|
What's New in Gifted Education |
|
2016 Davidson
Fellows to be Announced Next Month
 The 2016 Davidson Fellows will be announced in mid-August! The Davidson Institute offers $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000 Davidson Fellows scholarships to students 18 and under whose projects have the potential to benefit society, and are at the college graduate level. Application categories are in the STEM fields, humanities and outside the box.
Google Global Science Fair Finalists - The Next Generation of Novelty in Science
 Twenty-six Americans comprise the 100 Regional Finalists and five Community Impact Award winners for the
2016 Google Global Science Fair. The finalists’ projects address a number of crucial, timely issues, including:
a
project that could efficiently remove heavy metals from
water; an
experiment
that could enhance space flight efficiency and
maneuverability; and a
project that focuses on a low-cost
system that can assist coaching staffs in detecting concussions in
youth football. Google will announce the 15 Global Finalists Aug. 4.
2016 Class of Thiel Fellows – An Innovative Approach to Higher Education
 The 2016 class of Thiel Fellows comprised of 29 young entrepreneurs was recently announced. Thiel Fellowships consist of separate grants of $100,000 during two years to young
recipients, allowing them to leave the classroom and pursue innovation. In addition to the financial support, Thiel Fellows are mentored by hundreds of highly accomplished entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, thinkers and innovators. In exchange, Thiel Fellows agree to take a two-year hiatus from the classroom and so they can focus their energy and attention on creating innovative startups, technologies and nonprofits.
Read about the 2016 class. Sources:
BostonInno,
ChicagoInno
|
|
|
Davidson News |
|
 New Davidson Institute Website
We are excited to announce the recent launch of the newly designed
Davidson Institute website at
www.DavidsonGifted.org! Our goal is to provide visitors
with a clear and accurate look at the Davidson Institute
programs including Young Scholars, Davidson Fellows, THINK
Summer Institute and Educators Guild, as well as the
Davidson Gifted Database.
The redesigned Davidson Academy website at
www.DavidsonAcademy.UNR.edu was also recently launched
to provide visitors with a clear and accurate look at the
Davidson Academy admissions process, academics, student
life, parent resources, press and more.
Any links you had bookmarked on these sites should redirect to that specific page or section on the new site. Take a look around - we hope
visitors enjoy the new look of both sites and find them easy to navigate!
 Davidson
Academy of Nevada
A free public school, the Davidson Academy of Nevada
encourages and supports the abilities, strengths and interests of profoundly gifted middle and high school students. If you are interested in applying to
the Davidson Academy for the 2017-2018 school year, the application will be posted this summer.
Meanwhile, please visit the
How to Apply and the
Application Review Process
pages.
Upcoming Events for Prospective Students
The Davidson Academy is hosting a number of upcoming events
for prospective students and their parents:
- Admissions Information Sessions present and answer
questions about the application and
admissions process for the 2017-2018 school
year and will be held on Aug. 17
and Sept. 14.
-
Tours allow visitors to meet
current Academy students, parents, faculty and staff, and
ask specific questions about the school.
Tours will be held
on the following Fridays: Sept. 23,
Oct. 21, Nov. 18 and
Dec. 9.
RSVPs are required. For additional details and to RSVP, please visit the
Tours page.
Davidson Young Scholars
The
Davidson Young Scholars program provides FREE services designed to nurture and support profoundly gifted young people and their families, including talent development and educational advocacy, an online community, annual get-togethers and the Ambassador Program. Applications are due the first of each month. For more information, see the
How to Apply and
Qualification Criteria
pages.
|
|
|
Legislative & Policy News |
|
 NATIONAL – The
Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Education Grant (Javits) program will almost certainly receive $12 million in funding for fiscal year 2017, the same amount as was allotted in 2016. Source:
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)
ARIZONA – Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix has adopted inclusive strategies for identifying gifted students to better serve English language learners and other underrepresented minorities. Source:
Education Dive
CALIFORNIA – Burbank school officials are creating a new plan to address the social and emotional development of gifted students in the district. Source:
Los Angeles Times
COLORADO
– The Denver school district is taking steps meant to diversify its highly gifted and talented population. All students in kindergarten, second and sixth grade will now be screened for gifted and talented status each fall. Source:
Chalkbeat Colorado
ILLINOIS – Community Unit School District 308 in Oswego is overhauling its gifted education program, with a focus on creating individual plans for gifted students. Source:
Chicago Tribune
MARYLAND – A recent Montgomery school district
report recommended changes to increase diversity in the county’s highly gifted centers and magnet programs. Source:
Washington Post
MINNESOTA – To keep pace with an increasing number of gifted students in the Rochester school district, two full-time teachers and one part-time teacher for the
gifted and talented program was recently approved. Source:
Post-Bulletin
MISSISSIPPI – The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is cutting the number of students who will be admitted next year. Source:
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
 NEW YORK – Fewer New York City students were accepted into gifted education classes in 2016 compared to 2015, despite an
increase in applications. Source:
New York Daily News
NORTH CAROLINA – The Guilford County school district will move forward with revisions to the Academically and Intellectually Gifted Plan, meant to increase diversity and create
additional ways to identify gifted students. Sources:
High Point Enterprise,
Greensboro News & Record
OHIO – The Ohio Board of Education is continuing to discuss ways to standardize the approach of educating gifted students in the state. Sources:
Ideastream,
Springfield News-Sun
The New Albany-Plain school district is considering adding staff members for the district’s gifted program. Source:
New Albany News
VIRGINIA – With the recent closing of the Blandford Program for Mathematics & Humanities, the Petersburg school district will likely shift the gifted program into a “cluster” structure, with gifted students receiving special instruction at their home schools. Source:
Progress-Index
How gifted-friendly is your state? Visit the Davidson Gifted Database
State Policy Database to find out.
If you know of new legislation, please contact us at
admin@davidsongifted.org.
|
|
|
On the Web |
|
 Featured Articles and Resources
The Davidson Gifted Database features easy search capabilities for articles, resources and state policy pages to help students, parents and educators pinpoint gifted information.
Articles
Intelligence denied: When gifted children's abilities are ignored describes the circumstances when giftedness is denied, dismissed or ignored, and the negative outcomes that can occur as a result.
This book review takes a look at the new Prufrock Press
publication,
Parenting Gifted Children 101: An Introduction to Gifted Kids and Their Needs.
Tips for Parents: Nurturing Creativity at Home summarizes the key points in which parents can encourage and facilitate creativity in their children.
Resources
FlexSchool is a day school for gifted and twice
exceptional (2e) middle and high school students. With two
campuses, one in New Jersey and another opening in this fall
in 2016 in New Haven, Conn., FlexSchool is designed to
provide a high-quality, flexible, individualized educational
experience for divergent thinkers in middle school, high
school and post-graduate year.
 Khan Lab School (Mountain View, CA)
was launched as a brick-and-mortar school by the founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan. Lab schools are dedicated to research-based instruction and furthering innovation in education. Khan Lab School currently serves students ages 5-12 and intends to expand to a full K-12 model.
Milestones
is a free online collection of videos aimed at helping
parents understand grade-level expectations in grades K-12.
The Nasri Academy for Gifted Children
in Henderson, Nev. is opening this September for students
in grades 1-4. This school is the first in southern Nevada
to focus exclusively on gifted children. Their plan is to
continue growing each year with 5th and 6th grade opening in
2017.
|
|
|
In the News |
|
Discuss these stories and more on the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.
|
|
|
In the Spotlight |
|
Jack Li
A Davidson
Ambassador Making a Difference
 The purpose of the Davidson Young Scholars Ambassador Program is to
foster learning and civic engagement through community
service,
volunteerism and leadership in highly motivated and mature Young Scholars.
Please introduce yourself and your academic interests.
I am a senior at Harvard-Westlake School. I enjoy writing and serve as Ambassador for the school’s Poetry Festival and Associate Literary Editor for its literary magazine. My interest in poetry began in middle school, while reading and responding to the testimonials of Holocaust survivors for a school project. I realized that I could offer poignant responses through poetry, and a tribute to the experiences of individuals who lived through difficult historical moments. In high school, I completed a literature portfolio entitled “Poetic Voices: War, Trauma, and the Power of Poetry.” For this portfolio, I analyzed English poetry written in response to the horrors of the World Wars, composed poems reflecting on violence around the world today, and wrote a short story about trauma victims who heal through literature. I strongly believe in the poets’ duty to engage with global crises, humanity’s responsibility to support survivors of trauma, and the healing potential of literary expression. My portfolio received an Honorable Mention for Literature from the Davidson Fellows Scholarship.
Tell me about a project you are working on to help make a positive difference in the lives of others.
Working on the portfolio made me a better writer and a more empathetic person. I decided to advocate for the healing power of poetry. Senior citizens in California report high rates of depression and social isolation. In order to address this problem, in the summer of 2014, I founded Poetic Voices, a community service organization that seeks to encourage creativity and poetic self-expression among senior citizens residing in rehabilitation and assisted living centers. Poetic Voices leads workshops in which senior residents read, write and perform poetry in a collaborative setting. Since its inception, Poetic Voices has worked with hundreds of senior citizens. As a Davidson Young Scholars Ambassador, I am receiving
18 months of training to continue developing my skills in service and leadership.
What are some of your short-term and long-term plans?
I hope that Poetic Voices will make a significant difference in the well-being of many seniors in rehabilitation facilities and assisted living centers. By expanding my work across numerous facilities and proposing a model for the integration of creative methods into healthcare settings, I want to make artistic expression a greater part of mental healthcare for the elderly. I will continue helping my community, and inspiring other young people to pursue a similar path of literary and community engagement work.
How has the Young Scholars program helped you to reach your goals and achieve your accomplishments?
The Young Scholars program has given me an extraordinary learning experience.
Pursuing the Davidson Fellows Scholarship has challenged me to develop my abilities in academic research, critical thinking, and creative writing. The Young Scholars Ambassador program provided a collaborative environment where I learned tremendously not only from my advisors, professors, and mentors, but also from my fellow ambassadors. I gained important skills to develop my community service project and make a significant impact on society.
|
|
|
Closing Thought |
|
"Efforts to improve gifted identification and helping gifted children understand what it means to be gifted are essential. Identification not only informs an educational plan aimed at enhancing their development, but can clear up confusion and misunderstanding about traits these children recognize but can't quite name. And providing gifted services tailored to their academic needs is critical to their educational growth as well as the development of resilience in the face of challenging tasks."
~ Dr. Gail Post, in the
Gifted Challenges
post,
Intelligence denied: When gifted children's abilities are ignored
|
|
|
