Welcome to the Gifted Association of Missouri’s 2026 Annual Conference! Join us October 16–17, 2026, at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis, Missouri, for this year’s conference, Adventures in Gifted Education. Designed with both gifted specialists and general education teachers in mind, this year’s conference invites you to explore practical, engaging ways to support advanced learners in every classroom.
Our adventure begins with opening keynote speaker Karen Rambo-Hernandez, who will explore the wide variability of student needs and challenge the idea that “one size fits all” in today’s classrooms. Grounded in research and real-world application, her message will resonate with anyone working to meet students where they are—especially those ready for more challenge.
We’ll close our journey with Bryan Pearlman, a nationally recognized educator and speaker known for his dynamic, inspiring approach to teaching and learning. Bryan will leave you energized with creative ideas and a renewed sense of purpose as you continue your work with students.
Throughout the conference, you’ll have opportunities to engage in sessions that offer immediately applicable strategies, fresh perspectives, and meaningful collaboration—no matter your role or experience with gifted education.
Don’t miss your chance to connect, learn, and be inspired—register early and take advantage of the discounted early bird rate of $300, available through August 3rd. After that, registration increases to $375 starting August 4th. We can’t wait to see you in St. Louis for this exciting adventure!
Parking Free parking is available at Lindbergh High School in the GREEN lot.
Hotel Information Comfort Suites St. Louis - Sunset Hills - Choice Hotels or La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham St Louis Route 66 Click on the Hotel & Meal tab for morning information!
Meals A coffee/pastry bar will be provided both Friday and Saturday. The awards luncheon on Friday will take place at Royale Orleans (2801 Telegraph Rd. 63125). A boxed lunch will be provide for attendees stay on Saturday for the GAM general meeting to occur at 1:30 pm.
The STEM Integrated Teaching Framework is an 8-week plan built on a process-oriented cycle grounded in real-life problem solving. It focuses on acquiring knowledge, developing ideas, designing solutions, testing, and sharing. In the session, we will use the NASA Lunabotics challenge to simulate classroom projects. Resources from NASA and several non-profit organizations will be shared.
This session explores how to use academic and cognitive data to aid educators in seeing gifted and intellectual potential using a multi-faceted approach. Gifted learners exist across all racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic groups, yet many remain under identified when traditional measures are used in isolation. DRC’s TerraNova and InView assessments provide unique interactive reporting capabilities to group students based on their learning aptitudes and demonstrated readiness. By moving beyond age-based comparisons and national norms alone, educators can gain deeper insight into equity gaps and identify strengths in historically underrepresented populations. This session will discuss how to leverage inclusive norms and multiple data points that empower educators to better support more equitable identification practices, as well as better understand and serve diverse learners.
