About Megan Detweiler – Advanced Academics Coach

Hello and welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at Jefferson Middle School. I am Megan Detweiler, the advanced academics coach – AAC (formerly known as resource teacher for the gifted – RTG). I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and hold my gifted endorsement from the College of William and Mary. My teaching experience includes five years of teaching middle school science, social studies, and English in Phoenix, AZ, and six years of teaching middle school English in Alexandria and Arlington. This is my sixth year as AAC at Jefferson. I live in Arlington with my husband and three kids, one of whom attends Jefferson as a 8th grader.

At Jefferson there are over 350 students identified as gifted. As an AAC, I am committed to developing talent and fostering potential in all students, including those not yet identified as gifted. It is my philosophy that the APS model for gifted education is best practice for most of our students. I feel that most students benefit from critical thinking opportunities, rigorous curriculum, and engaging interaction strategies.

Due to the large number of students identified as gifted, your students will not have me as a core teacher, nor will I regularly pull small groups of students. I work largely as an instructional coach, as a co-teacher, and as a facilitator of professional development. If your child is identified as gifted, their teachers will have knowledge of the APS advanced academics and talent development model and will employ the APS critical and creative thinking framework throughout the year and across content areas.