An organizational meeting for a parent advocacy group for gifted children in Indian River County will be held Thursday, September 20th at 6:00 pm in the new County Administrative Complex, Building B, Conference Room B1-501. The complex is located at 1800 27th Street, immediately north of the school district offices.

Guest speaker for the meeting will be Holly Melchiori, Coordinator of Gifted Services. Melchiori will provide an update on gifted services for the 2007-2008 school year. In addition, she will share about the recent conference she attended in Tallahassee hosted by The Bureau of Instruction and Innovation. Melchiori has been a teacher in Indian River County for 26 years, 13 of which teaching gifted students, and moved into her new role over the summer.

The formation of a parent advocacy group for gifted services is a by-product of the Gifted Task Force, which was formed during Mr. Maher's tenure. The task force was disbanded in June after making its formal recommendations to the school board; however the involved parents saw a need for continuing the dialogue for improving gifted services offered to Indian River County students, hence the formation of this group. The intended purpose of the parent group is to interface with the school district on local gifted issues, provide a support network for parents and gifted students, as well as be a collective voice to advocate on behalf of gifted students.

Any parent who has a gifted child in Indian River County is welcome to attend the meeting. RSVPs are not required. For more information, contact Maureen Nicolace via email at maureen@nicolacemarketing.com or Rosemarie Colbert via phone at 589-7176.