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Gifted students get access to Stanford
[August 26, 2006]

Gifted students get access to Stanford


(Comtex Community Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) STANFORD, Calif., Aug 25, 2006 (The Stanford Daily, U-WIRE via COMTEX) --Across the country, students of all ages are going back to school. But this fall, for about 30 gifted high school students, back to school will not entail boarding the school bus, but instead logging online to participate in the first year of the Education Program for Gifted Youth Online High School at Stanford University.



Launched this spring following a gift from the Malone Family Foundation, the EPGY Online High School welcomes its first students for orientation on Sept. 7, with classes to begin Sept. 11.

EPGY-OHS features academically rigorous seminar-style and directed-study courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, including 17 university-level mathematics and physics classes. Students will also be invited, but not required to participate in EPGY's summer session at Stanford.


Although just over 30 full-time and part-time students will be enrolled this fall, gradual growth is expected. According to Ray Ravaglia, deputy director of EPGY, in three to four years, EPGY expects to enroll about 100 students in each of the three grades.

Since 1990, EPGY's online distance-learning offerings have served over 50,000 gifted students.

"This was a godsend," said Miriam Sell of Phoenix, Ariz. of the creation of the EPGY-OHS. Her son David will be a full-time student in the EPGY-OHS. "I was the first one in line to call and get an application. This is just perfect for him."

Without EPGY-OHS, Sell said that her son would have had to combine online classes with classes at Arizona State University, and possibly even relocate to participate in an early admissions program at another college.

"Many gifted students have a hard time finding the courses they need at their local schools," Ravaglia said. "This is particularly true for students who live in remote areas or who are younger than the traditional age of high school students. At least one parent has said to me that because of the EPGY-OHS, they will not need to relocate."

Prof. Patrick Suppes directs the EPGY program. "There's a large network of parents of gifted students, and they're very pleased to see us add this, because it's filling a gap," he said. "There's a need for it. Particularly enthusiastic have been some of the home-schooled gifted students."

Tina Fischer of Riverside, Calif. said that the decision to enroll her son, Ariel, as a full-time student at the EPGY-OHS was an easy one.

Ariel, previously home-schooled, had taken courses online through EPGY and other programs.

"We've been the happiest with the EPGY program, because the caliber of the classes is so good," Tina Fischer said. "It was just perfect timing that he was going to be a sophomore and they began offering this program. Instead of having him piecemeal all over, we can just have him affiliated with one place."

This centrality is what Ariel Fischer said he is "most excited about," now being able to continue his schooling "in a very organized central form."

Students can enroll either full-time or part-time. Part-time students would combine EPGY-OHS coursework with classes in their local schools or through other programs.

After three years, students will receive a diploma, ensuring that they also "receive full recognition for the coursework that they complete, without having to rely on making arrangements with their local high schools," Ravaglia said.

The school will be accredited after completing a two-year accreditation process.

"We don't expect any problems at all because we're going to have a very academic curriculum," Suppes said.

EPGY already had the framework for strong courses in mathematics, physics and English with its current online offerings. However, Suppes said, to provide a balanced curriculum, the online high school organized courses in social sciences, music and foreign languages. Many of these courses will prepare students for Advanced Placement examinations

Most subjects will feature some lectures as well as time spent in an online classroom, where students can engage in discussion and interact with the teacher and the other students online.

"I really like the virtual classroom, which allows me to me meet interesting people, other than the people I hang out with here in southern California, and to interact directly with the teachers," Ariel Fischer said.

Ravaglia said that because the EPGY-OHS allows its students to take the classes they need to realize their potential, "we will be able to set high standards and to challenge these students in a way that they are not presently being challenged."

Karl Bunday of Minnesota said that it was nearly impossible to find a high school -- public or private -- with a challenging science curriculum for his son, Matthew.

"There aren't any high schools in town with classes that match up with the math he has already taken," Bunday said. "We considered boarding schools, but Matthew wasn't so inclined to leave town."

The EPGY-OHS seemed the perfect fit for Matthew, said Bunday, because "there's no ceiling."

Matthew Bunday, who will take five courses in the EPGY-OHS this fall, said he is excited about "being able to learn on my own schedule and work at my own pace."

"Students can go further if they have the time," Suppes said, citing the 10 Stanford undergraduate math courses available to the students. "The mathematical learning in this high school will be more advanced than almost any, and the same is true of physics. Ordinarily, high school students only get one to two years of physics. Beyond AP courses, we have about 10 additional courses."

"We're very ambitious and we believe the very best students should master those courses," Suppes continued. "We're here to challenge the very best. That's our objective."

Copyright (C) 2006 The Stanford Daily via U-WIRE

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