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(Reno,
Nev.)
– The University of Nevada, Reno will have up to 30 profoundly
intelligent middle and high school students on its campus next
year, thanks to the creation of the nation’s first public
school for these highly gifted students:
The Davidson Academy of Nevada.
By enacting Senate Bill 461, the 2005 Nevada State
Legislature established the criteria for this new public,
university school for profoundly gifted pupils.
“Many
of the next-generation Nobel laureates could come from these
profoundly gifted youth who will be taught and nurtured by our
faculty,” said University President John M. Lilley.
“This
prestigious new academy will play an important role in
cultivating talented young students to address this country’s
most pressing challenges in the increasingly competitive global
marketplace,” he added.
The
Academy is the brainchild of educational software entrepreneurs
Bob and Jan Davidson, founders of the Davidson Institute for
Talent Development. Their
former company, Davidson & Associates, was known for the
popular Math Blaster™ and Reading Blaster™ software series
and its acquisition of Blizzard Entertainment, whose software
products Warcraft™, Starcraft™ and Diablo™ became runaway
best-sellers.
“We
are losing our brightest students because the one-size-fits-all
approach to education is not working,” said Jan Davidson.
“That is why we are launching The Davidson Academy of
Nevada, to provide an opportunity for these very bright students
to learn at a pace and depth commensurate with their abilities
and allow them to soar academically. This will not only benefit
the students, the fruits of their labor and advanced abilities
will benefit the citizens of our nation as well.”
Approximately
half of the 3 million gifted students in the United States are
underachieving because they are not challenged by their school
curriculum, and up to 20 percent of high school dropouts test in
the gifted range, according to the Handbook of Gifted
Education.
Davidson
added that the Academy is intended to help America address what
many believe is the nation’s slipping innovative edge and
slowing productivity, with nearly 45 percent of new U.S. patents
now granted to foreigners.
“Our
most talented students rank near the bottom of industrialized
nations in math and science comparisons, and only 39 percent of
recent American university doctorates in engineering have been
granted to American students,” she said.
“Our nation has been neglecting the education of our
brightest students; this new Academy will be an example of how
we can reverse this trend.”
The
Davidson Academy of Nevada (www.DavidsonAcademy.UNR.edu) will
open its doors in the fall of 2006 on the University of Nevada,
Reno campus, with profoundly gifted middle and high school
students who have met all the necessary application
requirements.
“We
chose the University of Nevada for our Academy because of the
quality of the teaching and research being undertaken here,”
said Bob Davidson. “It
is classified by the Carnegie Foundation among the top 150
research universities in the country, and many of its faculty
have academic credentials from the nation’s top programs in
their area of specialty. An
added bonus is the University’s safe, beautiful campus
environment as the backdrop to the intense educational
experience our Academy will provide.”
Davidson
Academy students will be able to accelerate through the required
middle and high school curriculum at a pace appropriate to their
abilities and motivation until they become fully matriculated
into the University through accelerated course options. Many of
them will then proceed through undergraduate and graduate level
coursework as they meet the prerequisites to do so.
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[Editor’s
Note: Based in Reno, Nev., the Davidson Institute for
Talent Development is a nonprofit foundation founded in 1999 by
Bob and Jan Davidson. Last year, the Davidsons co-authored
Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds,
published by Simon & Schuster. For more information,
please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org;
for information about Genius Denied, as well as federal and
state gifted education policies, please visit www.GeniusDenied.com.]
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