Liaisons are available to support any group involved in gifted education. Assistance may include helping schools and districts to become involved in Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS); assisting already participating schools to design educational and support programs for talent search students; and working with parent groups, other educational and state organizations, and institutions of higher education that are involved in gifted education.
As members of the NUMATS Advisory Board, the liaisons are knowledgeable about NUMATS and the use of scores for planning educational programs. Having worked in the field of gifted education for many years in their home states, they are also aware of local community needs. Each of them brings a broad base of educational skills and experience. We urge you to call on the liaisons during the upcoming academic year for assistance.
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| Cheryll Adams |
| NUMATS Indiana Liaison |
Cheryll M. Adams received master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology--gifted from the University of Virginia. She is the director of the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development at Ball State University in Muncie. She teaches courses for the licensure program in gifted education and has published a book, several book chapters and numerous journal articles, as well as presented internationally, nationally, statewide and locally in the field of gifted education over the last 20 years. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children, is vice president of The Association for the Gifted Board of the Council for Exceptional Children, and is past president and treasurer of the Indiana Association for the Gifted. She serves as secretary of the American Educational Research Association’s Research on Giftedness and Talent Special Interest Group and is the chair of the Research and Evaluation Network of NAGC. She serves on NAGC’s Task Force on Math and Science. In 2002 she received the NAGC Early Leader Award, and in 2005 and 2007, the Indiana Association for the Gifted Service Award. In 1994 she received NAGC’s Outstanding Doctoral Student Award and in 1998, the IAG Leadership Award. She received Ball State’s Outstanding Administrator Award in 2004. She has co-authored and received three Javits grants. Cheryll was a classroom teacher for 15 years in public and private schools. Her research interests are in identification of gifted students, programming and curriculum.
For assistance in the state of Indiana, call 765/285-5390 or e-mail cadams@bsu.edu.
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| Paula DeGroot |
| NUMATS Wisconsin Liaison |
Paula DeGroot is inspired intellectually by two passions: children and research. She is the mother of three and has worked as an analyst/designer in the information technology field for over 30 years.
After pursuing independent research in support of educational programming to address the needs of academically talented students and her own children, Paula eventually dedicated her efforts to a variety of extracurricular and co-curricular activities in the school district of Ripon and the surrounding region.
Over the past 25 years, she has been the coordinator of the Odyssey of the Mind program for the Ripon school district, a member of the Ripon-based Parents and Children for Excellence committee, swim team coordinator/manager, Suzuki music parent association member, and a member of the advisory board for the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth. Her search for programming to meet her children's academic needs led to their participation in Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) and subsequent opportunities available as a result of that experience.
Having witnessed dramatic changes in her own children through NUMATS-related programs, Paula believes that NUMATS participation can act as a catalyst to growth that might otherwise go unimagined and unattained, and can be crucial to optimizing a child's potential.
For assistance in the state of Wisconsin, call 920/748-7580 or e-mail upnorth@charter.net.
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| Bill Keilty |
| NUMATS Minnesota Liaison |
Bill Keilty is coordinator of Gifted Services in the Spring Lake Park Schools. As a program coordinator, his work includes developing and monitoring programs geared for gifted students in K though grade 12. For the past 22 years he has served as consultant and professional development expert in school districts across Minnesota and other states. On the executive board of the Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented (MEGT), Bill serves as the legislative liaison working to establish legislation in support of gifted students. He teaches graduate students pursuing certification in gifted education, as well as master and doctoral candidates at Hamline University in St. Paul.
For assistance in the state of Minnesota, call 763/795-6686 or e-mail bkeilt@district16.org.
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| Kathee McDonald |
| NUMATS Michigan Liaison |
Kathee McDonald is the director of the Office of Gifted and Talented Education at Michigan State University (MSU). Her duties include providing academic-year and summer programming for highly academically able students in grades 7 through 12. She also acts as an academic advisor for high school students applying as dual enrollment students at MSU. Besides providing programming, she works on a variety of committees advocating for pre-college programs at MSU and the state of Michigan. With several programs that provide international travel, she serves as the higher education liaison for the Michigan-Shiga, Japan Sister State Board.
Kathee worked in public education for 27 years as an elementary, middle and high school teacher. The only grade she hasn’t taught is fifth grade! Along with teaching, she was a gifted and talented coordinator at Laingsburg Community Schools and technology coordinator at Laingsburg Elementary School. A strong supporter of math and science careers for women, she has coordinated girls’ math-science conferences on a county level and currently serves on the girls’ math-science conference committee for Ingham, Eaton, Shiawassee and Clinton counties in mid-Michigan. She has coached Future Problem Solving and Odyssey of the Mind. A strong supporter of the arts, she was president of MSU’s Friends of Kresge Art Museum and served on a charter committee of educators at the MSU Wharton Center for Performing Arts.
For assistance in the state of Michigan, call 517/388-1308 or e-mail katheemcdonald@verizon.net.
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| Jack Palmer |
| NUMATS Wisconsin Liaison |
For the past 14 years, Jack Palmer was the mentorship coordinator, academic teams coach and Science Department Chair at Stoughton High School in Stoughton, Wisconsin. He also taught science and was an athletic teams coach. Jack retired in 2009 after 35 years in public and private education. At the college level he has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Concordia University where he currently teaches Science Methods. Jack has given numerous presentations at conferences and universities regarding secondary gifted education and has written multiple publications for educational and scientific journals. He is currently a consultant in the fields of secondary gifted and science education and is a steering committee member for the National Association for Gifted Children Guidance and Counseling Division.
Jack has been heavily involved in creating mentorship and academic team-based programming models for secondary gifted students. His belief is that, for a gifted education curriculum design to be successful, students must increasingly choose to participate in the model’s program offerings. Thus, through constant student feedback and supporting data analysis, successful middle and high school gifted education programming can be achieved.
For assistance in the state of Wisconsin, call 608/886-3590 or e-mail jackpalmer.palmer@gmail.com.
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| Barbara Rebecca |
| NUMATS Illinois Liaison |
Barbara Rebecca is the Technology/Gifted Director for Butler School District 53 in Oak Brook, Illinois. She began her career over 20 years ago as a junior high instructor serving gifted students in accelerated math courses for high school credit. Her continued enthusiasm for these children led her to accept a position with the gifted and talented program at River Grove School District 85.5 and, later, a district-level position at Cass School District 63. Currently, Barbara creates, implements and evaluates instructional curriculum for the gifted/talented. In addition, she supports and encourages her students to participate in NUMATS.
Barbara is cognizant of the important contributions administrators make toward the advocacy of gifted and talented children. Long an advocate of gifted children herself, she has taught in various gifted programs throughout DuPage County. In addition, she has been a presenter at various technology and gifted conferences with topics including “Innovative Lesson Plans for the Gifted,” “Differentiation: A More Effective Approach,” and “Using Technology to Design Effective Lesson Plans.” An adjunct professor at National-Louis University, Barbara feels honored to be a part of the education of the next generation of gifted and talented instructors.
For assistance in the state of Illinois, call 630/325-6888 or e-mail brebecca@butler53.com. |
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| W. Thomas Southern |
| NUMATS Ohio Liaison |
W. Thomas Southern is a professor and coordinator of special education programs at Miami University of Ohio in Oxford. He received his doctorate in Gifted Education from Indiana University. Tom's research interests include the social and policy implications of resistance to accelerative options in school. With Dr. Eric Jones, he co-edited a collection of papers that examined the history and research support for acceleration, The Academic Acceleration of Gifted Children. He is also vice president of the Association for the Gifted, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children.
For assistance in the state of Ohio, call 513/529-6634 or e-mail southewt@muohio.edu.
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