of the struggles around perfectionism, anxiety, are shared among the gifted. We collect topics for input at registration, and will pick one or two topics per discussion, along with making time for everyone saying what they need support with the most and others helping troubleshoot the challenge. Come, needles in a haystack, we will be your collector magnet to help you find each other and find support in each other.

2E PG Parent Support Group (IN PERSON)

Our community has asked us that we host this parent support group. The group will be hosted by our Director, Judy Wahl, who is a SENG facilitator. This will be in person, and no part of this will be recorded. Limit 10 participants with a waitlist. You do not need to have a MAGE student to attend.

Register by clicking on the link here.

The group will meet for 45 minutes per week, over 4 alternating weeks starting on January 13 and we will add additional weeks if there is interest.

Thursday, January 13, 6:00PM-6:45PM

Thursday, January 27, 6:00PM-6:45PM

Thursday, February 10, 6:00PM-6:45PM

Thursday, February 24, 6:00PM-6:45PM

The cost of the group is $100 for all 4 weeks per adult participant. There’s childcare for an additional cost! Read below.

Boardgames+Pizza (bring your own if gluten free, etc) will be provided at $25/child including supervised play for ages 5+, child must have achieved all self-care and social milestones expected for their age to be hanging out in this setting. There will be minimums for child and parent enrolled attendees so that we can make sure there are enough participants to make this fun. Limit 10 children for COVID safety and student teacher ratio.

You (and your child if they are coming) must upload your vaccine record+booster (else it doesn’t count) to attend in person and you will be tested on site with a self-administered RAPID test as well that we will provide. Limit 10 children for COVID safety and student teacher ratio.

Please wait for your confirmation before you show up. Your seat will be forfeited if you don’t pay for it. Yes, we may do a 2e adult mingle at some point too, we’ve been asked for that as well.

Feeding 2E Children: Free Zoom Nov 9, 2021

The MAGE Free Parent Education Workshops Series, in Partnership with CGCC is back for the 2021 Season.

Coming up: Feeding 2E Children, Free Zoom Parent Education Workshop: Feeding 2E Children: Tuesday, November 9, 7PM-8PM | Register

Feeding kids is not easy, period, let alone gifted kids. If you throw in some 2e, well, the whole thing might be daunting, frequently devolving into a power struggle, and meal times are ruined for all.. "I will not eat it, it's too cold/spicy/green/they are touching/not crispy enough," is the bottom of the barrel. Try some, "I will not eat this as it was alive," "was my food sustainably sourced." And, sprinkle on some "I was busy with my project so I just forgot to eat," creative story telling, and so on… Not to mention, gifted food allergy and intolerance aka my child won’t eat their safe food. Nothing makes a parent feel worse than when they feel like they can’t even get food into their kid. Need some help? We got you covered. More info below.

Feeding 2E Children

Past workshop: Last month we hosted Sarah Ahlm, LCSW and Emily Clarke, LCSW of Nest Child and Family Therapy in Chicago, who presented very impressive strategies and tools to manage child anxiety in this complex population. If your child is struggling with anxiety, do give them a call.

Admissions Testing Day Added: April 24,May 15th, 2022

A part of our application process is IQ or academic qualification, where students must score 98% or above. We have representatives of PGR, MENSA, and DYS in the school community. Selective qualification on IQ and or academics does not guarantee admission and is a small portion of our admissions process. Many families have asked us to help with admissions testing. You can use your existing SEES letter, PSAT/SAT/ACT/BESTS/COGAT/ or even NWEA MAP to qualify for applying, besides IQ testing.

However, this year, it's also one of the hardest portions. Many psycho-educational service facilities are closed and are not performing IQ testing. Many schools are not running standardized testing. Therefore, we are offering a test day to help our applicants. While our application is free, we can't offer this free of charge as we are still a new organization. This testing is not available to families not in our application cycle.

On April 24th and May 15th, 2022, we will offer two types of testing. This testing is not equivalent to our full screening for our admissions and is for the gifted qualification portion only. You will be automatically emailed for a test date if you notify us in your admissions application that you need to be tested by us.

A NEGATIVE COVID TEST IS REQUIRED IN THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE TESTING and our COVID policy has to be followed with regard to masking, distancing, exposure and travel.

Achievement 1:1 testing: We have 5 appointment slots available for children ages 4-8. Testing will take 1.5 hours, in person. Parent must stay on site for the duration of the test. This testing will cost $150.

Academic testing: NWEA MAP testing for grades K-12.  There will be 2 sessions: 8AM; 1PM. Academic testing will cost $100. Testing may take 1-4 hours, depending on student. 8 students are allowed per session. 

Depending on age and parental perception of achievement, students will be given the following batteries: K-2 NWEA, 2-6NWEA, 6+NWEA. The reading and math NWEA will be offered to all; language and algebra will be offered to appropriate grades and abilities. 

COVID Variants Spread in Illinois and what this means

We are at it again. March 5 is a milestone day in IL, with the arrival of P1 Brazil COVID-19 variant. This means that all 3 variants are now here in the state, and one, the British variant, B.1.1.7 is spreading quickly. However, the data is lacking completely on what’s really happening, what it means for the reopening phases, and what it means for the current and next school year.

Fun fact, we were the first ones to publish the IL doubling rates in March one year ago https://www.mage.education/news/2020/3/19/coronavirus-stem-part2. Before any paper. Why are we having a moment of deja vu? Look, we are the first ones to publish a B.1.1.7 graph, below. We shouldn’t be, but we are. And it’s terrifying.

When COVID-19 arrived in Illinois, we had little to test for it and identify it, and there were single cases for 1.5 months, eerily, until March 7. After that, in 2 weeks, the doubling rate became almost every 2 days. Currently, the doubling rate of B.1.1.7 in Illinois is every 2 weeks, but it’s only been detected for 1.5 months AT ALL. So, it’s spreading FASTER, or our data view is poor. Or both.

Here’s a petition to get the state to share more data on the variant spread. http://chng.it/5mDzmJvhtr. Please sign and share. This petition covers vaccination efficacy on local variants, variance RT rates, updating phased reopening with variant and vaccine efficacy metrics, and reinfection data tracking.

Useful links:

  • Variant tracker: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/health/coronavirus-variant-tracker.html - not much data here, or anywhere else yet, but it’s helpful to highlight that in South Africa, the AstraZeneca’s vaccine is not used because it’s not considered effective against their dominant variant.

  • Covid Variants and significance: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00564-4

  • CDC variant data: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant-cases.html

  • Illinois variant page: http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/variants

infographic for petition.png

Admissions!

If you are interested in 2021 Fall admissions, you should be aware of some key important facts:

  • Our year ends in June, and we do not allow for shadow visits the last 2 weeks of our program.

  • A shadow visit is required in order for your child to gain attendance.

  • You also need a COVID test in order to attend a shadow visit, and we limit how many children we allow into the shadow day per week.

  • Our admissions process takes several weeks and involves a parent interview and teacher recommendations, and it requires for you to have qualifying documents which sometimes take a long time to obtain.

  • Your place in line is held by our application date.

  • Because children that are not yet school-age can’t shadow due to age restrictions in our program, there are only a few slots left in the JK/K screening day in May for the fall.

  • Our application is still free. So, what are you waiting for? Click the button at the top right corner to apply!

#PandemicSilhouette challenge

Welcome to the #PandemicSilhouette challenge!

Pandemic Silhouette.jpeg

While we are apart, we can…. draw together! Pun intended. You need the following supplies:

  • 2 colors of paper

  • scissors

  • a pencil

  • glue

  • Timing device is recommended but not requried. Recommended time is up to you but we would say for K-12, 5 minutes. Bonus, this teaches #mindfulness as you patiently do your best to pose for your partners. You an use Alexa, Siri, or just a clock or a sand timer.

  • A clipboard may be easiest.

Instructions:

  1. Socially distanced, in masks, take turns drawing each other’s profile.

  2. You have a set time to do your best so that your partner doesn’t get too tired,

  3. Draw just the outline of the profile (an outline of something, especially a person's face, as seen from one side.) of your partner.

  4. More than 1 person can draw 1 person.

  5. Having a high contrast background or a window behind the person is helpful.

  6. Pick the outline color that will go on top. Draw the head and shoulders (or more if you’d like) of the person, don’t worry about erasing or the inside details.

  7. Draw a line across the bottom of the silhouette.

  8. Cut out the silhouette.

  9. Paste your cut-out on your base paper, a second color.

  10. Don’t forget to put all your supplies back and recycle your excess paper!

  11. Take a photo and Tweet it to us by 12AM Central Time on February 1, 2021. We will announce winners by 12AM Central Time on March 1, 2021.

  12. if you tweet or instagram or Facebook tag us in your photos, make sure you have permission to share this photo and that we can re-share it on our social media if you want to get recognized for your project.

FAQ:

Of course you can draw the silhouette of someone virtually.

Yes, you are welcome to play if you are a homeschooler and your subject (what you are drawing) can be anyone or anything.

Are there prizes? Not yet. We don’t want to deal with the prize rules and all that. This is just for fun, and to get everyone to draw together/ help everyone feel like they belong to a greater community/we are all in this together.

Small print:

By posting on our site/feeds/instagram/Facebook/twitter, you give us the right to reshare and repost your image to congratulate you.

Giving Tuesday

2020 has been a challenging year for all. It is also our first year as an officially recognized 501.c.3. We are a new organization that is providing services to families while having to contend with COVID. We never had put in our budget at the start of the year, the following items, because we didn’t know we’d need them: 10 infrared thermometers, costs of building out outdoor classrooms, ventilation remediation, PPE (we didn’t know what PPE was earlier this year!), or CLIA certification, stringent surveillance protocols, or a reduction in the number of students we can serve per class or in our building in total, and the costs of virtual instruction.

If we helped you in some way, and you have the means to help us, today is the day. Here is how you could help:

MAGE is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Your gift is 100% tax deductible if no goods or services are being received as a result of this gift. Click here to donate online. You may also mail donations to Midwest Academy for Gifted Education, 1164 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago IL 60642.

Waitlist Update

MAGE is off to an exciting start to the fall. We decided to start the year off in person. Why?

  • while the positivity rate and infection rate were low, with proper precaution, to allow our students to get to know each other and their teachers and build relationships, while we could do so in person, largely outside.

  • because surveillance testing (on site AT SCHOOL for teachers and students and their families) and rapid testing became possible. We literally made the decision after it became a possibility to have this be in position.

Our students enjoyed an August in-person start, already had 7 (OUTDOOR) field trips, have bonded with their classmates and teachers, and they are well-settled in. We completed our NWEA testing and goal setting for the fall term. Our students enjoy weekly specials such as lego robotics, yoga, Latin, and Tae Kwon Do. They have 1:1 math and English lessons in addition to ability-based math circle/group work, math team, reading, and writing groups. They really benefit from being with intellectual peers.

If there is a shut down in IL in the next few weeks, we are in a decent position to brave it. Our cohorts at least know how to work together well. But, we are not “secretly planning” on a shut down unless there’s a government mandate. We plan on staying open as long as we can do so safely. We closed before the government mandate last time and could do that again if needed, but we have a large amount of things we did to keep kids safe. We will do the same in our second location for each cohort:

  • separate doors and bathrooms

  • outdoor classrooms

  • airborne remediation (filters, hepa, UV, air flush system)

  • visitors must be tested for covid

  • compliance with best practices regarding quarantine, symptom checks; school-based periodic asymptomatic case surveillance, masks and cleaning, limiting shared supplies and frequent hand washing, having as many meals outside as weather allows.

The end of October is the time where most students in schools settle into their school year. If you need a new, properly differentiated option that’s striving to be in person, take a look at us. We are not perfect, but we may be your least worst option. And you know what, that’s not that hard to do. By 3rd grade, most parents of highly and profoundly gifted kids find themselves on their second or third school and disillusioned. We are a supportive community of gifted students and their families. It’s a great place to be.

We get a lot of questions about our waitlist. Here are the most common answers, without the obvious questions:

  • Your position in line is held by your completed application date.

  • We are working on a January start at this time for our second location.

  • Space will be limited even with the second location. We are aiming at opening 4 seats in JK, 8 seats in the lower school, 8 seats in the elementary school, and 8 in middle-high school.

  • Students can shadow our school now even when there’s no space, to make a decision about January. We allow 1 shadow per week per grade; students and their family need to have a COVID test before they shadow and comply with COVID policy. Students can only shadow after they’ve submitted a complete application including all supporting qualifying documents, the family interview has happened, and these pieces met enrollment criteria.

  • We have more than 10 students on the waitlist.

  • You would get to meet possible members of your cohort and teachers in the actual location where your class would be held and do a free trial demo class before having to make a decision. In other words, you could shadow now and we will approximate as best as we can the real experience before you sign a contract, which is more than what most schools do.

  • We have students in grades K-8 at this time. We have teachers certified all the way through high school and college and can accept high school students just fine.

  • What’s our biggest challenge right now: figuring out a legal/safe way of extending our outdoor classroom season; increasing our specials, especially foreign language, at a time where most people are too afraid to come on site; figuring out how to offer camps on school days off without exposing our cohort to outside students while also giving our regular staff time off.

  • We have a monthly admissions in person OR virtual coffee on the first Sunday of most months.