Summer is here and you may be wondering what programs or activities are available for your child to attend. We have done some research for you and compiled a list of fantastic Summer programs that serve gifted youth. All these programs come from the , Institute for Educational Advancement鈥檚 database. The GRC is a free public tool which serves as an online database of resources appropriate for the gifted learner from Preschool through High School. The GRC contains an abundance of resources and information regarding advocacy, gifted programs and organizations, schools, scholarships, supplemental learning opportunities, testing and counseling professionals, and the twice-exceptional (2e) learner.

Below is a sample of some of the resources that offer and provide activities during the summer. More information about these programs, as well as many more that are not listed here, is available on the .

9-12

Girls Who Code offers a free 7-week summer program for current 10th-11th-grade girls to learn to code and get exposure to tech jobs. Each week the program covers projects related to computer science, such as art, storytelling, robotics, video games, web sites, and apps. Participants will also hear from guest speakers, participate in workshops, connect with female engineers and entrepreneurs, and go on field trips. The program culminates in a final project where students build their own product and share it with the class.

6-8 路 9-12

Digital Media Academy is a nationally recognized organization that provides hands-on summer resi颅dential and day computer camps for teens as well as youth (ages 9-13).

6-8 路 9-12

Summer Discovery is a pre-college academic enrichment program offering middle school and high school students a meaningful summer experience with lifelong value. Choose from over 300 interactive courses at 14 different university locations in the United States and abroad. Their summer programs combine academics with social activities, travel, recreation, and sports.

K-5 路 6-8 路 9-12

CodeREV Kids provides classes and curriculum for students ages 6 to 18, focused on explor颅ing STEM by learning coding, technology, and robotics. Classes are project-based, allowing stu颅dents to engage in deep learning through unique creations and hands-on projects. CodeREV offers classes and summer tech camps in a variety of locations throughout Southern California: Santa Monica, Solana Beach, Encino, Irvine, Beverly Hills, Fountain Valley/Huntington Beach, and Mali颅bu/Palisades.

K-5 路 6-8 路 9-12

Girls Garage is a one-of-a-kind design and building program and a dedicated workspace for girls ages 9 to 17. Located in Berkeley, California, it offers after-school programs, summer camps, and workshops.

优蜜视频 ACADEMY K-5 路 6-8

优蜜视频 Academy is a program of the Institute for Educational Advancement which provides students in Kin颅dergarten through 8th grade with advanced learning opportunities that promote exploration and ap颅plication of knowledge. Classes are taught by content-area specialists and taught at a flexible pace to accommodate the learning needs of gifted and 2e students. Classes are small and grouped by ability rather than chronological age. 优蜜视频 Academy sessions take place in Pasadena, California and are held seasonally: fall, spring and summer (three sessions hosted each summer).

9-12

Stanford High School Summer College offers academically outstanding high school students the oppor颅tunity to take Stanford College courses and earn university credit. Program participants enroll as visiting undergraduates in Stanford鈥檚 Summer Quarter and take the same courses, taught by the same Stanford faculty, as matriculated Stanford students.

6-8 路 9-12

Summer@HPA offers students entering grades 6 through 12 a unique four-week day and boarding expe颅rience structured for academic enrichment and designed to make the most of summer and take advan颅tage of our wondrous island-home to 80 percent of the world鈥檚 ecosystems. The diverse class offerings integrate environmental stewardship and awareness, and sustainability education and practices.

K-5 路 6-8 路 9-12

From early childhood through elementary, middle and high school, Center for Talent Development (CTD) gifted summer programs encourage gifted kids to explore academic areas of interest and con颅nect with a community of peers. CTD offers life-changing residential and commuter programs provid颅ing challenging enrichment, honors and Advanced Placement courses taught in a highly supportive environment.

9-12

Summer Academy is a two-week academic program designed to provide US and international rising 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders the opportunity to have a glimpse of college life for two weeks during the summer. During their stay on campus, students take one of the different classes offered such as Exam Preparation, Debate, Engineering, Arts, or Literature and earn a 陆 Carnegie high school credit for this classwork.

PRE-K 路 K-5 路 6-8
The Quad Manhattan is an inclusive meeting place for Twice-Exceptional kids 鈥� a place where social and executive functioning 鈥渓ife鈥� skills are developed through FUN! Twice Exceptional or 2e children have intellectual or creative gifts, and also have lagging social or executive functioning skills. Developed by experts in medicine, child psychology and gifted special education, the Quad uses kids鈥� strengths and passions to hide skill development in creative and engaging afterschool classes and activities during our summer camp.

9-12

Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 Pre-College programs will show you what college life is all about鈥攆rom the class颅room to what鈥檚 happening on weekends. Carnegie Mellon offers Pre-College summer programs in a variety of subject areas, such as math, science, architecture, drama, music, art, and gaming. There are no tuition, housing or dining fees for students selected to attend the Summer Programs for Diversity.

PRE-K 路 K-5 路 6-8 路 9-12

Summer Wonders is a nonresidential, full or half-day program that allows students to explore diverse subjects in a challenging, creative environment through an integrative, hands-on, non-traditional ap颅proach. Summer Wonders is a specialty program for gifted children entering Pre-K through 6th grade and is held during three different two-week sessions at ACE Academy in Austin, Texas.

K-5

Gifted student Cassidy Kao published her first book at 8 years old and founded iPoetTree at 12 years old. The nonprofit organization seeks to inspire a passion for writing in kids kindergarten to 6th grade. Cassidy provides a fun and free curriculum, supportive environment for sharing poems, and assis颅tance with becoming a published author like her.

听In addition to searching the hundreds of resources in the GRC, you can also download our and with opportunities for K-12 students. and check out our curated Guides.

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Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

While many may look at online learning as a recent innovation, the roots of distance learning in the U.S. run deep. As early as the 1800s, clergymen studied by way of correspondence and home study programs, especially for women, flourished. By the early 20th century, educational institutions from colleges to elementary schools offered correspondence classes. Each new technological advancement, including radio and television, was used as a medium for more distance learning. Today computers and the Internet provide the foundation for a new generation of distance learners. The needs of gifted learners at the elementary and secondary levels make the opportunities offered by distance learning particularly suitable.^[1]

The National Center for Education Statistics recently estimated that the number of K-12 public school students enrolling in a technology-based distance learning course grew by 65 percent in the two years from 2002-03 to 2004-05. A 2009 survey estimated that more than a million K鈥� 12 students took online courses in school year 2007鈥�08. A panoply of online learning opportunities is available. They range from courses taken only for enrichment or preparation for future classes to accelerated or honors classes that provide students the chance to earn high-school credits from the students鈥� local schools. More recently 鈥渧irtual schools鈥� have proliferated, e.g., Stanford University Online High School. These schools grant degrees and diplomas. (The U.S. Department of Education has an online guide, , which offers case studies of a variety of online learning opportunities in Part III. In addition to the opportunities found through , has an extensive list of distance learning programs, as does the .)

Several university-based gifted student programs offer distance learning opportunities for elementary and secondary students, the most prominent being The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University (pre-K – 12), the Talent Identification Program (TIP) at Duke University (grades 8 – 12), the Center for Talented Development (CTD) at Northwestern University (grades 4 – 12), Stanford Online High School (OHS) (grades 7-university level) and GiftedandTalented.com (K – 12). Courses range from the standard 鈥� e.g., Anatomy & Physiology (with a virtual laboratory and experiments), Economics, foreign languages, and AP漏 courses 鈥� to more exotic offerings like The Wonders of Ancient Egypt and Making Moby Dick.

There are also state programs. The Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) Academy, for example, offers an integrated curriculum for gifted students in grades 5 – 8 that blends online learning with face-to-face meetings (approximately three times a quarter). The classes are intended to replace a quarter of language arts, history, science, or math curriculum for students in over 75 school districts throughout the state. In 2011, the Academy served almost 1,600 students.

The delivery and instructional methods of online learning are similarly diverse. Originally, most of these courses were self-paced and basically an independent study class. With the advent of more and more technological advances, contact between teacher and students and between students themselves has increased. Hybrid models of instruction now include virtual class meetings, discussion forums, live text-chatting, real time face-to-face meetings, and interactive white board instruction, among other methods.

There are several advantages to distance learning. Perhaps the most important for the gifted student is the ability to choose from myriad advanced courses not available at the students鈥� own schools or via home-schooling. These needs are particularly acute in the rural and low-income schools where problems range from a lack of resources (everything from teacher training to textbooks) to a lack of a critical mass of gifted students that would make in-school accelerated classes economically feasible. And that is another benefit. A key challenge to keeping gifted learners engaged and growing is exposing them to peers who are just as advanced. Those distance learning classes that require student interaction allow students to do just that.

Another advantage would be more personalized learning. While the variety of courses allow the students to craft a curriculum closer to their interests, the hybrid models of distance learning allow for more one-on-one attention from the course instructor, according to a 2009 survey by Education Week. Because of its more independent nature, distance learning also allows students to move faster through the curriculum and at their own pace.

In addition, 21st-century skills are enhanced through distance learning. These enhanced skills would include self-directed learning, problem-solving skills, information and communications technology literacy, and time-management and personal responsibility. For this reason, among others, the state of Michigan now requires that every high school student complete an online course before graduation.

Several studies have found that gifted students have been successful at distance learning and satisfied with the experience. A U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis of the available research concluded that 鈥淸o]n average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.鈥� Some positive effects that they found included enhanced independent study skills as well as increases in students鈥� problem-solving abilities, collaborative learning skills, and higher-order thinking skills.

That same U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis also concluded that caution should be used in extrapolating its findings to the K – 12 population. Even less attention has been devoted to studying younger, i.e., pre-secondary, students. Subsequent to that meta-analysis, one major study looked only at students enrolled in the Johns Hopkins University CTY distance education program from July 2005 – March 2007. One major difference was that younger students took courses because of an interest in the content of the course rather than to obtain credit or placement. Another major difference was the emphasis students placed on the relationship with their instructor, suggesting the critical importance of instructor-led courses for these students.

Not all gifted students will achieve in a distance-learning format. To begin, students need to be self-disciplined and experienced with working independently. Perhaps critically, students need to be willing to ask for help since teachers do not have the advantage of non-verbal clues to pick up on student confusion. Of course, strong study and computer skills are also a necessity. Finally, the physical presence of an adult and the support of a parent are also necessary for distance learning to be effective.

A major drawback to distance learning is often isolation and its effect on social skills. Nonverbal communication is extremely limited in this setting where a greater emphasis is given to writing, technological skills, and independent learning. However, the trend is clearly towards more active involvement in these courses as the technology evolves.

Those students who reported being dissatisfied with distance learning often cited a lack of interaction with teachers. Another common concern voiced was the lack of traditional textbooks and written course materials as many courses rely only on computer technologies. Therefore students need to assess their own learning styles and then choose courses wisely.

^[1] The terms 鈥渄istance learning鈥� and 鈥渙nline learning will be used interchangeably throughout the body of this blog. 鈥淒igital learning,鈥� which is not used herein, is quickly replacing both of these terms.

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Have your gifted children participated in any online classes? Share their experiences in the comment section below.

Every gifted person has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts depicting the many faces of gifted by highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through 优蜜视频 programs. 优蜜视频鈥檚 pioneering summer camps 鈥� mentioned in this story 鈥� unite highly able children and experts in the social and emotional development of gifted children and provides an opportunity for campers to explore and grow the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and physical aspects of their lives.

Tara Raizada
Past Yunasa Camper
Current Student at Northwestern University

鈥淭he 鈥榞ifted鈥� label, for me, mattered less and less as I got older,鈥� college freshman Tara Raizada said. 鈥淲hen I was younger, the identification pushed me to achieve more, but I ended up going to a middle school comprised solely of TAG [Talented and Gifted] students, where being 鈥榞ifted鈥� was the norm, and I began to attribute less to the term than I had before, since that kind of child was so ubiquitous in my life. I hardly ever heard the word during high school, and I began to think even less about it. Yunasa became the only place I ever really pondered the term, and then I thought of it in a positive light. At the same time, I think it’s important to strike a balance with this label, because it can put children under a lot of pressure to achieve what they think 鈥榞ifted鈥� kids need to achieve. Yunasa, I think, contributes a lot to balancing that fear out for many campers I’ve seen there, to realize that being 鈥榞ifted鈥� is also a personality trait and an intellectual mindset, not just a measure of intelligence.”

鈥淚 always think of Yunasa as a place for growth, which I especially experienced during the leadership years as I was entering into young adulthood. I describe it as an experience of introspection, but also friendship, where you learn a lot about yourself and how to grow. I鈥檓 still in touch with many of my friends from Yunasa. A lot of the campers there are on the same wavelength intellectually and interest-wise as me.鈥�

Tara spent six summers at Yunasa. She started as a camper and eventually moved into the camp鈥檚 leadership program. 鈥淚 really enjoyed the time at Yunasa as a way to relax and be myself, but I was especially hooked during the leadership program years. The leadership program for Emerging Leaders and Counselors in Training is amazing. It鈥檚 like a semester of management courses within a week, and I really learned to love being a leader and to always strive to improve myself, clich茅 as that sounds,鈥� Tara said.

Tara grew up in Portland and co-founded while a junior in high school. This student-run organization lets high schoolers teach science to elementary school students from underfunded, Title I schools in the Portland metro area. 鈥淚n 2012, we won two grants 鈥� one from the Case Foundation and one from REI. The grant from REI included a trip to Bryce Canyon, in Utah, but we decided to use the money for materials from REI instead. The grants go towards materials for science experiments, camps, and programs鈥攁nything from laptop computers to cornstarch.鈥�

Portland Junior Scientists also won the Case Foundation鈥檚 Fan Favorite grant of $10,000, and per the PJS website, they have set a goal to expand to five new Title I elementary school locations in the next few years.

I asked Tara why she chose Northwestern University for college. 鈥淲hen I made my college decision, I was sure what I wanted to major in 鈥� international studies, political science, and area studies 鈥� but I knew I wanted to explore other academic interests as well while at college. I chose Northwestern because it offers a whole host of departments and choices to pick from, and it鈥檚 on the quarter system rather than semesters, so there鈥檚 a large degree of freedom with the classes we can take. I also chose it because it has so many options for activities outside of the classroom, and I love being involved.鈥�

Although Tara is a very busy college student, she still makes time to get together with friends, read (she just finished Mindy Kaling鈥檚 new book), watch TV (she鈥檚 obsessed with 鈥淏rooklyn Nine-Nine鈥�), hike and travel.

As for her future, Tara said, 鈥淚鈥檇 love to travel for a living and learn about other cultures, so I want to work in the Foreign Service after I graduate. Hopefully all the parliamentary procedure from Model UN will finally pay off!鈥�

Do you know a gifted child between the ages of 10 and 14 who would be interested in Yunasa? We are currently accepting applications for听 and 2014!