CGCC and Quest Academy bring you: 

Understanding Gifted Elementary Students

Gifted elementary school children want to learn, and fast! They tend to be intense and quite variable in terms of their skill levels.  Gifted elementary students can be amazing and exhausting and mystifying. Join us as we hear from experts and learn more about how to live with and to educate these children.  

On our panel:

Bernice Lau Paredes is a veteran teacher of over 15 years with 12 years spent in the gifted classroom.  Her teaching style is influenced daily by the children who challenge her to be the best educator, specifically in the lower school classroom of second grade learners.  Certified both in elementary education and as a reading specialist, Bernice has been an invited presenter at conferences and gifted-specific training events hosted by organizations such as the National Association of Gifted Children, Illinois Association for Gifted Children and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States. She is currently a second grade teacher at Quest Academy in Palatine, IL.

Kristin Fiore enjoys teaching young gifted children because of their natural curiosity, joy of learning, and their truly unique way of thinking that is nurtured through a full day of interacting with like-minded peers.  As a certified teacher, Kristin’s career has spanned over 16 years in gifted classrooms and she possesses a Masters in Elementary Education. Her dynamic teaching style engages the whole learner through creativity and higher level thinking exercises.  Kristin is currently a first grade teacher at Quest Academy in Palatine, IL.

Cathy Gruzinsky began her teaching career in 1988 and has spent 21 years working with gifted learners in lower school classrooms as young as kindergarten and as old as third grade.  Her appreciation of their inquisitive minds and the endless possibilities that this learning style Cathy as a teacher has shaped her approach to providing a challenging experience while remaining cognizant of social emotional development.  Cathy is teacher certified and has additional coursework specific to gifted from National Louis University. Cathy is currently a third grade teacher at Quest Academy in Palatine, IL.