Does No Child Left Behind Mean No Child Can Get Ahead?

Three Hoosiers Join Panel of Experts, Educators and Gifted Students Seeking Answers
at National Education Conference in Indianapolis

Indianapolis (Oct. 30, 2003) - As many as one in five high school dropouts may test in the gifted range, according to experts in the field of gifted education, and 40 percent of all gifted students are probably underachieving.

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development is hosting a panel session to discuss this issue at the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) national conference on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at the Downtown Marriott in the Indiana Ballroom E.

Indiana native Jan Davidson, Ph.D., founder of the Davidson Institute — a national nonprofit foundation that supports profoundly intelligent young people through free services and scholarships — will be joined by fellow Hoosiers Irene Sun, local graduate of Ben Davis High School and a freshman at Harvard, and Sidney Moon, Ph. D., the executive director of Purdue’s Gifted Education Resource Insitute (GERI). Several other notable experts will also participate in a dialog with five of the nation’s most extraordinary young achievers who have been recognized as Davidson Fellows.

Davidson Fellows are students who have been awarded a $50,000, $25,000 or $10,000 scholarship by the Davidson Institute for a significant contribution in math, science, technology or the humanities. In the past three years, 41 Davidson Fellows have been recognized. The five Davidson Fellows attending the NAGC conference will share their experiences of pursuing their projects and discuss the influence of teachers and mentors, family, community and other resources that nurtured the development of their talent.

Indianapolis native Irene Sun is a 2003 Davidson Fellow in Science/Medical Research. The four additional Fellows on the panel are: Jamie Rubin (2003-Science/Medical Research); Jason Chu (2002- Science/Medical Research); Sheel Ganatra (2002-Mathematics/ Combinational Geometry); and Rachel Emery (2001-Literature/Novella).

Experts participating on the panel include: Rena Subotnik, Ph.D., director of the American Psychological Association’s Center of Gifted Education Policy; James Webb, Ph.D., founder of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) and Great Potential Press; and, Richard Olenchak, Ph.D., president of NAGC.

For more information about the Davidson Institute, please visit www.davidson-institute.org.

Snapshot of Gifted Education in Indiana

• In Indiana, 91,380 students⁽¹⁾ were recognized as Gifted and Talented in 2001-2002 out of a total student population enrolled in K-12 of 996,133.⁽²⁾

• Indiana’s state budget for gifted education is currently $5.8 million. This represents a $1 million reduction from the FY 2001-2002 budget. ⁽³⁾

• Indiana ranks 36 out of 50 states in offering gifted education to elementary students. ⁽²⁾

• Indiana ranks 26 out of 50 states in offering gifted and talented programs in secondary schools. ⁽²⁾

• Indiana gifted legislation does not mandate that gifted students be served, nor does it mandate that gifted students be identified. ⁽¹⁾

• State policy supports dual enrollment (enrolling in two schools at once), distance learning course substitution and grade acceleration. ⁽¹⁾

• State policy does not support early entrance to kindergarten. ⁽¹⁾

• No state legislation exists to provide for an education program matched to the students’ abilities. ⁽¹⁾

• No state legislation exists mandating specialized training in gifted education for teachers. ⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾   Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted and National Association for Gifted Children, State of the States: Gifted and Talented Education Report 2001-2002, (Washington, D.C.; 2003)

⁽²⁾   Morgan, Kathleen O’Leary & Morgan, Scott; Education State Rankings 2003-2004, Lawrence, KS: Morgan Quinto Press, 2003.

⁽³⁾   Indiana State Budget Agency web site, Budget Information, 2003-2005 As Submitted Budget,  Education, pg. 27: http://www.in.gov/sba/budget/2003_budget/as_submitted/pdfs/as_2003_c_7_x.pdf

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Davidson Institute for Talent Development
9665 Gateway Drive, Suite B
Reno, Nevada 89521
775-852-3483
Fax: 775-852-2184
www.davidson-institute.org