By Amélie Buc, 2015 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar If someone had asked me before my ninth grade summer if I knew what Artificial Intelligence was, I would have talked about Ava in the film Ex Machina. Ava, though technically a robot, has a consciousness, morals of...
By Anita Russell, Academy Teacher There are many things I love about IEA Academy. The most important things to me are the freedoms the program offers its instructors that I did not have at other schools. The first freedom I cherish here is the ability to follow...
By Anvi Kevany, Administrative Assistant I started my volunteer work as a teenager, when my local group needed participants to join their choir to perform at nursing facilities. In addition, our high school highly encouraged students to volunteer their time, either at school or within the...
Before everyone departs to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, 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 donating books...
by Nicole Endacott, Program Coordinator “No act of kindness – however small – is ever wasted.” – Aesop Today is World Kindness Day! At IEA, our Whole Child Approach means that we see gifted youth as much more than their minds and deeply value their unique perspectives...
by Esther An, Caroline D. Bradley Scholar If I had asked seventh grade Esther An where she was going to be in three years, she probably wouldn’t have eagerly responded with, “Wallingford, Connecticut." Actually, even the suggestion of anywhere outside the city of Los Angeles, California, where...
By Katie Sanborn, Office Manager An article from the TED-Ed Blog titled “Why dance is just as important as math in school” (1) by Sir Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica recently caught my eye and led me to research more on the topic of the arts...
By Niña Abonal, Senior Program Coordinator It's that time of the year again, when high school students across the country are entering the most intense phase of their college journey: college applications and decisions! Just when gifted students have finally found the appropriate educational services at their...
By Morgan Carrion, Assistant to the President With the fall season upon us, we here at IEA would like offer a guide to festive fall activities for you and your family. But let us set the tone with inspiration from the poet John Keats. “To Autumn” by...
by Zadra Rose Ibañez, Director of Operations In the non-profit world, donors are the lifeblood of an organization. Though many programs charge fees for services, these fees usually do not cover the full expense of an individual’s participation, let alone any free programs and services offered to...
By Anvi Kevany, Administrative Assistant As a parent, you always want what is best for your child and strive to provide it for them. Developmental specialists, health providers and other experts are always researching and recommending ways to raise a child in order to reach their...
by Zadra Rose Ibañez, Director of Operations Do you remember that song by Living Color? It was about perception, and how we value what we think of as success and achievement, without really understanding everything going on underneath someone’s public persona. Sometimes that perception, or others’ expectation of...
By Alexis Hopper, Program Coordinator This past July, 12-year-old educator and GOVLEARN founder (and now 2018 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar!), Luke Gialanella, presented Academy's fourth student-lead workshop. Votes and Voices: The Electoral College invited students ages 9-14 to participate in an informative and fun introduction to...
by Hillary Jade, Program Manager The new school year has started and an exciting year of learning is in full swing! Whether you’ve just started at a brand new school or in a new class, here are some tips on greeting the new school year with...
The Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) has announced the 2018 class of award recipients of the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship, a four-year high school scholarship for gifted learners to attend an optimally matched high school program to help them meet their unique intellectual and personal...
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 Niña Abonal, Senior Program Coordinator Since I started working at IEA three years ago, I’ve witnessed the remarkable evolution of our program offerings and have had the opportunity to spearhead EXPLORE, a summer externship program that was piloted in 2016 for high school students. What started...
By Hillary Jade, Program Manager When Leonardo da Vinci is mentioned, either in an academic setting or in a casual conversation, one of several knee-jerk references usually comes to mind: His inventions The Mona Lisa The Vitruvian Man, his painstakingly accurate depiction of the human form ...
The Institute for Educational Advancement is excited to announce the release of the results of IEA's poll of voters about gifted learners, the first of its kind! As a part of IEA’s effort to advance the cause of gifted students nationwide, IEA commissioned the first ever...
By Eli McLaughlin, Academy Student This summer was my first time at Academy. I had two classes, Ocean Exploration and Around the Wor(l)d: Letters and Language. On the first day of Ocean Exploration, I was the second one there. I didn't know what to expect since this...
by Mark Blekherman, EXPLORE Extern When I stepped into IEA’s Barder House on June 18, I did not know what to expect. While I had researched the mission and programs of IEA, I was not sure what exactly the term “non-profit management” encompassed, nor was I familiar...
Are you looking for a summer book recommendation? Check out what some of us at IEA are currently enjoying! The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations by Oprah Winfrey “During a time when I needed some inspiration in my life, this book, and the...
by Nicole Endacott, Program Coordinator Are you having trouble finding the ideal resources for your gifted child? Are you overwhelmed by the quantity of resources but desperate for a way to narrow down your search? Our Gifted Resource Center (GRC), a free public tool created and...
by Abby Daniels, Director of Development and Communications This month, the Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) kicks off our 20th year of supporting the hearts and minds of gifted youth. Since 1998, we have been dedicated to meeting the unique needs of gifted children so that...
by Mark Blekherman, Summer EXPLORE Extern Academy classes are at once engaging and educational. While sitting in on three classes two weeks ago, I was surprised by the instructors’ hands-on, student-centered approach to learning. Academy students arrive at conclusions through discussion and inquiry; rather than feeding...