Dozens of teachers across the Centerburg, Danville, East Knox, and Fredericktown school districts are participating in specialized training aimed at serving gifted students, a key initiative by the Knox Educational Service Center (ESC). ESC Superintendent Dr. Timm Mackley remarked on the progress, noting, “Getting to this point was our priority when we hired Taylor Gingery as our gifted and enrichment coordinator.”
Dr. Mackley outlined the historical gap in services, explaining, “For too long services to gifted students had been limited only to identification, without an accompanying program of instruction. With Taylor’s help, more and more of our brightest students are receiving the attention that they deserve from qualified teachers throughout Knox County.” He emphasized that the most crucial element of Gingery's efforts is training teachers to effectively work with gifted students.
Taylor Gingery, a key figure in this initiative, holds a bachelor’s degree in art education from Capital University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a STEAM focus from Concordia University of Portland. She possesses an Ohio gifted intervention specialist endorsement, fundamental to her work across Knox County. Gingery currently collaborates with 60 general education teachers from grades 3 to 12 in the process of adapting curriculums for gifted students. The strategy involves developing a Written Education Plan (WEP), which provides an academic and social profile of each student, reflecting their interests and setting personalized goals.
“Ideally, there’s a goal for each student in their area of interest,” Gingery stated, describing the program's objectives, which include enrollment in honors or college-credit classes at secondary levels or special projects at the elementary level.
Gingery encourages educators to pursue the endorsement for gifted intervention specialists, involving 15 hours of online training. At East Knox, she collaborates with various educators to establish a VEX robotics/engineering course, aligning with programs in nearby districts. Similarly, she has partnered with Fredericktown’s talented and gifted coordinator, Ben McClay, in orchestrating the middle school Academic Challenge seminar and the school spelling bee.
Becky Thompson, a fourth-grade teacher in Centerburg, credited Gingery with enhancing her teaching methods: “I have known Taylor Gingery for several years, and she has helped me to become a better teacher for my students,” Thompson said.
While her work with Danville Local Schools is just beginning, Gingery has overseen district spelling bees and aims to connect gifted students with mentors from local colleges. Recognizing the limitation of resources in small districts, Gingery emphasized the importance of collaboration, stating, “One of the core values of gifted education is to focus on strengths-based goals.”
Gingery is also instrumental in organizing two significant annual events: the fall Youth Enrichment Series and the in-district spelling bees for determining county bee qualifiers.
