Portland Public Schools
Portland, Oregon

Vestal Viking Logo ImageVestal School

Vestal's richly-diverse community nurtures life-long learning to support all students in achieving their very highest educational and personal potential.

161 NE 82nd Ave. | Portland, OR 97220
Phone: (503) 916-6437 | Fax: (503) 916-2679

TAG

Portland Public Schools identifies and provides services for students with exceptional academic talents or intellectual gifts. Our goal is to provide appropriate educational programs and services through instructional, curricular, and administrative modifications to create educational opportunities for TAG students to maximize their potential.

Individual Instructional Plans (IIPs) have been replaced by TAG Building Plans. Click on the link to access: Vestal TAG Building Plan. However, IIPs are available upon request. Forms are available in the office, on the PPS TAG website, or through the TAG Coordinator.

Parent Invitation

We will soon begin the process of developing the School-Wide TAG Building Plan for 2010-2011 and invite you to give us your input. The plan includes the identification of TAG students, TAG services for students, TAG professional development for teachers, and TAG communication with parents. To recap services for students, TAG events from this year included OMSI classes for grades K-8, Saturday Academy Learning Enrichment and Accelerated Pace classes for grades 3-5, The 25th Annual Oregon Writing Festival for grades 3-8, and a visit to ReedCollege for grades 6-8. For your convenience, you may share your ideas by phone, meeting with me, or attending the TAG Committee Meeting on May 17 at 2:45 p.m. in my office. We welcome your contribution and look forward to hearing from you.

New TAG Students

Congratulations to the 18 newly identified TAG Potential and TAG students and their parents. The TAG 101: Meeting for Parents of Newly Identified Students will be held on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 from 7:00-8:30 PM in the BESC Board Room located at 501 N. Dixon Street. Please remember to complete and submit the Parent/Student Survey to assist teachers in planning for instruction.

Importance of College Visits

The college visit is an exciting and vital part of planning for college bound students. It offers them a first-hand look at the aspects of college life--the campus, the courses, and the students--to ensure a good match. Sutdents should consider school size, academic strengths, social environment, athletic programs, distance from home, class size, political climate, weather, study abroad programs, etc. when looking for the right school. Students and their parents should visit as many colleges and universities as possible before making a decision. It may be difficult to take the time or travel the distance to some of them, but many schools now offer online tours with photographs, videos, and guides. Now is the time to prepare for college.

Advanced Courses Offering High School Credit -- Click on link for syllabus

TAG Advisory Council

  • Reviews aspects of PPS Talented & Gifted services
  • Makes recommendations with respect to services for talented and gifted children
  • Parents from each cluster and building-type (K-8, middle- and high school)
  • Meets 5 times per year, see minutes below

Advisory Council Minutes 2009-2010

Newsletter

Recent Articles

Article: Carol Dweck, "The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids"