By Kaitlyn Chen, IEA Summer Programs Intern This summer, I had the chance to intern at the Institute for Educational Advancement. The eight-week internship went beyond my expectations. I learned so much more than I could have asked for, whether that was figuring out how to...
By Samantha Outcalt, Yunasa Volunteer Gifted kids spend a lot of time in their heads. They devote considerable energy to thinking, wondering, analyzing, drafting, problem-solving, inventing, calculating, composing, planning, investigating, comparing, contrasting, formulating, predicting…and so on. They have great practice living inside their heads and tend...
By Michelle Bodwell, LMFT, ATR-BC As parents of gifted children, we’ve all had our share of “those moments.” Like when our child has a enormous melt-down in the store aisle, or when we are late for school or work, because our child can’t leave the house until...
By Kate Connally, IEA Summer Programs Intern Working as an intern for the Institute for Educational Advancement has been a wonderful experience, the highlight of my summer. You might think I’d be an old hand in IEA; after all, I attended the Yunasa summer camp for...
By Qiao Li, Yunasa Program Coordinator IEA’s annual Yunasa camp concluded powerfully at Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan! Throughout the week, we watched all 79 campers – including 23 leadership campers – get to know themselves and each other in gentle yet profound ways. As ever,...
By Amber McClarin, IEA Enrollment Coordinator The nation's children are headed back into the classroom as the 2019-2020 school year gets underway! New beginnings can be a grab bag of emotions. Excitement, fear, anticipation - going back to school is not for the faint of heart....
“He was like a bomb.” That is how Elizabeth described her eldest son, Joseph who, at 4 years old, was a highly energetic child with an urgent fascination for numbers. His attraction was so advanced, Elizabeth had to relearn middle school math concepts just to satisfy...
By Alexis Hopper, IEA Program Coordinator Academy courses encourage students to take the lead in their learning process. But what do young inquisitive minds find so compelling about the content? Read on for five hallmarks of what makes these, and other fall courses speak to the...
By Anvi Kevany One of my favorite past times is reading. I love to read, especially travel stories, stories about small-town America, funny stories, classics, fantasies, science fiction, to name a few genres. I have compiled a list, based on my research from Good Reads, and the...
By Rachel Hanks, IEA Administrative Assistant It’s hard to believe it’s already July! With the summer flying by, it’s never too early to start thinking about fall activities. Whether your child is looking to expand their resume, find a hobby or make new friends, the...
By Qiao Li, Yunasa Coordinator Yunasa West this year was yet another fun-filled week that’s packed with self-discovery and growth at YMCA Camp Shady Brook! Campers ventured out to try something new, made lasting friendships and attended many impactful workshops that are designed to nurture balance...
By Bonnie Raskin, Program Manager In the course of being the Program Manager for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship (CDB), I’m often asked, “How do you evaluate a CDB application? What do you look for?” With the 2019 CDB application season in full swing, I thought...
By Felicia V. Gaddis Summer has arrived, school is out and you are probably trying to find something for your young gifted child to do that will engage and satisfy their insatiable curiosity. May I suggest conducting a backyard safari? Backyard Safari is a creative way to...
By Anvi Kevany, IEA Administrative Assistant 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...
It’s hard to believe June is right around the corner (where did the year go?) and we are so excited to kick off the first of three Academy sessions this summer! Whether you are new to Academy or still deciding, check out this list of...
By Niña Abonal, MA, Program Manager Each year during the month of May, organizations like National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health America, raise awareness and highlight the importance of mental health through local events, media, and health screenings. The unfortunate reality is there is a...
by Barbra Payne, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Parent It’s been about Bonnie. Not to minimize the hard work and dedication of all the staff of the Caroline D. Bradley (CDB) Scholarship and Institute of Educational Advancement (IEA) to whom we are eternally grateful, our appreciation for...
By Alexis Hopper, IEA Program Coordinator To celebrate National Inventors Month, Alexis Hopper put together a blog post highlighting IEA Student Inventions through The Process of Inventing. “An invention has to make sense in the world it finishes in, not in the world it started.”...
By Hillary Jade, IEA Program Manager It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! IEA Program Manager Hillary Jade shares her thoughts on why teachers should be appreciated, revered and supported. Last week, IEA’s Academy program hosted its second Teacher Appreciation Evening, which was instituted in December as a way to...
by Mallory Aldrich, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Admissions Coordinator I have had the opportunity to work with gifted students for the past 11 years in a variety of roles from their classroom teacher, to their mentor or advisor. They have taught me more than they will...
by Gabe Fergesen, IEA Student Hi. My name is Gabriel. I’m 13 and I like science, technology, engineering, analyzing art and board/video games. I have been attending IEA's Academy program for a few years and had my first summer as a Yunasa camper last year. This year I...
by Zadra Rose Ibañez, Director of Operations The Institute for Educational Advancement was honored to be awarded a grant from the Annenberg Foundation to participate in the 2019 cohort of Alchemy Tech, a pilot program developed in partnership with the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN,) that is...
by Hillary Jade, Program Manager Dr. Gallagher at Yunasa West in Colorado Shelagh Gallagher wears many hats – so many, in fact, that she has more great ideas than time to realize them. She is a Yunasa Fellow, an NAGC award-winning curriculum writer and consultant, a recruitment...
by Brianna Safe, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Associate The subtitle for this year’s seminar theme easily could have been something akin to: “How to Talk About Rejection and Failure in a Room Full of People.” Talk about vulnerability… Rejection can be hard enough to acknowledge on...
by Niña Abonal, Program Manager IEA’s online Gifted Resource Center (GRC) contains an ever-growing and robust listing of over 800 resources appropriate for gifted learners from preschool through high school. We carefully research and vet resources that span six categories, including Advocacy, Gifted Programs and Services,...