by Hillary Jade, Program Manager Being gifted is not always easy. It is a far-too common misconception that gifted children are luckier or better off than non-gifted children and don’t struggle in any aspects of their lives. The natural assumption is that gifted children are academically...
by Nicole LaChance, Marketing & Communications Coordinator March is Women’s History Month and, to celebrate, let’s look at wise words from ten women who have made great gains in STEM fields throughout history. Maryam Mirzakhani, Groundbreaking Mathematician "I like crossing the imaginary boundaries people set up between different...
by Nicole Endacott, Program Assistant In today’s world, we’ve grown to expect nearly immediate results in every aspect of our lives. I, for one, have caught myself clicking repeatedly in frustration on a link when it doesn’t load within a fraction of a second. We likely...
by Abby Daniels, Director of Development & Communications “A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.” -Benjamin Franklin In August of 2017, IEA’s long search to find a permanent physical space to offer our classes,...
by Hayden Best, Yunasa Camper and CDB Scholar The first time I went to Yunasa in 2015, I was extremely nervous. At the time, I was pretty much the textbook introvert, having been homeschooled for almost two years. Additionally, I had gone the year before to...
As parents and educators of gifted children know all too well, finding resources to meet the needs of these gifted learners can be difficult. Enter the Gifted Resource Center (GRC), which IEA created as a one-stop source of information for the gifted community. A free...
by Hillary Jade, Program Manager The winter holidays are officially behind us and if you’re like us here at IEA, summer is now on your mind! We’re looking forward to trading in boots for flip-flops, scarves for suntans and short January days spent indoors for the...
by Matthew Burke, EXPLORE Alumnus In ninth grade, while studying for midterms and slogging through term papers, I started daydreaming about how I wanted to spend my summer. Ideally, I wanted to do scientific research, but given my age, I wasn’t sure what types of opportunities...
by Jocelyn Shen, EXPLORE Alumna As an intern at the UCLA Department of Biomathematics for the past two summers, I have developed as a researcher, as well as a person, under the mentorship of Dr. Van Savage. Two years ago, when I first started the EXPLORE...
It’s always a joy to watch our Academy students be challenged by the enrichment classes we offer, ranging from Kitchen Chemistry to Myths and Monsters. Academy allows the gifted students we serve engage with a community of peers and return home eager to talk about...
by Niña Abonal, Senior Program Coordinator To celebrate the beginning of a new year, we wanted to take a look back at some noteworthy moments from 2017! IEA has expanded and bought a house! Through the generosity of our donors, IEA was able to purchase a beautiful craftsman...
Here were the Institute for Educational Advancement's top blog posts in 2017: Why Are So Many Gifted Children Also Highly Sensitive? An explanation of what it means to be highly sensitive, as well as a summary of the many pros and some cons of being a HSP. 25...
by Bonnie Raskin, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Manager As the Program Manager for the Caroline D. Bradley (CDB) Scholarship program, I’ve been asked by prospective applicants how to “best” prepare their application so that it not only gets read, but stands out. There really are no...
by Morgan Carrion, Assistant to the President Pour some hot coco; grab your scissors, tape and glue. Science + crafts who knew?! Look no further for a holiday craft bound to brighten the season. Below you’ll find instructions for how to make a light up card using a simple...
by Abby Daniels, Director of Development & Communications On November 17th, under twinkling patio lights amidst festive fall décor, a vibrant group of gifted education advocates gathered to support the Institute for Educational Advancement’s (IEA) programs and services. IEA’s annual fundraiser, the Awards Dinner & Celebration, was...
by Nicole LaChance, Marketing and Communications Coordinator There are a lot of myths out there about gifted students. Today I want to highlight and debunk some of the most common ones we hear in the course of our work advocating for gifted kids. Gifted Students Don’t Need...
As Thanksgiving approaches, we’d like to take a few minutes to give thanks to our IEA community! Thank you to all the parents and volunteers who devote their time and resources to support IEA’s programs and services. Whether it’s helping decorate our new learning space, facilitating...
by Nicole Endacott, Program Assistant Happy American Education Week! Every year, American Education Week celebrates individuals and organizations that ensure every child receives a quality education. Whether you are a parent, student, educator, or other supporter of learning, there are things you can do to honor...
by Alexis Hopper, Academy Program Coordinator The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks and feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us...
by Qiao Li, Coordinator The tendency to be a perfectionist is within all of us. As I start writing this blog, I find myself typing and deleting, starring at the screen trying to brainstorm the perfect sentence to write. Perfect sentence to write? That sounds oxymoronic! Perfectionism...
by Kelly Gray, Development Assistant While certain tasks or assignments may come easier for gifted students, it does not mean that they do not struggle or have setbacks. In many cases, due to the very high expectations gifted students set for themselves, they can face even...
by Malaina Kapoor, 2015 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar, originally written for the Christensen Institute Innovative schools are on the rise across the world and are transforming the way we think about K–12 education. These schools are no longer following the traditional model of education. They are...
by Abby Daniels, Director of Development & Communications On Friday, November 17th, the Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) will honor three tremendous individuals who have worked to address the needs of gifted education in our community. Here’s a little bit more about them. Raising the Bar for...
Pipeline to Success was a pilot program developed by IEA in partnership with the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) and Avery Dennison Foundation. Designed specifically to serve highly able, underserved youth in PUSD, the program ran from 1999 to 2010. The program provided gifted middle and...
by Anvi Kevany, Administrative Assistant As an involved parent and professional working within the education system, I have attended numerous parent teacher conferences throughout the years. First, as a parent of three gifted children; second, as a professional support staff working with teachers and parents; third,...