Sample Profile
Association for the Education
of Gifted Underachieving Students
February, 2004
It’s no coincidence that the
acronym for the Association for the Education of Gifted
Underachieving Students – AEGUS – sounds just like the word aegis,
meaning protection or guidance. It was chosen by association founders,
educators Susan Baum, Lois Baldwin, and Sue Levey, for just
that reason.
According to Lois Baldwin, the association’s current president, “When we founded this organization 18 years ago, there was nothing out there about kids who were gifted and struggling in school. No one was advocating for these kids, doing research on them, or talking about them.”
The focus of AEGUS is not only on bright kids who struggle with learning disabilities. It encompasses others who are struggling as well, such as minority students, those living in rural areas, those with emotional issues, and those who have Asperger’s.
If you visit the AEGUS website, you’ll learn that the mission of this international organization is to advocate for this special population and to provide a forum for ideas and interventions aimed at helping these twice-exceptional students reach their potential. An important goal of the association is to disseminate research on gifted underachievers, and to achieve that goal the group publishes a quarterly newsletter, position papers, bibliographies, and a resource directory. In addition, AEGUS hosts regional and annual conferences. The next annual conference, “Learning Outside the Lines, Discovering the Strengths of Gifted Underachieving Students,” takes place on April 23 and 24 in Rensselaer, New York.
According to association vice-president Terry Neu, the approximately 300 members of AEGUS tend to be teachers as well as parents whose lives have been touched by the unique struggles of twice-exceptional or gifted underachieving learners. “They are people who are thirsty for information,” explains Lois Baldwin. “The ones who ask: How do I motivate these kids? What strategies do I use to teach them? How do I turn them around?”
Baldwin sums up the organization by saying, “This is a very energetic, highly educated group of people who keep researching and growing,” says. “We’re a very passionate group. We want to make a difference.
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