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2018 Davidson Fellows to be Announced Next Month
The 2018 Davidson Fellows will be announced in mid-August! The Davidson Institute offers $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000 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. |
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What's New in Gifted Education
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The 2018 class of Thiel Fellows comprised of 25 young entrepreneurs was recently announced. Thiel Fellowships consist of separate grants of $100,000 over two years to young recipients. Thiel Fellows are mentored by highly accomplished entrepreneurs, scientists, innovators
and more while taking a two-year hiatus from the classroom.
Read about the 2018 class
>
Some in the education field are taking a fresh look at programs for
gifted students,
driven
to narrow
the
"Excellence
Gap".
New York
Times >
2006 Davidson Fellow
Cindy Wang
discusses
her numerous
interests
that
intersect
with
science. "It's that kind of diversity that I like having in my life,
using the right and left sides of my brain, and finding balance in doing that."
Society for
Science &
the Public >
Dr. Jim Delisle, who has taught gifted students and those who work on their behalf for more than 30 years,
was recently
featured in two podcasts on MindMattersPodcast.com about gifted kids,
including
the topic of
underachievement in the gifted community.
Listen to him in Episodes 4 and 9
>
Gifted
students
living in
small
communiites
are often
presented
with unique
challenges
in getting
the most out
of their
education.
Personalized
learning
through
online
classes
are an
emerging
option for
them.
Education
Week >
More in
the news:
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Davidson
News
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Davidson Academy’s Two Options - Designed to
Be Different
The
Davidson Academy
offers two
educational
options
specifically
designed to
meet the
needs of
profoundly
gifted
students –
an online
school
for those
living
anywhere in
the U.S. and
a day school
on the
University
of Nevada,
Reno campus
for local
residents.
Both options
are centered
on a
rigorous
academic
environment
where
students can
thrive among
their
intellectual
peers.
Academy
classes are
grouped by
ability
rather than
by age,
providing
profoundly
gifted
students an
educational
opportunity
matched to
their
abilities,
strengths
and
interests.
Online Campus - A Stimulating Community Where Students Thrive
The Davidson Academy's
Online
Campus
is a game changer for profoundly gifted students. Open to students living anywhere in the United States, the accredited Online
Campus builds off the one-of-a-kind, exceptional framework put in place by the
Davidson
Academy
Reno Day School. The result is a robust online community where students thrive.
Please
visit the
Davidson
Academy
Online
Qualification Criteria and
How to Apply
pages for
details.
If you have any questions, please email
online@davidsonacademy.unr.edu.
Davidson Academy’s Reno School
For more
than a
decade, the
Davidson
Academy’s
free,
accredited
public day school
located on
the
University
of Nevada,
Reno campus
has centered
on
interpersonal
and
instructional
dynamics
creating an
atmosphere
that is
vibrant with
intellectual
energy and
dialogue. As
the school
has grown,
the Academy
has evolved
to offer an
increasing
amount of
opportunities,
while still
providing a
laser-sharp
focus on the
individual
student.
Davidson
Academy
students
have the
opportunity
to
participate
in many
clubs and
extracurricular
activities
throughout
the year, as
well as
enroll in
courses at
the
University
under a dual
enrollment
agreement.
Please visit the Davidson Academy’s
Reno School
Qualification Criteria and
How to Apply pages for
details.
If you have
any
questions,
please email
applications@davidsonacademy.unr.edu.
Stay
Updated
To keep up
with the latest news, view the the Davidson Academy eNewsletter. Also, connect with the Davidson Academy on Facebook and Twitter!
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Davidson
Young
Scholars
The national Davidson Young Scholars program provides FREE services designed to nurture the intellectual, social, emotional, and academic development of profoundly intelligent young people between the ages of 5 and 18 (students must be between the ages of 5 and 16 when applying). Benefits of the program include:
- Consulting Services
-
An Online Community
-
In-person Connections
-
Community Service Endeavors
-
Summer Programs (fee-based)
Read success stories to see how the Young Scholars program has helped make a difference in the lives of these students. The application deadline is the first of each month.
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Legislative
& Policy
News
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ALABAMA – The University of Alabama has launched a program aimed at strengthening the state’s efforts to educate gifted students. The Gifted Education and Talent Development Office will consolidate all of the College of Education’s research, teaching, service and programming in gifted education. The office will also offer more professional development for educators and outreach to parents. Tuscaloosa News >
COLORADO – A change in state law meant to reduce the cost of Colorado high schools that allow students to stay longer to earn college credit has forced the Denver district to pause its expansion of the model. Chalkbeat >
FLORIDA – Orange County’s new school for gifted elementary school students, the first of its kind in Central Florida, will be called the Orlando Gifted Academy.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
NEW JERSEY – Eliminated 11 years ago by a prior administration, the Camden school district has reinstated its Gifted and Talented program. Courier Post >
The Livingston school district's well-researched plans for a multi-year rollout of an enhanced gifted program will go into effect for students in grades K-5 this coming school year. TapInto.net >
NEW YORK – The number of applicants for New York City gifted programs continues to recede, mirroring a steady multiyear decline in the overall number of students taking the Gifted & Talented eligibility exam. New York Post >
NORTH CAROLINA – A bill designed to ensure that low-income students have access to advanced courses.was recently given final legislative approval.
State public schools will now be required to automatically enroll any student in the third grade or above into advanced math courses if they receive a superior score of 5 on their end-of-grade test. WS Chronicle >
TENNESSEE – The Knox County School Board recently approved $538,000 in funding for magnet and gifted and talented programs in the district. Knoxville News Sentinel >
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On the Web
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Davidson Twice-Exceptionality Guidebook Released
The Davidson Institute's latest guidebook, Twice-Exceptionality: A Resource Guide for Parents is meant to act as a launch pad for parents to learn more about twice-exceptionality, the process of identification and assessment, and how to support children who are 2E intellectually, emotionally and socially.
Featured Articles and Resources
The
Davidson Gifted
Database features articles, resources and state policies to help students, parents and educators pinpoint gifted information.
Articles
Math Games for Kids - a Listing of Resources
contains a listing of numerous math games and other resources for gifted students. Find information on websites that contain math games, math game apps, and math board games, card games, books and software.
Nurturing Gifted Girls’ Self-Concept and Academics at Home
provides advice on helping gifted girls from home:
encouraging your gifted daughter to take higher-level classes from which she might normally shy away; finding a mentor; seeking out peers; using bibliotherapy to model positive influences; and more.
What most parents of gifted children wish they had known about college planning provides several suggestions on how parents can help students plan for college, as well as find colleges that offer the right fit.
Resources
Longfellow Young Writers’ Workshop (Farmington, ME)
is a summer program
that
gives continuing high school students
a full week
to immerse
themselves
in the
writing
world.
My Ivy Education
is a
physical
environment;
a program
that, rather
than
offering a
one-size-fits-all
curriculum
while
leaving
students to
fend for
themselves
socially,
flips the
system by
personalizing
education
for
excellence
while
fostering
compassionate
social
interaction.
The Inconvenient Student: Critical Issues in the Identification and Education of Twice-Exceptional Students
tackles the
problem of
identifying
gifted kids
who have
dyslexia,
dysgraphia,
sensory
processing
disorder,
auditory and
visual
processing
disorders,
ADD, autism
or
Asperger's,
ODD, OCD,
anxiety, and
depression. |
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In the Spotlight
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Aishani
Aatresh,
Davidson
Ambassador
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.
Aishani's project is "Spark
to Speak."
Tell
us a little
about
yourself.
I’ve always loved talking and working with people, beginning with “teaching” my stuffed animals and baby sister at age 3. By middle school, those skills translated into helping my school’s principal tutor elementary students, serving on student council for five years, and coaching and refereeing young soccer players. I also was privileged enough to deliver a TEDx talk on allergies as a freshman in March 2017 at a conference at Sacred Heart Cathedral, a high school in San Francisco, Calif., and based upon that co-founded a TED-style event, SF Talks, at my high school that went incredibly well in its inaugural year this past April.
What is
Spark to
Speak?
The Young
Scholars
program has
created a
fantastic
environment
for
learning,
collaboration,
and support.
Through my Ambassador project, I have the opportunity to tie together a variety of my interests in a platform that has the potential to make a difference in the educational realm. With
Spark to Speak, I conduct weekly after-school sessions at a local YMCA, exposing elementary-age students to a variety of topics (using multiple sources/forms of media and discussion-based/hands-on learning), including current events, science, public-speaking skills and homework help. I focus on helping the students understand and analyze the topics and how the subjects matter to each student on a personal level, what opinions they form about each issue and why — hopefully instilling lifelong invaluable skills of curiosity and communication.
What are some of your short-term and long-term plans?
I hope to expand my program to other YMCA branches in the coming school year and hold a mini TED-style “conference” for the students to each present at in front of their peers and perhaps their parents as well at the end of the upcoming school year. I also plan on encouraging older students to mentor younger students similar to what I’m doing with all of them. Apart from my Ambassador project, I will be busy with running my school’s larger-scale TED-style event, SF Talks, being the lead director for our hackathon, LancerHacks, serving on our admissions/marketing advisory + content board, Lancer Productions, rehabbing my post-surgery foot, and contributing to writing a research paper on an antibody engineering method that I did some work for over the summer at a biotech start-up in San Francisco. In the future, I hope to pursue something at the intersection of immunology, genetics, computer science, and community engagement, whether that’s as in medicine, research, biotech, or even eventually science policy. |
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“You have to be willing to take risks and try things you've never tried before. In science you're constantly pushing yourself, asking 'can I figure out why that happens?' It's similar in art, you ask 'can I push the boundaries?' and try new techniques . . . Whenever you start something, you may not be that great and it's totally okay. It's okay to pick up new interests and hobbies and keep pursuing them. Don't ever let that curiosity fail.”
-- Cindy Wang, 2006 Davidson Fellow, Society for Science & the Public |
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If you have information to include in a future newsletter, please contact us at admin@davidsongifted.org.
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