Roycemore's very own Gifted and Enrichment Coordinator, Eliese Ronke, was invited to present at the Illinois Association for Gifted Children’s (IAGC) annual conference on November 1st and 2nd in Naperville. Her session, Building and Maintaining an Enrichment-Rich Classroom, focused on how Universal Design for Learning can be applied to support gifted students in mixed-ability classrooms, enriching both academic and social-emotional growth for all learners.

Below, Eliese reflects on her presentation:

"I was pleased and honored to attend and present at the 2024 Illinois Association for Gifted Children’s annual conference on November 1st and 2nd. As I listened to the keynote sessions each morning, I was gratified to find several ways Roycemore is a leader in implementing modern, evidence-based education philosophies. For instance, the first keynote, “Reimagining Possibilities: Transforming Potential into Realized Talent,” discussed the importance of choice, collaboration, and critical/creative thinking, elements I see every day in the classrooms at Roycemore.

I also attended breakout sessions on metacognition, executive functions, integrated subjects, and more. I’m excited to share with the Roycemore faculty some creative techniques I encountered and to implement a few myself.

While the IAGC conference focuses on addressing the unique learning needs of gifted and twice-exceptional students, many sessions approach learning in ways that benefit students across the board.

This was true of my session “Building and Maintaining an Enrichment-Rich Classroom.” I began by discussing the concepts of differentiation—adapting lessons and approaches for individual student needs—and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—providing strategies that target specific needs but ultimately benefit all students. Often, traditional gifted learning programs apply differentiation but not necessarily UDL. My presentation focused on UDL strategies that target gifted learners but can help students of all learning levels develop resilience and self-efficacy.

The strategies are Expect Initiative, Limit Competition, Practice Failure, Adapt Groups, Ask Questions, and Let Them Drive. These six principles are the core of my approach at Roycemore and integrate elements of the Roycemore Instructional Model, as well as long-standing signature programs. For example, when I spoke about the Practice Failure strategy, I shared Roycemore’s use of Design Thinking and personal reflections, both core elements of DIG Deep, P3, and JST, alike. When we discussed the Ask Questions strategy, I had attendees share their favorite questions that they use with learners ready for a deeper dive, and we had some excellent “Ooh, I like that one” moments together, including for my personal favorite: “Where in this process/story do you see as the most important step, and how would the end result change if this step was altered/removed?”

At the end of my presentation, I got the best compliment one can receive at a conference: requests for my slides and resources. I’m hopeful that others will share what they learned in my session with their own faculties, much as I have been sharing and will continue to share with Roycemore faculty. Our school is a leader, and I am so proud I got a chance to demonstrate that for IAGC."

In her day-to-day work at Roycemore, Eliese supports Roycemore's Signature Experiential Programs (JST, P3, and D.I.G. Deep). You may find Ms. Eliese pushing into the classroom to support differentiation in a lesson, doing small pull-out sessions, or leading an extracurricular activity. She also frequently collaborates with teachers across divisions.

Prior to her work at Roycemore, Eliese worked in outdoor, STEM, and environmental education, specializing in training fellow educators and curriculum development for over a decade. She worked throughout the Southeast US (and one summer in Alaska), leading diverse teams, creating engaging educational activities, and developing training materials. Holding degrees in Wildlife Biology and Ecology, if you have questions about wildlife, conservation, or how to pepper-spray an aggressive moose, she’s got answers. This non-traditional, non-classroom education experience has given Eliese a unique perspective on learners of all types and inspires creative approaches and activities that access students' natural curiosity and deeper thinking.

To learn more about Roycemore's Gifted and Enrichment programming, schedule a campus tour at admissions@roycemoreschool.org.