A grant to the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) will allow the program to expand its sustained engagement of academically talented students in grades 4-12 from traditionally underserved populations, school officials said.
The nearly $2.2 million grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education through its Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program, which supports and carries out evidence-based research, demonstration projects and innovative strategies. Ultimately, the program seeks to enhance the ability of elementary schools and secondary schools nationwide to identify gifted students, and meet their special educational needs.
Shawna Young, executive director of Duke TIP, said she anticipates the grant will significantly increase the program’s ability to engage often hard-to-reach student populations, a primary objective of Duke TIP’s current strategic plan.
“We have been working very deliberately over the past three years to diversify our portfolio of opportunities for students, families and educators,” Young said. “The Javits grant will play a key role in allowing us to reach this important goal.”
Duke TIP is a nonprofit organization that recognizes academically talented students in grades 4-12 and provides them with advanced learning opportunities that foster their intellectual and social growth.
Activities planned as part of this grant will target gifted students in rural areas and high-poverty schools, including:
-- Recruitment outreach and the sharing of best practices for identifying high-achieving students;
-- Providing supplemental challenging educational opportunities such as rigorous computer science learning;
-- Promoting effective instruction of gifted students from rural or low-income backgrounds by training educators serving these populations, and
-- Creating knowledge for the gifted education field through a research study that will track the effectiveness of these activities.
These efforts will be led by Duke TIP’s research team, under the direction of research director Matthew C. Makel, as well as various program areas at Duke TIP. More than 3 million students have benefited from TIP programs and resources since 1980.
