Vanguard Gifted Academy

As we wrap up our season on gifted girls, Dr. Linda Silverman joins us again this week to share the Gifted Girls Pledge. This pledge empowers young gifted girls to embrace their true self and their giftedness.

Bias in Gifted Identification and Education | We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Linda Silverman, founder and director of the Gifted Development Center, to the podcast! Featuring the Inside Out Giftedness Checklist, Dr. Silverman discusses giftedness from the inside out with a feminine perspective.

Bias in Gifted Identification and Education | Gifted Girls in STEM, featuring Elizabeth Blaetz, Vanguard Founder and Head of School   

In our fourth installment of the season, Elizabeth Blaetz dives into gender-based stereotypes and how they impact gifted girls' interest in STEM from a young age. With this, she discusses how we can best lend support with educational opportunities, such as the STREAM model at Vanguard.

Bias in Gifted Identification and Education | Parents’ Role in Nurturing Their Gifted Daughters, featuring Hanna David, counselor of gifted children and their families  

Hanna David of Tel Aviv University joins us again this season to share more about gifted girls' unique struggles. She provides insight with five practical tips for parenting gifted girls.

Bias in Gifted Identification and Education | Creativity and Imagination vs. Quantifiable Gifts featuring Elizabeth Blaetz, Vanguard Founder and Head of School  

Elizabeth Blaetz joins us this week for an insightful discussion on creativity and imagination vs. quantifiable gifts. While sharing her experience as a gifted educator, Mrs. Blaetz dives into the differences in how giftedness presents itself in boys and girls.

Bias in Gifted Identification and Education |  Is Being Gifted as a Girl Easier Now Than it Was 50 Years Ago? featuring Hanna David, counselor of gifted children and their families

Hanna David kicks off the first podcast of our new season by discussing the provoking question, "Is Being a Gifted Girl Easier Now than it was 50 Years Ago?"

Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today | Integration of SEL at Vanguard Gifted Academy featuring Elizabeth Blaetz

Vanguard Founder and Head of School Elizabeth Blaetz joins us for the final episode of this season. Mrs. Blaetz discusses how SEL is implemented at Vanguard Gifted Academy.

Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today | Helping Your Gifted Child Develop and Use Distress Tolerance Skills featuring Dr. Ann Weller, Child and Adolescent Psychologist 

Dr. Weller joins us this week with advice and step-by-step techniques for helping your gifted child develop and use distress tolerance skills. 

Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today | Building Relationships Requires Learning More About Yourself featuring Elizabeth Blaetz  

Vanguard Founder and Head of School Elizabeth Blaetz hosts this week's episode of Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today. Mrs. Blaetz discusses the challenges facing gifted children in building relationships and how you can help your child or student build social confidence.

Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today | Teaching Your Child To Be An Independent Problem-Solver  featuring Dr. Carolyn Werneke

Local clinical psychologist Dr. Carolyn Werneke joins us as we continue our series Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today. Dr. Werneke dives into the importance of teaching your child to solve problems independently.

Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today | Why SEL is a Hot Topic in Today’s World featuring Elizabeth Blaetz

Vanguard Founder and Head of School Elizabeth Blaetz continues our discussion on Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential in Education Today, Mrs. Blaetz shares insights on the importance of SEL in today's world.

Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today
We're privileged to be joined by Dr. Matt Zakreski in our first episode discussing Social-Emotional Learning & Development: Why it is Essential Education Today. Dr. Zakreski shares how to SEL beyond the classroom.

In this podcast, Elizabeth Blaetz interviews Connor, a student at Vanguard Gifted Academy. He shares his experiences during the creek studies unit using the STREAM model.

In this podcast, Elizabeth Blaetz interviews students Max and Aishani. They share their experiences learning about pyramids using the STREAM model.

In this episode, Elizabeth Blaetz interviews students Javeria and Talha. We hear about their experience learning about disabilities using the STREAM model.

In this episode, Elizabeth Blaetz interviews students Andrew and Umar. We hear about their experience learning about archaeology using the STREAM model.

In this episode, Elizabeth Blaetz interviews Band 1 students Cosette, Calvin and Saanvi. We hear about their experience learning about volcanoes using the STREAM model.

We will explore the subjects and activities that incorporate Vanguard’s use of the elevated STEM approach that we call STREAM. In this article, we will share about STEM — what it is, why it’s important and what it looks like at Vanguard.

When we foster a community of learners, we see that our students are able to use their strengths to promote learning across the board. Hear more about our community-minded mission in the final episode of this podcast series.

Teaching character in the classroom requires much more than the weekly or monthly instruction that most schools offer. Listen in as Elizabeth Blaetz shares how character and citizenship are part of everyday education at Vanguard.

Education has not changed markedly since the Industrial Revolution, but 2020 has shown that we are now in a new revolution that is changing the face of education. Listen in as Dr. Judy Jankowski elaborates.

As we educate children for the future, we keep in mind that they will become increasingly reliant on digital information. How can we teach them to think critically alongside these technology shifts? Elizabeth Blaetz shares.

Our series on educating children for the future continues with a look at the state of creativity in America's schools. Are we at an impasse? Dr. Judy Jankowski, Head of School at Chesapeake Bay Academy, offers insight.

Education methods constantly change based on today's students' needs, and 2020 has given us a glimpse of how we need to educate children for their future. Award-winning professor, speaker and author Dr. Yong Zhao launches our series with what he sees as a true paradigm shift in education.

Our success lies in our distinct school model. Listen to the final episode of our series "Selecting the Best School for Your Gifted Child" to decide whether our model is the best fit for your learner.

Independent schools address the needs of each student, which is often difficult in public school systems. Hear more about the benefits independent schools offer to gifted children.

Many gifted children thrive in a homeschool setting. Listen to Trista McMorrow, former gifted student and gifted-certified educator, share her insights on homeschooling gifted learners.

Listen in as Dr. Susan Sokolinski shares insight on intermediate-grade gifted education from her 26 years of experience in a public school district in suburban Chicago. Be sure to listen to Dr. Sokolinski's previous episode, "Selecting the Best School for Your Gifted Child: Primary Grade Gifted Instruction in Public Schools," to understand her perspective on public school instruction fully.

Join us for Episode 2 of this podcast series as Dr. Susan Sokolinski offers a glimpse into public school services in the Chicago suburban area.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Vanguard podcast. Our new series is "Selecting the Best School for Your Gifted Child." Join us as Elizabeth Blaetz shares the importance of knowing your child before selecting a school.

The 5 key aspects of IQ testing offer important insights to help us teach our learners the strategies they need to succeed. Listen to our final podcast for the highlights of each of the key aspects.

The fifth and final aspect of IQ testing to discuss is fluid reasoning. Why do gifted learners often think beyond the content in front of them? Listen in to find out.

Verbal comprehension is the ability to interpret and communicate ideas through words. Why might these learners have difficulty making friends? Listen to our podcast to learn more.

Visual-spatial learners organize information based on pictures, which can often make school a bit challenging for them. Listen to our latest podcast on the 5 Key Aspects of IQ Testing to learn why visual-spatial learning is such an important component of the evaluation.

We continue our dive into the components of IQ scores with a look at processing speed.  Why is processing speed sometimes controversial? Listen in to find out!

Episode 1 of our new podcast series, "The 5 Key Aspects of IQ Testing," kicks off with a look at how to help a gifted learner with a slower working memory successfully manage all of the little incidentals of daily learning requirements.

Throughout this series, Vanguard Founder Elizabeth Blaetz will share how taking a deeper look at each IQ score helps her to prepare differentiated learning plans for each gifted learner at Vanguard.

Our founder, Elizabeth Blaetz, paved the way for gifted education with the Vanguard Model. Listen in to the final episode of this series and hear more about why "vanguard" was the perfect word to describe our vision and educational model.

Why do we love teaching gifted children?  Listen in to hear how the Vanguard teachers foster authentic community, which, in turn, creates an environment where amazing things start to happen.

Perfectionism, high expectations from others, boredom and even cynicism can be common occurrences among gifted students. Understanding and working with those traits is key to helping a gifted child flourish.  In episode 4 of our podcast series, Intermediate Level Master Teacher Shannon Holub explores what it's like to watch gifted children flourish, based on insight and stories from her 20 years of experience in gifted education.

Gifted children are complex people who are trying to navigate their world.

This Vanguard podcast touches on the challenges of educating gifted learners. Arts Specialist Teacher Stacey Spears addresses how to better understand these challenges by beginning with understanding the gifted learner's traits.

Next up in our podcast series "What is it Like to Educate Gifted Students?", Shannon Holub shares how the Vanguard model strips away non-essential practices and maximizes the use of approaches that appeal to the gifted learner.

Welcome to our Season 4 podcast series "What is it Like to Educate Gifted Students?"  Join us as Vanguard Head of School Elizabeth Blaetz and Vanguard teachers Shannon Holub and Stacey Spears outline the unique challenges and joys they have experienced throughout their careers in gifted education.

In the final installment of our series "What is it like to be the parent of a gifted child?", Vanguard Head of School Elizabeth Blaetz shares several tips and resources that can be an asset to the parents of gifted children at any point on their child's journey.

In the fourth installment of our blog series "What is it like to be the parent of a gifted child?", Kate Gruber shares how she was able to ascertain whether or not her son was gifted and how she discovered that Vanguard was the right fit for him.

Candy McCray knows first-hand how friendships among gifted children can be difficult to navigate. Episode 4 of our blog series explores tips and resources to help you on you on your journey.

Do you have concerns over your child's transition to a new school? In this week's episode, Deb Grizzell, parent of six gifted children, shares how Vanguard Gifted Academy was able to equip her son to make that transition successfully.

Does your child require a unique learning path? In this week's episode, Nancy Zaccagnini, a parent of a child at Vanguard Gifted Academy, highlights her journey in locating a gifted school for her son.

Does your child require a unique learning path? In this week's episode, Katie Hulett, a parent of a child at Vanguard Gifted Academy, highlights her journey in locating a gifted school for her son.

In this podcast, Elizabeth Blaetz, Head of School at Vanguard Gifted Academy, encourages parents and guardians to do their homework when looking at schools for their gifted child.

In this podcast, Kristine Sims, a parent of one student at Vanguard Gifted Academy, shares what led to their family's decision to enroll their son at Vanguard and what a difference it has made in their lives.