When I was a child, my teachers thought I was a “bright little girl” who was not achieving to her potential, and they seized every opportunity to indicate this to my parents. In the hope of inspiring me, the administrators placed me in a homogeneous group of bright youngsters, all white and all from “the better part of town.” This cluster of classmates remained together through all of our elementary and junior high school years. Despite this intervention, my parents usually returned from the annual teacher’s conference with disappointment in my lack of attention to my studies and perceived unwillingness to work to my potential.

Although I was intelligent and listening, my inability to focus coupled with my learning differences made me appear disinterested. I often used my time to daydream. I spent countless hours doodling, drawing intricate designs all over the margins of my papers. My art teacher took notice of me and others like me and began a Friday afternoon club for students interested in art. The experiences I enjoyed in that art club changed the direction of my life. I began to recognize that school could be a place where interests and talents can be nurtured given the right circumstances. I went on to a specialized public art and academic high school in New York City, where I was given the opportunity to develop my true love for learning and acquire intrinsic motivation. The recognition and development of my artistic talent had a profound effect on my future academic success.

I often think back to the gifts I received from that very special individual, my art teacher, who mentored me toward the success and fulfillment I enjoy today. My experience pushed me to contemplate the gifts I could bring to children just like me. I realized that many children would never have the opportunities I had at that critical point of my learning life. Children from different socio-economic backgrounds or ethnicities are often not placed in “gifted” classes. The passion to touch a young person’s life in a meaningful way took root. In my gratitude to this very special educator, I began to think about a career in education to carry on the legacy she passed to me.

I am a product of opportunity and expectation. I have a deep need to support and advocate for students with non-traditional learning styles. Over my twenty-five years as an educator, the children I have known possess gifts and talents well beyond a narrowly defined conception of giftedness. Apart from my observations as a teacher and administrator, I have only to reflect upon my own childhood and schooling experiences to recognize that a narrow definition misses its mark and underserves children. My deep belief in talent development for all children has been fostered by the work of Drs. Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis. These practical theorists and educators have had a positive impact on school experiences worldwide. Their work enabled me to provide what I believe to be improved classroom learning experiences for many more students.

When I made the decision to become an administrator fifteen years ago and to implement SEM in my school, I found that I wanted more guidance to bring the theory underlying schoolwide enrichment to reality. I set upon a journey to uncover how administrators went about the work of implementing schoolwide enrichment in their schools, and this book brings together what I have learned from my own experiences as well as the hundreds of interviews I conducted with other SEM administrators.
Throughout the text you will find case studies and quotes that emphasize or illustrate a point. These quotes are the words of administrators who believe in SEM and have worked hard to build a program in their schools. Also in the margins, I have highlighted texts that provide additional information or activities about a topic. Appendix D provides full bibliographic information on these as well as other books, articles, and videos that you may find helpful.

I have also included a series of professional development activities to help administrators introduce teachers to SEM and obtain their support, work with the media, and celebrate successes. You should feel free to modify these, as well as sample letters, memos, and flyers that appear throughout the text to suit your own needs. It is my hope that administrators will feel comfortable taking ideas from this manual and molding them to fit their particular programs and schools. In that sense, each manual will always be a work in progress, a collaboration between administrators and those in their school community striving to meet the needs of their students.