{"id":52718,"date":"2012-02-15T08:35:35","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T13:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=52718"},"modified":"2023-11-05T20:22:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T01:22:26","slug":"a-sparkling-new-school-for-hartfords-gifted-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2012\/02\/a-sparkling-new-school-for-hartfords-gifted-students\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sparkling New School for Hartford’s Gifted Students"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fourth-graders<\/a>
Fourth-graders perform an experiment with electromagnets at the Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy in Hartford. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The brightly lit room is a-buzz. Groups of three or four children, all fourth graders, sit or stand around small tables, trying mightily to create an electromagnetic current that will lift more and more paper clips. Their teacher, Freddie DeJesus, wanders from table to table, sitting and chatting and making suggestions to help move each group in the right direction.<\/p>\n

Le\u2019Lah Arthur loves it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really fun place,\u201d says Arthur, referring to the sparkling new Renzulli Academy on Cornwall Street in Hartford, the first stand-alone, public school academy for gifted and talented children in an urban area in the country. \u201cThey let us a do a lot of really fun things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her friend, Aleigha Johnson, agrees.<\/p>\n

\"Fourth-graders<\/a>
Fourth-graders perform an electromagnetic experiment with the help of their teacher Freddie DeJesus. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI really like it here. It\u2019s much better than my old school,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The academy is a dream come true for its founder,\u00a0 Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Education Joseph Renzulli, a nationally and internationally known champion of gifted education, and his wife, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Education Sally Reis, both faculty members in the Neag School of Education<\/a>. The two have spent most of their careers trying to make legislators and school districts recognize the importance of challenging the best and brightest students to reach their full potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the city [of Hartford]\u00a0 has recognized what we\u2019re doing \u2013 they gave us the building, rehabbed it, gave us the space, the equipment \u2013 great computers and smart boards, and allowed us to select and train outstanding teachers \u2013 is a testament to their commitment,\u201d says Renzulli. \u201cIt makes it much easier for the teachers to do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sixth-graders<\/a>
Sixth-graders work on writing projects with teacher Kim Albro ’99 (ED), ’00 MA. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps even more important, the Academy provides the teachers with much more stability than typical in-school gifted programs, which often go away when a grant expires or a new superintendent moves in. Here, Hartford\u2019s education budget follows the students: so as long as the students continue to live in the Hartford school district, the city will be paying for them one way or another. And, according to Miriam Morales-Taylor, assistant superintendent for learning and support services, this is where the city and board of education want these students to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re changing the stereotype of Hartford students,\u201d says Morales-Taylor. \u201cNearly 25 percent of our students are now in magnet schools, charter schools, or academies, and we\u2019re limiting enrollment in those schools to no more than 500 students, so they can receive direct education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sixth-graders<\/a>
Sixth-graders work on writing projects with teacher Kim Albro ’99 (ED), ’00 MA. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Renzulli Academy, which opened its doors two years ago in various corners of the Simpson-Waverly School on nearby Waverly Street and moved into its new quarters this fall, currently houses 104 students in grades 4 through 8. The plan, adopted unanimously by the board of education, is to add a kindergarten and 9th grade next year, 1st and 10th grades in 2013, and so on, becoming a K-12 school for gifted and talented Hartford school children by 2016. The school will have a maximum enrollment of about 300 students, hailing from all corners of the city. Reaching that level should not be a problem, says lead teacher and director Ruth Lyons.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, we had to cap 5th grade enrollment this year,\u201d says Lyons. \u201cParents are clamoring for information but, to do what we want to do, class sizes must be limited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The growth I\u2019ve seen in these kids has been remarkable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s no wonder parents are anxious to enroll their children at the Academy. The classes are<\/em> small, and most of the mainstream schools among the 49 in the city are forbidding blocks of buildings, dark and unwelcoming. Waverly Street, where Simpson-Waverly School is located, is lined with overgrown scrub brush and covered with litter, all in sharp contrast to the refurbished academy, which sits on a tree-lined street, a black wrought iron fence surrounding the property, which features a grassy entrance area and playscape. The interior of the building is no different. Light streams into the building. The floors sparkle. Everything smells clean.<\/p>\n

\"Eighth-graders<\/a>
Eighth-graders in Kara Ledger’s class read about and discuss the conditions experienced by Union and Confederate soldiers. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And the children at the Academy are scrubbed clean, too, neatly outfitted in their uniforms \u2013 blue shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Best of all, they are excited, chattering, working. A social studies class darts into the hall, posting the reports they just wrote on Abraham Lincoln, Illinois, and other historical topics on one of a number of 4\u2019 by 8\u2019 boards that line the halls. In a history class, hands pop up when the teacher asks questions about how soldiers in the Civil War survived the misery of encampments, and how Confederates and Union fighters handled the conditions differently. In between question periods, the students perform, acting out aspects of their studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe growth I\u2019ve seen in these kids has been remarkable,\u201d says Lyons. \u201cEspecially the students who had a rocky start. They\u2019ve really turned a corner. And the students who were solid when they arrived are even better. They have so much curiosity, so much potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eighth-graders<\/a>
Eighth-graders in Kara Ledger’s class read about and discuss the conditions experienced by Union and Confederate soldiers. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lyons says the Academy, using Renzulli\u2019s methods, is also like a research laboratory. In fact, she is listed on her business card as a research assistant, watching carefully to see how the students react to an advanced mathematics curriculum called Mentoring Mathematical Minds<\/a> (Project M3) developed by faculty in the Neag School of Education. They teach advanced reading skills using research led by Renzulli\u2019s partner, Sally Reis, the Schoolwide Enrichment Model \u2013 Reading Framework<\/a> (SEM-R), an enrichment-based reading program that allows students to choose what books to read, as long as they are challenging and above grade level. Teachers in SEM-R don\u2019t lecture from the front of the classroom, but mingle with the students and discuss what they\u2019re reading individually. And the science curriculum is based on the scientific method and meets daily, unlike many other schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re putting research into practice,\u201d Lyons says.<\/p>\n

The school day is also longer than in other districts, running from 8:45 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. Classes are held in 70-minute blocks. And the students get homework that matches the rigor of the classroom, not the watered-down versions in many public schools, where teachers must focus primarily on the students who are lagging, leaving the bright students to work on their own.<\/p>\n

\"Eighth-graders<\/a>
Eighth-graders in Kara Ledger’s class read about and discuss the conditions experienced by Union and Confederate soldiers. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHomework can be a challenge to a lot of these kids, who are used to being able to knock it off on the bus ride home,\u201d says Lyons. \u201cThat isn\u2019t the case here. They\u2019re working one to one-and-a-half grades above level. They\u2019re used to being a big fish in a little pond, and now they\u2019re little fish in a big pond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recognizing the workload, one of the requirements for admission to the Academy is for the parents to sign on, to agree to support their child, provide a positive home atmosphere, and devote time to working with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn\u2019t always easy,\u201d Lyons says. \u201cA lot of these children are living with a single parent who may be working two jobs, who has child care issues. Sixty-five percent of our students are on free or reduced lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Renzulli Academy, based on principles of gifted education, is a partnership between UConn’s Neag School of Education and the Hartford Public Schools. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are other rules, both for the city and the students\u2019 families, whether in Hartford or any other district interested in adopting the Renzulli model \u2013 officials from Waterbury and New Haven have visited, as have representatives from a city in Texas and a faculty member from a school district in Australia.<\/p>\n

“The district has to agree to pay all expenses and guarantee they will adhere to gifted pedagogy,\u201d says Renzulli. \u201cTraining of teachers \u2013 they have to know the pedagogy of gifted education. They all have to sing out of the same prayer book. There must be good leadership. We have that here with Ruth [Lyons]. And third, I want people [who visit] to serve an internship, at least a week, not just a drive-by. They have to internalize the spirit of what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Academy Receives Grant for Summer Enrichment Program
\n<\/strong>With a $250,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the Renzulli Academy will establish a summer enrichment program for its high potential\/low income students.
\nThe academy will use the grant to establish a six-week summer program focusing on art, science, and math, followed by an independent or small group project.
\n\u201cOne of our greatest challenges\u00a0 is helping all of our students have a background and context in which to understand big ideas in literature, history, geography, mathematics, and science, so they can apply this knowledge to challenging academic work,\u201d says Renzulli.
\nThe program will begin this summer for students in grades six, seven, and eight, and will expand over the next two years, so it is available to all the students.
\n\u201cThis grant will allow the academy to broaden the horizons of our students,\u201d says Academy director Ruth Lyons.
\nThe grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is renewable for up to three years. The Lansdowne, Va.-based foundation helps exceptionally promising students reach their full potential through education.<\/p>\n

The seven teachers at the Academy have that spirit. Three are UConn alumni with degrees in education. Lyons is currently completing her dissertation as a graduate student in the Neag School of Education<\/a>, and should have a Ph.D. from UConn by May. Another, Melissa Thom, also is a current UConn student in the Three Summers Program in gifted education<\/a>, also run by the Neag School.<\/p>\n

As more teachers are hired, they will first be screened by Lyons and Renzulli, and then recommended for hire by the school district. They will be employed by the Hartford school system.<\/p>\n

The students applying must score at the very top of the Connecticut Mastery Test; submit an essay and a teacher\u2019s recommendation; and include a letter from their parents that, among other things, entitles Academy officials to scour the student\u2019s records, not just for academics but for disciplinary issues as well, and evidence of creativity and perseverance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a talent pool approach. It\u2019s not just test scores. We look for students who have potential,\u201d says Lyons, \u201cstudents who will be ready to attend an elite university and obtain a challenging fulfilling job.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the looks of things on Cornwall Street, that shouldn\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Renzulli Academy, launched by UConn together with Hartford Schools, is the first stand-alone, urban-based academy for gifted students in the nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":52731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1715,1855,2076],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[37],"class_list":["post-52718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-impact","category-neag","category-research"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 00:15:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52718"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206552,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52718\/revisions\/206552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/52731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52718"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=52718"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=52718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}