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Cheryll M. Adams, Ph. D. (University of Virginia) in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in gifted education, is the Director of the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development. She served two years as the Director of Academic Life, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities and has a fifteen year background in teaching science and math in both public and private schools. She was associated with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented for three years at the University of Virginia during her graduate work. She teaches courses on gifted education and has presented widely at local, state and national conferences. She edited a special issue of The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education on gifted females, and a special issue of IMAGES on professional development. She was a 1994 recipient of the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC) John C. Gowan Outstanding Graduate Student Award, is a former member of the Board of Directors of NAGC, and is co-editor of Research Briefs, the publication of the Research and Evaluation Division of NAGC. She serves as first vice president and is a member of the executive board of the Indiana Association for the Gifted. She has published 7 articles in the field of gifted education, 1 book chapter, and 1 technical report. She has made over 45 conference presentations at conferences such as NAGC, IAG, NCTM, VAEG, and AERA, and over 50 presentations to schools on identification, differentiated curriculum, gifted females, and science. She is a member of the Integrated Services Team of the Gifted and Talented Unit of the Indiana Department of Education. She has written and received five grants. She was the project director and science coordinator for the Jacob. K. Javits Gifted and Talented Programming Grant, Project GATE, a partnership between the BSU Center and the Indianapolis Public Schools.
Project Evaluator
Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D., (University of Tennessee), is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Gifted Studies, is the Executive Director of the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities and Professor of Psychology at Ball State University (BSU). He received his graduate degrees (masters, specialist, doctoral) in Educational Psychology from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Cross has published more than 60 articles including several in such prestigious journals as the Peabody Journal of Education, Gifted Child Quarterly, and Journal for the Education of the Gifted, numerous book chapters, a coauthored textbook entitled Being Gifted in School: An Introduction to Development, Guidance and Teaching and a supplemental text, On the Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Students. He has presented approximately 120 papers at international and national conferences and is the editor of the Gifted Child Quarterly and the Roeper Review. He is the former editor of the Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, Research Briefs, The Teacher Educator, and the Journal of Humanistic Education. Dr. Cross has written a regular column in the journal Gifted Child Today on the social and emotional needs of gifted students for 8 years. In 1994, he created the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development at BSU, and for two years served as its director. Dr. Cross received the 1997 Early Scholar Award and the 1996 Early Leader Award from the National Association for Gifted Children and the 1998-1999 Outstanding Administrative Service Award from Ball State University. To date, he has conducted evaluations of over 30 schools and programs for gifted students, and authored or coauthored over $3,500,000.00 in grants. Dr. Cross served as the president of The Association for the Gifted (TAG) of the Council for Exceptional Children from July 2000 through 2002.
Project Evaluator
Jerrell C. Cassady, Ph.D. (Purdue University)
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology. Evaluator and/or research consultant to 7 projects funded through United States or Indiana Departments of Education in the last 4 years; teaches courses in educational psychology and learning theories for undergraduate and graduate students; primary research activities include the effects of test anxiety on learning and performance, reading from expository text, early reading development, and the effects of educational innovations on the learning and achievement of children in school settings.
Project Evaluator
Kristie Speirs Neumeister, Ph.D. (University of Georgia)
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology. Teaches undergraduate courses in educational psychology and graduate courses in gifted education; primary research interests include the social and emotional development of gifted children and identity issues for gifted women.
Language Arts Coordinator
Felicia A. Dixon, Ph.D., (Purdue University), is an assistant professor of educational psychology at Ball State University. She has had extensive experience teaching secondary English in both public high schools and at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities. She formerly served as Humanities Division Chair at the Indiana Academy. Her publications address social and emotional needs of gifted adolescents and critical thinking strategies in the secondary classroom. She has presented frequently at conferences including the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, the National Association for Gifted Children, and the Indiana Association for the Gifted. In addition, she regularly teaches courses in gifted education and conducts inservice education and professional development activities for school corporations. She instituted a gifted program for a rural Nebraska K-12 school district, and served as mentor and instructor for Indianapolis Public Schools Gifted and Talented Unit. Dr. Dixon has written curriculum for the College of William and Mary and for the Indiana Department of Education. Recently, she has devoted much time and energy into curriculum to use in differentiating instruction using tiered activities in language arts. She is on the editorial board for Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal for Secondary Gifted Education, and The Teacher Educator. In addition, she reviews proposals for NAGC Research and Evaluation Division as well as the Gifted and Talented SIG for AERA. She has co-edited Research Briefs for NAGC as well as is the current assistant program chair for the Research and Evaluation Division. She is a 1996 recipient of the John C. Gowan Outstanding Graduate Student Award from NAGC.
Mathematics Coordinator
Rebecca L. Pierce, Ph.D. (University of Texas-Arlington) in statistics, is Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Ball State University (BSU), teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics and statistics. In addition to her teaching at BSU for the past four years, she has been a mathematics curriculum developer and trainer for the joint Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and BSU Jacob K. Javits grant. This project involved working with IPS teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Teachers participated in monthly training which focused on mathematics and science curriculum and pedagogy appropriate for gifted students. She has made more than 50 presentations on differentiated instruction, gifted mathematics students, statistics, and the teaching of statistics at National, Regional, and State Conferences, as well as internationally at several Universities and for numerous public schools across the nation. Prior experiences include statistical and mathematical consulting to industry, as well as secondary mathematics teaching for seven years and serving as department chair. Dr. Pierce directs the Ball State University Institute for the Gifted in Mathematics (BIG M). She has published 16 articles in the areas of mathematics and statistics as well as 1 book chapter. She has published 12 additional articles in newsletters, as brochures, book reviews, technical reports, and monographs. She is the Chair of Mathematics Day, a program for middle school girls interested in mathematics. She has written and received five grants.
Project Coodinator, IPS
Billie Moore, M.S. (Indiana University) in education, is the director of the Magnet and Option Programs, K-12, as well as the gifted and talented coordinator at IPS. She draws on over 20 years of experience teaching in regular and gifted/talented classrooms. She has coordinated several initiatives at IPS including the Urban Systemic Initiative, Kids Teach Kids via Distance Learning, and the Math/Science/Technology Teacher Academy. She holds an endorsement in gifted education.
Outside Consultant in Multicultural Education
Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D. (Cleveland State University), Urban Education, is a Professor of Special Education at the Ohio State University (OSU). She teaches courses in gifted education, and focuses extensively on students in urban communities. Prior to coming to OSU, she was an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Virginia, and a researcher with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Dr. Ford also taught at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Ford consults with school districts nationally, and conducts research primarily in gifted education and multicultural/urban education. Specifically, her work focuses on: (1) recruiting and retaining culturally diverse students in gifted education; (2) multicultural and urban education (e.g., creating multicultural literature and culturally responsive learning environments); (3) minority student achievement and underachievement; and (4) increasing minority family involvement in schools and their children's education. Her work has been recognized by various professional organizations: Research Award from the Shannon Center for Advanced Studies; Early Career Award from The American Educational Research Association; Early Scholar Award from The National Association for Gifted Children; and the Esteemed Scholarship Award from The National Association of Black Psychologists. She has published more than 100 articles. Dr. Ford is also the author of Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students (1996) and Multicultural Gifted Education (1999). She has made more than 200 presentations at school, state, and national conferences. Donna has received more than $13,000,000 in grants. She is a former board member of the National Association for Gifted Children, and has served on numerous editorial boards, such as Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal of Negro Education, and Roeper Review. She is a member of dozens of professional organizations, including the National Association for Gifted Children, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the American Educational Research Association.
Parent Coordinator
Cathi Cornelius-Robinson, Ed.D. (Oklahoma State University), has extensive expertise in gifted education, curriculum and supervision, and parent involvement as a practitioner. She taught elementary self-contained gifted and talented classes for five years. Cathi served as a gifted and talented site coordinator for Oklahoma City Public Schools. She also worked as a District Parent-Community School Coordinator for two years. She has completed numerous gifted and talented graduate courses and has taught a few graduate gifted and talented courses at Ball State University. She has served on several gifted and talented parent boards and school advisory boards/councils. She currently is serving on the Indianapolis Public Schools Gifted Advisory Board and is a gifted and talented/magnet schools consultant for Indianapolis Public Schools.
Trainer/Mentor/Curriculum Developer
Sara Delano Moore, Ph.D., (University of Virginia), in Educational Psychology, gifted, is Director of the Kentucky Center for Middle School Academic Achievement at Eastern Kentucky University. The CMSAA is a state-wide center devoted to ensuring high academic achievement for all middle school students in Kentucky. She earned a B.A. in Natural Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University and her doctorate in Gifted Education from the University of Virginia. She has taught mathematics and science to gifted students and typical students in elementary and middle grades in urban and suburban schools in Virginia and Kentucky. She has also directed mathematics programs for the Center for Talented Youth at JHU. Her current work centers on the use of literature to support differentiated instruction in mathematics and science. Dr. Moore was a trainer for Project GATE, a Javits grant between IPS and BSU.
Trainer/Mentor/Curriculum Developer
William Bintz, Ph.D., (Indiana University), in Reading, is an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky. His area of expertise is best described as "Literacy as Inquiry Across the Curriculum." From a literacy perspective, this means that reading is an instance of inquiry and reading comprehension a process and product of making personal meaning from text. From a curricular perspective, reading is a tool for learning across the content areas. Lately, his collaborative work has been with Dr. Sara D. Moore, investigating the effectiveness of using reading as a tool to learn science and math, K-8.
IPS Consultants/Trainer in Mathematics
Alonzo B. Walker, M.A., (Purdue) in mathematics is the Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Science and Mathematics at IPS. Presently, he coordinates the mathematics and science curriculum and professional development in those areas for all teachers. He facilitates the policies to support mathematics and science education, and works collaboratively with other curricular and technological personnel. He has served as both classroom teacher and school administrator during his 26 year career in education.
IPS Consultants/Trainer in Science
Sue Becker, M. S., (Indiana University), in Science. She has been the Science Facilitator for Indianapolis Public schools since l998. In that capacity she develops and coordinates programs, professional development and selected student services at the district level. Prior to this, fifteen years was spent as a teacher of biology and chemistry in IPS and central Indiana schools. She has additional program development leadership with business, government and community partners. Sue spent six years as program developer for business data, forums and enrichment programs at the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and ten years as a collaborator and analyst in the development of environmental regulations and programs to bring Indiana business, government and interested parties to consensus on environmental issues at Holcolm Research Institute, Butler University.
Language Arts/ESL/Translations
Marilee Updike, M.S. (Butler University), in education, is the Coordinator of English as a New Language at IPS. She has worked for over 30 years in IPS as both a teacher and an administrator. She has taught English, French, Language Arts, and English as a Second Language and has coordinated ESL/ENL since 1997.
Mentor/Trainer
Carlotta Cooprider, M.S. (Ball State University), in Elementary Education. She also has a gifted and talented endorsement and taught fifth and sixth grade in the gifted program at Westfield Washington School Corporation. She is currently a Faculty Fellow at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities at BSU. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences on gifted education.
Mentor/Trainer
Nancy Melser, Ed.D., (Ball State University), an assistant professor of elementary education at Ball State University. She teaches courses in the gifted endorsement series, has done presentations for NAGC and IAG, and did her dissertation on cooperative learning with gifted students. She has experience teaching math, science, and language arts in a cluster group setting, and teaches field experience classes in classroom management and language arts. She currently works with two Professional Development Schools with both preservice and inservice teachers, including the Urban Semester Program at Ball State.
Mentor/Trainer
Cassie McGill, B.A. (University of Georgia), English Education, has an endorsement in gifted education and is pursuing her masters in Educational psychology, gifted, at BSU. She teachers language arts and English at the Burris Laboratory School and is a research assistant at the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development.
Mentor/Trainer
David C. Williams, Ed.D. (University of Tennessee), in Curriculum and Instruction, is currently the director of academic affairs at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities. Dr. Williams has thirty years experience in education, twenty-three in administrative roles. Prior to his present position, he has been a teacher, program coordinator, high school principal, supervisor of secondary education, and district coordinator of gifted programs. As a district coordinator for the gifted, he created and supervised the second largest gifted program in Tennessee. He has presented numerous times on the education of the gifted at the ASCD and NAGC national conferences as well as the Indiana and Tennessee state conferences for the gifted. He is presently on the governing board of the Indiana Association for the Gifted and was a founder and first vice president of the Tennessee Association for the Gifted. For the past three years, Dr. Williams worked with Project GATE, a Javits Grant, as a teacher trainer in methods of differentiating for the gifted child in the regular classroom.
Family Night Coordinator/Multicultural Consultant
Charles Payne, Ed.D. (University of Virginia), in science education. He high school and junior high science and math for 5 years and college chemistry for 4 years. He is an Equals, Family Math and Science trainer and has done numerous training sessions across the country. He has been in the field of multicultural education since 1972 and have served as consultant for many school districts in the area of school desegregation and multicultural education. He was one of the leading consultants in the Indianapolis and townships school desegregation efforts.