A number of college summer programs for high school students have attracted bright young students from across the country because of their exceptional academic programs and enrichment opportunities for high school teens. These residential retreats have garnered acclaim as some of the nation’s finest in helping meet the needs of academically gifted young people.

Those programs include:

• Duke TIP: Center for Summer Studies
• Stanford’s Education Program for Gifted Youth Summer Institute
• Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development Summer Programs
• UCONN: Program for Academically Gifted Students

Read more at Suite101: Institutes for Academically Gifted Students: College Summer Programs High School Students Love to Attend

Question:What’s the first rule of STEM careers?
Answer: Don’t talk about STEM careers!

In a recent survey, a majority of students said that while their science and math teachers seem knowledgeable and keep class interesting, they aren’t teaching about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career options. High school students also said they don’t believe STEM knowledge is integral to getting a good job, which doesn’t bode well for leaders counting on STEM education to keep the nation at the forefront of the global economy.

The survey, conducted in December, asked more than a thousand students in grades 3-12 to provide a scaled report card (with grades ranging from A-F) on their science teachers’ classroom skills and activities.

Although 85 percent of students said their teachers deserve at least a “B” when it comes to knowledge about science topics (55 percent of students gave their teachers an “A”), 63 percent of high school students said their teachers are not doing a good job of talking to them about engineering careers (”C” or lower), and 42 percent of high school students said their teachers don’t ably demonstrate how science can be used in a career (”C” or lower).

Survey: Educators aren’t discussing STEM careers with students

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• Hands-on learning key to kids’ interest in sci/tech fields (arstechnica.com)
• High schoolers on the job; School-to-career program gives students hands-on experience (bendbulletin.com)

It’s too bad that the first programs to go during a budget shortfall are the special education programs — especially the programs for gifted students.

At least the State Superintendent is saying the right things:

“Sometimes so much of the federal and state laws focus on lower- and underachieving students, and we should be focused on them,” State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said. “But we cannot reduce the opportunities for our students who can achieve at very high levels.”

We’ll just wait and see if the school district changes its mind…

Many programs face extra funding woes | Washington Examiner.

In perhaps the most glaring example to date of our government’s descent into socialist madness, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is attempting to remove all American history prior to 1877 from its textbooks, replacing it with a “global studies” curriculum.

No history before 1877?! What is going on in our schools today? This is another reason why the chances for success in public schools are dwindling…

Read the full story over at the GetLiberty.org blog.

Nine Research-Supported Facts About Gifted Education: “In 2008, Dr. Sally M. Reis (University of Connecticut) prepared a National Association for Gifted Children position paper listing facts that we know to be true about gifted education.

She limited this list to include only conclusive statements that can be supported with many years of research findings about gifted education. Certainly, she could have included others; however, the idea behind this list was to collect those statements that had so much solid support, they could be considered established facts.”

Head on over to the Prufrock Press site to read the nine facts. They are pretty interesting. As you read them, think about your district and how they educate gifted children. Is your child really getting the best education they should get?