by Kelsey Wagner, Academy Avatar
The staff members of the Gatton Academy met for two days at the All Saints Center in Leitchfield, KY, on the Rough River for their annual Staff Retreat earlier this month. The retreat, held on August 12th and 13th, featured three sessions with Dr. Tracy Cross, the Director of Gifted Studies at William and Mary University.
Dr. Cross, a former director of the Indiana Academy of Mathematics and Science, provided the staff with a “deeper understanding of high-ability students, in terms of social-emotional needs as well as academic needs,” noted Tim Gott, director of the Gatton Academy and attendee of the staff retreat.
Dr. Christopher “Pokey” Bowen, Assistant Director of Counseling Services, described Dr. Cross as “humble, knowledgeable, and down-to-earth.” Dr. Bowen also said that meeting Cross was the highlight of the trip, which also included open discussions and a concert performance by Sean Giddings, musician and Academy Residential Counselor.
This year, the annual trip wasn’t as much of a team-building experience between staff members given the majority of the staff was returning, although it did “build connections and camaraderie” among them according to Gott. Its focus was placed more on the students and gaining a better understanding of the best way to communicate with gifted/talented students. The sessions were a learning experience, with information gleaned about suicide prevention and the traits of such students.
The retreat was somewhat of a turning point for the direction the staff of the Academy heading into this new year in terms of the staff-to-staff and staff-to-student relationships. Bowen spoke of how meeting structure and communication between staff will become more inclusive. Also reported by Dr. Bowen were the staff’s plans for an “increase of communication with parents, students, and each other.”
After hearing Dr. Cross present his own research at the Staff Retreat, the staff and administration made plans to research gifted strategies themselves. In addition, Cross gave the Academy an informational binder full of resources and articles about teaching and fostering gifted students.
Of course, the retreat wasn’t all work and no play. Despite storms on the first day, Laura Huff, a new face this year and second floor RC, said that they also “hung out at the lodge, stayed up late, played cards, and went down to the river, and sat on the docks.”
Huff also met some members of the Academy personnel those two days. It was her first encounter with Pokey Bowen, Derek Strode, April Gaskey, and the coordinator for study skills, Keely P’Pool. Huff comments that she is “glad to be here,” and that she is looking forward to the upcoming school year. Gott agrees, reporting that the trip promoted “energy and synergy” and was a “good way to start a great year.”
Leadership Retreat, Pokey Bowen, staff, Tim Gott, Tracy Cross