Holt County Shines At Annual Nebraska Association Of Gifted Conference

RECOGNITION - Jennifer Selting Bauer (left) is recognized by Char Casson, NAG president (middle) and Sharon Kryger, NAG board member, for working tirelessly for gifted children.

Two students as well as one teacher, all with direct connections to O'Neill Public Elementary, were honored Friday, Feb. 24, at the Nebraska Association of the Gifted annual conference.

Winning the "Leta Stelling Hollingworth" award for student talent development were two students from the area. The award is given to recognize exceptional talent and accomplishment of students.

Danika Young, daughter of Kevin and Kelly Young of Atkinson, a freshman at West Holt High School was nominated by her former teacher, Katie Morrow, for her technology talents, namely in, web design.

Jordan Peterson, son of Mike and Liz Peterson of O'Neill, a sophomore at O'Neill High School was nominated by his band teacher; Chad Dean, for his musical talents. Jordan also played two songs and got a standing ovation from over 300 educators and administrators across the state of Nebraska who attended the conference. Both won a $200 cash award to further develop their talents. The NAG Board said that they were so impressed with the talents and abilities of these two students that they actually gave two awards this year, something never before done.

Jennifer Selting Bauer, high ability learner coordinator of O'Neill Public Schools, was awarded the NAGC Award at the same ceremony held in Lincoln on Friday.

"Jennifer Selting Bauer has built the gifted and talented educational program at O'Neill Public Schools from ground zero. I have taught in the same district as Ms. Bauer for the duration of her position and in this fairly short career thus far; she has made tremendous strides for our students and community," Katie Morrow wrote in her letter recommending Jennifer Bauer for the award.

She held annual differentiation workshops and work nights and allocated stipends for participating teachers. This small gesture meant a lot in the way of encouraging teachers to plan and develop advanced projects and differentiated units of study for students. Not to mention numerous other things.

"Jennifer has worked tirelessly to promote funding for gifted education at the state and national level, and has published newsletters to promote awareness for parents and teachers. By serving as president of the NAG Board for two consecutive terms she. has devoted many hours to the administrative and public relations tasks of promoting gifted education in Nebraska," Katie Morrow stated.

"The National Association for Gifted Children Educator's Award (NAGC) I got was a surprise to me. It's a national educator's award that is given to one person in each state once a year so it's a big honor to be recognized nationally," Jennifer Selting Bauer stated about receiving the award.