by Zadra Rose Ibañez, Director of Operations As the head of the HR department, I am usually one of the first gatekeepers in receiving applications for employment. At IEA, because we work with highly intelligent children and families, we insist on high quality employees. This means that...
by Alexis Hopper, Program Coordinator In celebration of National Teacher Day, we would like to extend a thank you to all the educators who shape the lives of students across the country. Thank You, Mattie Whyte Woodridge Pioneer of Teacher Appreciation Day Teacher Appreciation Day was not always marked...
by Nicole LaChance, Marketing and Communications Coordinator Overthinking. The irony in writing about this topic is that I kept overthinking it. What direction should I take? What tips should I offer? Where can I find the best research? What if my post doesn’t hold up against...
by Paula Prober, Licensed Counselor and Consultant Your child is emotional. Anxious. Melting down. Telling you that you’re the worst parent. Ever. Not in so many words, necessarily. But still. You know that you’re the worst parent. Ever. “How can such a smart kid behave this way?” you...
By Lisa Natcharian, Raising Wizards It's a scientific fact that 20% of the population is born with a gene that allows them to "process sensory data much more deeply and thoroughly" than other people do. We also know that a common thread that runs among gifted people is...
by Heather Boorman, LICSW, LCSW, and Co-Founder of The Fringy Bit Whether we believe it or not, Spring has sprung. Often, we think of new growth, new life, and renewal, but spring can also hold an underpinning of grief and loss. As soon as the weather warms...
by Cassidy Kao, Academy Student Hi everyone! My name is Cassidy and I am eleven years old. I’m also the author of Constellation Exploration: Greek Mythical Stories Retold with Simple Facts and Fun and Mysterious Riddles, Roller Coaster: Kid’s Guide on How to Write Poetry, and...
by Nicole LaChance, Marketing & Communications Coordinator I have a confession to make: I’m a pop culture nerd. I often find myself responding to situations with movie or TV quotes and can ace most pop culture-themed categories on Jeopardy!, another obsession of mine. So, when I...
by IEA Staff “It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Every year, the Bradley Seminar brings together our national cohort of current Caroline D. Bradley Scholars along with alumni, parents, educators, guest speakers and IEA...
At a gathering of gifted learning community leaders today in the nation’s capitol, a first-of-its-kind poll was released by the Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA), that finds overwhelming bipartisan public support for increased funding for programs and resources for gifted students. The poll, conducted by Benenson...
by Kate Duey, Certified College Consultant March Madness in almost here, making college basketball top-of-mind. And so I perked up at last week’s California Association for the Gifted Conference when Dr. Sandra Kaplan mentioned that UCLA’s basketball team takes ballet classes. This caused me to sit...
by Paula Prober, Licensed Counselor and Consultant How do you manage your emotions and your sensitivities while raising your super intense super smart children? How do you raise your children without unconsciously repeating the patterns set down by your own parents? I’m guessing that you think about this a lot....
by Hannah, Yunasa Camper Do you fit in? Do you have friends? Do you filter your feelings, your thoughts, your ideas or your words when around others? Have you “played the part” to be accepted? Are you worried about losing your true self? Do you wonder...
by Michelle Bodwell, LMFT, ATR As parents of gifted children, we all have our own memories of the moment or moments which led to our realization that we had a gifted child. Whether it was the comment of another, the feedback from an evaluation, or our...
by Tiffany Kwong, Operations Manager I have a confession: I love the holidays. I’m one of those people who will try to incorporate some kind of festive craft or hands-on activity into every major holiday. Believe me, I have an entire closet devoted to materials for...
by Bonnie Raskin, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Manager As the program manager for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship, I am often asked by the CDB community if Advanced Placement (AP) classes and the culminating AP exam is the best “fit” for a gifted student. AP courses...
by Zadra Rose Ibañez, Director of Operations Executive skills are those cognitive abilities and habits that allow us to be organized, to plan and implement action. They are essential to being productive and to completing goals and projects. We learn these very early on, from rote...
by Morgan Carrion, Assistant to the President “The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside by a generous hand. But- and this is the point- who gets excited by a mere penny? But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that...
by Alexis Hopper, Program Coordinator Of all the meanings and usage of the word “bridge," my favorite has to be “a time, place, or means of connection or transition” (Merriam-Webster’s dictionary). Academy’s teacher workshop, held this past Saturday at our learning space in San Marino, was just...
by Niña Abonal, EXPLORE Program Coordinator January not only kickstarts the New Year, but also the beginning of the National Mentoring Month campaign. Since 2002, former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama have endorsed the movement to increase public awareness about the importance of...
by Kelly Gray, Administrative Assistant The end of one year and the beginning of a new one always bring about the opportunity to reflect, as well as make resolutions for the future. At the end of 2016, IEA staff took some time to look back our...
Here were the Institute for Educational Advancement's top blog posts in 2016: 25 of Our Favorite Gifted Kid Movies Our social media community and the IEA staff weighed in on their favorite movies featuring gifted children and young adults. Podcasts for Gifted Learners Gifted children love to learn and...
by Hari Bhimaraju, 2016 CDB Scholar I wanted to share with you all a very special experience I had recently! I just came back from the White House and let me just say AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Starting Thursday morning and ending Friday night, those were some of the most fantastic...
by Jennifer de la Haye, Program Coordinator Many gifted children are profoundly empathetic and often feel helpless when they ponder the lives of homeless people, refugees, families who lack food and water, and other vulnerable populations. I know a child who cries every time he sees...
by Qiao Li, Coordinator Learning about the brain development of gifted children gave me a deeper understanding of their heightened experience and unique learning needs. At IEA’s monthly Gifted Support Group, Dr. Nicole Tetreault, Dr. Joanna Haase, and Dr. Sharon Duncan from Gifted Research and Outreach (GRO)...