My name is Nancy Retter. I am the Gifted Children’s Coordinator for San Diego Mensa. I would like to work with parents and young people to make this page useful to them, so any feedback you can provide would be most helpful.

Some background information, so you have an idea of who I am and where I come from:

I wrote my first paper on the importance of specialized programs for gifted students when I was 15, following in my great-aunt’s footsteps. She wrote her first paper on the subject in 1932, long before Sputnik brought it to national attention. I’ve experienced GATE programs firsthand, both as a student and as a teacher.

I’ve been a teacher of the gifted for the past 19 years here in San Diego. Fifteen of those years have been spent working with the profoundly gifted in San Diego Unified School District’s (SDUSD) Seminar Program. I have a BA in Russian Civilization, an MAT in Educational Technology, a multiple subject credential with supplemental credentials in math, social studies, and English, and I’m Nationally Board Certified as an Early Adolescent Generalist.

In the past I’ve been the editor of the Association of San Diego Educators of the Gifted (ASDEG) newsletter, which gave me a seat on that board. I currently serve as a representative on the Program Governance Team for the SDUSD Gifted Department.

I tell you all this to assure you that I am dedicated to meeting the needs of gifted children. I will help you in any way I can. Just let me know what I can do.

Please feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please view our pages for additional resources.