To receive future Davidson
eNews-Updates,
sign up here.
|
|
What's New in Gifted Education |
|
|
|
Davidson Academy Online Now Offering Single-Course EnrollmentsFor the first time, single-course enrollments are now available through the Davidson Academy's online campus. Two English and two math courses will be available for single-course enrollment beginning Fall 2019.
Please view the Single-Course Enrollments
page and our infographic below (PDF version). Learn more and apply by May 15. Email online@davidsongifted.org if you have any questions.
The
Davidson
Academy's
online
campus is a game changer for profoundly gifted students. Open to students academically performing at or above seventh grade 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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scientific
Innovation
at Google Global Science Fair
Twenty-eight
Americans
comprise
100 of the
Regional
Finalists
for the
Google
Global
Science
Fair.
The
finalists’
projects
address a
number of
crucial,
timely
issues,
including:
A freely
accessible
learning–based
web
application
for the
early
detection
of
dyslexia; a
novel deep
learning
approach to
improving
heart
disease
diagnosis;
and a
machine
learning
algorithm
that
identifies
plant
diseases
based on
pictures
taken from
a
smartphone.
Google will
announce
the 20
Global
Finalists
in July.
Congratulations
to Davidson
Academy
student
Yatin
Chandar
(featured
below), who
was the
U.S state
winner for
Nevada! |
|
|
|
|
Study
Examines
Disconnect
With Gifted
Students
A study
conducted
by the
National Center for Research on Gifted Education
found that
students in
gifted
classes are
more likely
to spend
time on
critical
thinking,
creativity
and
so-called
"extension
activities"
than on
advanced
material.
Three-quarters
of the
schools
surveyed
said they
did not use
a separate
curriculum
for gifted
courses.
Among the
key
findings (view
the full
list):
- Gifted services are not equally distributed across schools within districts. The variance between schools in a district is greater than the variance across districts in a state.
-
Gifted
programs
seldom
focus on
core
curriculum
such as
math and
reading.
-
Gifted
students
start
ahead in
reading
and
mathematics
achievement
at third
grade
but
don’t
grow any
faster
than
other
groups
by fifth
grade.
Read more in
The
Hechinger
Report
and
Gifted
Issues
Discussion
Forum. |
|
|
|
Davidson
News
|
Davidson
Fellows
Scholarship
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. The 2019 class of Davidson Fellows will be announced this August.
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. |
|
|
|
Legislative
& Policy
News
|
CALIFORNIA
– Gifted programs in the Sacramento school district could face a series of pending budget cuts. Source:
Sacramento Bee
ILLINOIS
– Chicago
Public
Schools is
considering a plan that would offer gifted
students more options beyond seats in its sought-after test-in programs.
However,
some parents
and
advocates
feel it sets the bar too high for most children to qualify.
Sources:
Chalkbeat,
Midwest
Academy for
Gifted
Children
NEW
YORK
– Despite efforts to make New York City gifted education programs more inclusive and fair to all students, disparities in admissions remain. However, some high-performing New York City middle schools have made diversity gains. Sources:
Chalkbeat,
The Wall Street Journal
OKLAHOMA
– Plans for
the Moore
school
district to
discontinue
a weekly
class for
local gifted
students has
raised
concerns
with
numerous
state
advocates
for gifted
education
and parents.
Source:
Norman
Transcript
TEXAS
– Sen. Jane Nelson submitted an amendment to restore a gifted and talented allotment for the state, negating a recently-proposed school finance proposal that would have eliminated extra funding for gifted and talented students. Source:
Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented
VIRGINIA
–
A $20,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation will help create a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program in Clarke County. Source:
Local DVM |
|
|
|
On the Web
|
Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA)
The
Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA)
seeks to
meet the
specific
needs of
gifted
students so that they can reach their full intellectual and personal potential.
IEA provides
customized
programs
that match
each
student's
unique gifts
and talents
with the
most
appropriate
mentors,
schools, and
other
learning
environments
to maximize
intellectual
and personal
development.
IEA also
offers the
Gifted Resource Center (GRC),
a free
public tool
serving as
an online
database of
resources
appropriate
for the
gifted
learner.
Gifted Social Media and Blogs
Gifted
organizations
and
advocates
across the
country are
connecting
through
social media
and blogs.
Many are
listed in
the
following
articles:
If you know
of
additional
gifted blogs
or social
media pages
we can add
to the
Davidson
Gifted
Database, please
contact us
at
admin@davidsongifted.org. |
|
|
|
|
Featured Articles and Resources
The
Davidson Gifted
Database features articles, resources and state policies to help students, parents and educators pinpoint gifted information:
-
In the book
Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine, futurist, inventor, and author Ray Kurzweil writes about a precocious girl who uses her intelligence and accelerating technologies to solve the world’s biggest challenges. Danielle’s journey casts a hopeful vision of humanity’s future.
-
The Online Foreign Language Program Comparison takes a look at the most popular online foreign language programs used by Davidson Young Scholars. Languages include Spanish, Chinese, Ancient Greek and more.
-
The Online Social Science & Humanities Program Comparison takes a look at a number of popular online social science and humanities programs. These programs can be utilized in a variety of ways; enrichment, tutoring, curriculum replacement, independent study, etc.
-
Experience campus life and learn about a field of interest in an intensive week-long, residential certificate program through
Rutgers Pre-College Summer Academies. Choose from academies in engineering, leadership, physical therapy, and political engagement, each featuring field trips, hands-on projects, guest speakers, and interactive classes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yatin Chandar, Student at the Davidson Academy ~ Experiences Attending a School for Profoundly Gifted Students
My name is Yatin Chandar, and I am a senior at the Davidson Academy. I have attended the Academy for almost seven years, and I have nothing but praises for its staff, its culture, and its student body. As I work through the college application process and prepare myself for wherever the next four years take me, I think that there is no better time to reflect on and share my experiences at this fantastic school.
|
|
|
|
The main thing that I appreciate about the Academy is its relative lack of structure. There is no set way to go about your educational career (as long as you get enough credits to graduate, that is). This gives students a lot of freedom to explore their interests or find out where their interests lie. Freedom is a very broad term, though. What, specifically, makes the Academy different?
You take whatever classes you want and have fun while taking them. The Academy’s Personalized Learning Plan makes this possible, and it creates an educational experience that is like no other. The combination of a multifaceted student body and individually customized schedules means that no two classes have the same set of students. I see high school students and middle school students in the same classes, a rare or even nonexistent occurrence in other schools. All of this means that the Academy community is very supportive and tight-knit, and students learn from and make friends with people that they would otherwise never see. These effects are exacerbated by the Academy’s small population. Most of the classes at the Academy have a maximum of around 15 students, making student-to-student and student-to-teacher communication more frequent and connections to the material and to peers much deeper.
Obviously, the Academy does not have enough instructors and classes to cater to everybody’s interests. This is common to all schools. What makes this school unique, however, is its freedom to let students fill the gaps. Do you have knowledge in a particular field and want to share it with others? Make a class! Do you find people that are interested in the same things as you are and want to share that interest? Form a club! The Academy has more than 25 clubs ranging from electronic music production to running, which is a lot considering that we have less than 160 students. When I was in eighth grade, I created a class that enabled students to learn about aviation and aerospace engineering and participate in competitions. Five years later, I have been able to meet, teach, and share my interest in all things flight with many of my peers and have a lot of fun competing in rocketry competitions and airplane design challenges.
Lastly, the Davidson Academy is located on a university campus. This is a large part of the Academy’s power as a school and as an open field for students to explore. By being a part of the University of Nevada, Reno, the Academy has the educational resources of an entire university. Labs, higher level classes, and maker spaces are all available to Davidson students. In my opinion, it is one of the most valuable aspects of the Academy. Because universities have a much wider variety of classes and areas of study, and because Academy students aren’t tied to specific majors, they are able to take essentially any course they want to, as long as they meet the requirements. I was able to conduct research in a robotics lab at the university, and the knowledge I gained was instrumental in establishing my future educational and career aspirations.
If you are a student that wants to challenge yourself and develop your passions without limits, I highly suggest applying to the Davidson Academy. Everybody - your teachers, your peers, and your administration - will be with you every step of the way.
|
|
|
|
“People stereotype precocious kids, particularly if they have mathematical talent, by assuming they are going to be a scientist. It’s like saying if you’re tall you’re going to be a basketball player.
There are a lot of tall kids who don’t want to play basketball. It’s the same with academic talents. We need to really encourage kids to get in touch with not only their gifts, but what they are passionate about.”
-- David Lubinski, co-director of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College (Source) |
|
|
|
|
If you have information to include in a future newsletter, please contact us at admin@davidsongifted.org.
If you have been forwarded this eNews-Update, and wish to receive future editions, sign-up here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
