Emily Abell, the gifted and talented facilitator at Gudy Gaskill Elementary School, has been named the Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented Educator of the Year! Ms. Abell was nominated by Julia Montano, LPS GT specialist; Leslie Dominick, principal at Gudy Gaskill Elementary School; and Penny Potts, fifth grade teacher at Dr. Justina Ford Elementary School. She was selected by the Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented Executive Council for her 

• Collaboration with other teachers and administrators to meet the needs of gifted learners.
• Demonstrations of differentiated instructional practices and attention to affective needs. 
• Advocacy for gifted education.
• Exemplary/innovative contributions of time and effort in support of gifted children.
• Contributions to gifted education locally, statewide, or nationally.

Ms. Abell has been working with students at Franklin, Highland, and now Gaskill Elementary School for about a decade. She is a dynamic and innovative educator who is constantly working to remove barriers for gifted learners so they get exactly what they need. Gifted learners sometimes have lower achievement scores because they are English language learners, or they are “twice-exceptional” (2e) and have a disability that masks their giftedness. Additionally, students who have social, emotional, and/or behavioral challenges can find a traditional school setting difficult. Another barrier is that students who are “non-verbal” thinkers don’t typically perform well on standardized or written tests. 

Ms. Abell looks for giftedness in unexpected places, collaborates with other educators to increase their consciousness about and craftsmanship for working with gifted learners, and she always goes the extra mile to make sure students are seen, valued, and challenged. 

Ms. Abell was a featured presenter at the National Association of Gifted Children conference in 2021. She presented a session called, “Keep GT Weird: Utilizing Humor for Creativity, Social/Emotional Learning, and Gifted Identification.” She has also spearheaded the "Mathletes" program in LPS to connect fifth graders with high school students to work together on advanced math problems. Ms. Abell has also opened up her classroom to allow representatives from the Colorado Department of Education to observe LPS’s gifted and talented program in action. 

Ms. Abell is an asset to Gaskill and the LPS community. Students are better because of her work! 

Congratulations to Ms. Abel on this award; it is well deserved!