A Conversation with the Early Childhood Working Group Co-Chair
By Jennie Ladner-Jones, Ed.D. and Alicia Schroeder-Schock, Ed.D., Early Childhood Network
Giftedness does not begin when children enter elementary school, nor does it wait for a test score to reveal itself. For many young children, advanced potential emerges through curiosity, complex language, unusual problem-solving abilities, creativity, persistence, and a deep desire to understand the world around them. Yet despite decades of research demonstrating that giftedness can be identified in the early years, young gifted children remain among the most underserved populations in education. The challenge is not simply recognizing potential—it is creating learning environments that nurture and develop it. Early childhood gifted education requires educators to look beyond traditional notions of acceleration and academic advancement and instead design rich, inquiry-based, play-centered experiences that reveal strengths, interests, and emerging abilities while fostering a lifelong disposition toward learning.
The importance of this work extends beyond individual children. Early identification and appropriate educational experiences during the preschool and primary years can profoundly influence talent development, academic engagement, and social-emotional well-being. Research suggests that young gifted learners benefit from educational opportunities that provide challenge, flexibility, opportunities for higher-level thinking, and responsiveness to their unique developmental trajectories. At the same time, the field continues to seek stronger evidence-based practices and curriculum models that can guide educators in meeting these students' needs effectively and equitably.
Professional networks play a vital role in advancing this work. Within organizations such as the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), networks create spaces where educators, researchers, administrators, and advocates can share knowledge, elevate emerging issues, and build collective expertise. The Early Childhood Network serves as an important professional home for those committed to supporting gifted and high-potential young learners. By fostering dialogue across settings and disciplines, the network helps bridge research and practice while ensuring that early childhood perspectives remain visible within the broader gifted education community.
At the same time, networks often generate ideas that require focused attention and sustained effort to become tangible resources. This is where workgroups become especially valuable. Workgroups bring together individuals with shared expertise around a specific goal, allowing them to engage in the deep, collaborative work needed to create products, frameworks, and recommendations that can directly support the field. While a network builds community and shared vision, a workgroup is uniquely positioned to translate that vision into action. The NAGC Early Childhood Working group exemplifies this approach by bringing together dedicated professionals to develop resources that can strengthen curriculum, instruction, and programming for young gifted learners.
In this edition of the Early Childhood Network blog, we are pleased to spotlight the work of the Early Childhood Workgroup through a conversation with one of its co-chairs, Alicia Schroeder-Schock. The interview offers insight into the group's goals, processes, and vision for supporting educators and advancing services for gifted children in the earliest years.
Question: Why was the Early Childhood Workgroup formed?
Alicia: Building Capacity: Inside NAGC’s Early Childhood Working Group
As conversations around gifted education continue to evolve, one area receiving increased attention is early childhood gifted education and talent development. Educators and families are recognizing that advanced potential can emerge early on, yet many practitioners still report limited access to developmentally appropriate resources, guidance, and professional learning opportunities focused on young, advanced learners.
To help address this need, NAGC launched the Early Childhood Working Group in Fall 2025. Co-chaired by Jennifer Williams and Dr. Alicia Schroeder-Schock, the group was formed to build on the recommendations of the NAGC Early Childhood Task Force and expand NAGC’s leadership, expertise, and resource availability related to early childhood gifted education.
Purpose and Structure of the Working Group
The Working Group includes Jennifer and Alicia as co-chairs, Nancy Hertzog as board liaison, and 11 additional volunteer members representing a variety of perspectives and experiences within gifted education. Together, the group focuses on four major areas: organizational guidance, professional learning, resource development, and outreach partnerships.
From the beginning, the group wanted to establish a shared understanding of both the scope and purpose of their work by identifying success stories from their own practice and discussing what they believed the top priorities for the group should be. That collaborative process quickly revealed a common goal: supporting practitioners who work with young, advanced learners by making high-quality resources more accessible and actionable.
Question: What did the workgroup accomplish in their first year?
Alicia: Conducting the Early Childhood Resource Audit
One of the group’s first major accomplishments was conducting an extensive audit of early childhood gifted education resources. Members reviewed existing NAGC materials, research literature, and external resources related to supporting advanced learners in the early childhood years. Rather than simply collecting materials, the group worked to organize resources into themes that would be meaningful and practical for educators and families
The resulting categories reflect the broad and interdisciplinary nature of early childhood gifted education. Themes include creativity, executive functioning, identification and programming, social-emotional development, play-based learning, culturally responsive practices, family guidance, instructional differentiation, and more.
Question: What are the current goals of the Early Childhood Workgroup?
Alicia: From Audit to Action: Creating Practitioner Resources
The Working Group is now transitioning from the audit into creation. After identifying the key themes and needs, the members divided into two focused subgroups: one centered on instructional practices and one focused on social and emotional needs.
These subgroups are now developing tip sheets, articles, social media content, and additional practitioner-focused resources for NAGC. The goal is to provide educators with tools that are both grounded in research and immediately useful in classrooms, schools, and early childhood settings.
An especially meaningful aspect of the process has been the group’s commitment to modeling a talent development approach within its own structure so members can shine in the areas they are most passionate about, while remaining rooted in best practice and research. This approach allows members to contribute their expertise while also building shared understanding across domains. It reflects a core belief that talent development is not only something to support in young children, but something to also cultivate within professional collaboration.
Looking Ahead: Goals and Next Steps
Looking forward, the Working Group plans to continue expanding resources and professional learning opportunities related to early childhood gifted education. Future goals include webinars, curated NAGC resource collections, practitioner support, organized guidance documents, and collaborative partnerships both within and beyond gifted education.
Ultimately, the group hopes its work will help practitioners feel more confident in recognizing and supporting advanced potential during the early childhood years. When educators are often balancing many developmental needs at once, the group wants practitioners to know they do not have to choose between developmentally appropriate practice and talent development. Young learners benefit from environments that nurture both.
As awareness of early childhood gifted education continues to grow, the work of the Early Childhood Working Group represents an important step toward building stronger systems of support for educators, families, and young children. By curating resources, developing practical tools, and encouraging collaboration across the field, the group is helping ensure that advanced potential in the early years is recognized, understood, and meaningfully supported.
As this conversation illustrates, advancing early childhood gifted education requires both vision and action. Networks create the professional relationships, shared learning, and collective advocacy that move the field forward, while workgroups provide the structure and focus necessary to develop meaningful resources and solutions. Together, they strengthen our capacity to identify, nurture, and challenge young gifted learners during some of the most formative years of development. We hope this interview not only highlights the important work underway within the Early Childhood Working group but also inspires continued engagement across the NAGC community as we work to ensure that every young child with advanced potential has opportunities to thrive.
