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Student to
Student |
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Dear Prospective Student,
My name is Arturo Guzman; I am 15 years old and a junior at
The Davidson Academy. I came to the Academy last
year when I was a sophomore and I have had an amazing
experience so far.
When I first came to The Davidson
Academy I worried about fitting in. I was worried that I
wouldn’t find friends that had similar interests as me and I
was unsure whether it would be worth leaving my friends from
my old school. I quickly realized, however, that everybody at
the Academy, both students and staff members, were and still
are super friendly. The students here have a wide variety of
interests and I am positive that you, like me, will find at
least one person who has a similar interest. Another concern
I had when I first came to The Davidson Academy was the
small size of the school. Coming from a public high school I
was used to classes of 30 students and a large student body
so the shift to a smaller school worried me. Fortunately,
this change has many benefits. The Academy’s smaller class
sizes allow me to get more attention from teachers on
subjects that I need help with while also allowing me to ask
questions about things that interest me.
On the note of
interests, you’ve probably already heard about the amazing
opportunities available here, but I want to emphasize how
helpful, supporting, and just plain awesome the teachers,
counselors and other staff members are. They all do their
best to support the students. The staff members are very
close to the students which creates a community feel to the
school. This is probably my favorite aspect
because it makes me feel more comfortable and at home.
I
hope you apply to The Davidson Academy of Nevada. Take it
from me, it’s an incredible school.
~ Arturo Guzman, Second Year Davidson Academy Student
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Davidson
Academy Program
Updates |
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 What
Sets The Davidson Academy Apart?- Students are
appropriately challenged while learning
at a pace and depth consistent with the
knowledge, skills and motivation.
- Students develop Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs) to guide them through a rigorous core
curriculum and choose electives.
- Students can earn college credits while accessing resources and mentorship
opportunities at the University of Nevada, Reno.
- Students build friendships and pursue extracurricular
activities with same-age intellectual peers.
- Students regularly meet one-on-one with an academic advisor, who has
experience working with profoundly gifted youth.
2014-2015 Application Available
If you think The Davidson Academy of Nevada may be the right fit for you, consider applying for the 2014-2015 school year! Visit the
How to Apply page to
access the new online application system. The Academy is specifically designed to meet the needs of profoundly gifted middle and high school students who score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ or college entrance tests, such as the SAT or ACT. Please review the recently updated
Qualification Criteria page of our website as these scores are mandatory for student eligibility. On the
Application Review Process
page, you will find detailed information about the
on-site assessment.
Upcoming Tours for Prospective Students
Each month during the school year, The Davidson Academy hosts a tour for prospective students and their parents. At these tours, visitors meet
current Academy students, parents, faculty and staff, and ask specific questions about the school.
Upcoming school tours will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the following Fridays:
- Dec. 13, 2013
- Jan. 31, 2014
- Feb. 14, 2014
- March 14, 2014
For details, including directions to The Davidson Academy and RSVP information, please visit the
Tours page. If you would like more information, please contact us at
outreach@davidsonacademy.unr.edu.
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Student
Activities |
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Spirit Week
at The Davidson Academy
The Davidson Academy recently held it’s inaugural Homecoming Week! Students played flag football at the University of Nevada, Reno's Mackay Stadium, had an indoor "parade", and participated in theme days throughout the entire week. The students were assigned to teacher-led teams that competed for points in a variety of activities, with a pizza party for the victors. Everyone had a blast, and it was all capped off by a great nightclub-themed dance.
Academy Student Honored at Johns Hopkins CTY Ceremony
Davidson Academy student Courtney Shinagawa was recently
honored as one of the brightest middle school students in
the world at a national awards ceremony sponsored by the
Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) in
Baltimore. CTY recognized Courtney for her exceptional
performance as a middle school student on the college SAT,
ACT or similar test as part of the 2012-2013 CTY Talent
Search. CTY uses above-grade-level tests because they provide
a clear picture of advanced students’ academic abilities.
Of the 17,670 seventh and eighth grade participants in the
2012-13 CTY Talent Search, only 1,075 U.S. and international
middle school students scored high enough on their
above-grade-level tests to be invited to the ceremony on the
Johns Hopkins University campus.
Academy Student Performs Exceptionally on Advanced
Placement Exam
Academy student Sarah MacHarg was one of eight students in the world to earn every point possible on the Advanced
Placement (AP) Calculus AB Exam, answering every multiple-choice question correctly and earning the maximum scores on each of the open-ended responses in the free-response section of the exam. In total, 283,361 students took the AP Calculus AB Exam in 2013.
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Meet Ms. Berry,
Foreign Languages and Literature Instructor |
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 What is your favorite part about working with Academy students?
It is hugely entertaining and exciting to work with kids who are intellectually curious, engaged, warm-hearted, and genuinely interesting people. My students are inclined to make ideological connections across subjects that revitalize classic material and create space for new approaches.
Why did you want to become a Foreign Languages and Literature teacher?
I can’t imagine many pursuits that would be as rewarding for me personally as that of teaching communication, culture, and the slippery quirkiness of language. I caught the teaching bug when I was learning to read in kindergarten and was thrilled to share what I was learning during the day with my younger sister at night. I felt like I had been given keys to the castle and I couldn’t wait to help my sister make her own key. The expansion of access and understanding afforded by language and literature study is continuously fascinating for me and my students.
Are there any recent interesting or challenging projects you have worked on with Academy students in your classroom?
We’ve just recently started a Spanish Club at The Davidson Academy and successfully completed our first fundraiser (a delicious chip, dip, and Jarritos bar). We will be using the funds to buy bilingual texts for Spanish-speaking youth who are learning to read and would greatly benefit from texts in their primary language. We are hoping to extend our good works and community presence as the academic year unfurls.
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Davidson
Institute - National Programs |
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2014 Davidson Fellows Scholarship
 The 2014 Davidson Fellows
Scholarship application is now
available online! Young people 18 and younger have the opportunity to earn a $50,000, $25,000 or $10,000 scholarship in recognition of a significant piece of work in the categories of Science, Technology,
Engineerong, Mathematics, Music, Literature and Philosophy, or a project that represents Outside the Box thinking. The application deadline is February 12, 2014.
2014 THINK Summer Institute
 The
THINK Summer Institute is a three-week residential
summer program on the campus of the University of
Nevada, Reno where students can earn up to six college
credits by completing two university courses. The 2014
THINK Summer Institute will run from July 12 through
Aug. 2. Tuition is $3,400 and covers course credits,
books and materials, room and board and the cost of
planned activities. Need-based scholarships are
available. To qualify, students from across the country
must be 13 to 16 years old during THINK and must meet or
exceed composite SAT score of 1130 (excludes writing
portion) or ACT score of 26. The application deadline is
April 1, 2014. Homeschooled students are eligible to
apply.
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In the News |
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 “At the Academy, the teachers will know all of their students’ names and most of the names of students they don’t even have classes with probably within the first week. It really makes a shy new student, like I was at one time (as hard as that is to believe for many), feel welcomed and really feel like s/he’s a part of a collective group. Attending The Davidson Academy has been a priceless experience, and if given the chance, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”
Jade Allison-Robles, Davidson Academy Graduate (pictured, left)
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