(May
30, 2007)
– About 322 Florida seventh graders
are on the campus of New College of Florida this Wednesday and
Thursday, May 30 and 31, for the Florida Recognition Ceremony of
the 27th annual Seventh Grade Talent Search of the
Duke University Talent Identification Program, or Duke TIP.
At right
above, seventh
grader Arlia M. Delphonse receives her Duke TIP medallion May 30
from Suzanne Janney, special assistant to the president, who
coordinates the Duke TIP programs at New College.
New College is hosting a series of four recognition ceremonies –
at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. both days in the Sudakoff Center – to
honor gifted seventh graders from eight area counties who
qualified for the Duke TIP program.
New
College President Mike Michalson will deliver the keynote
address at each of the four ceremonies.
Duke TIP identifies seventh graders in 16 states in the
Southeast, Midwest and Southwest who have scored at the 95th
percentile or above on a grade-level achievement test and
invites them to take either the SAT Achievement or the ACT
Assessment Test.
This winter, about 75,000 academically talented seventh graders
took either the SAT or ACT through Duke TIP, sitting for the
exams in their hometowns alongside collegebound 11th and 12th
graders. Many earned scores that rival or surpass those earned
by the older students.
In May,
four state
public institutions are holding recognition ceremonies for the
seventh graders: New
College, Florida State University, University of Florida and
Florida Atlantic University. New College has been a host site
for more than six years, and also hosts semiannual Scholar
Weekends through the program.
Above, President Michalson (right) waits to shake hands with the
next seventh grader called to the stage by Robert Carrington
from Duke University (at podium at left) to receive ribboned
Duke TIP medallions from Suzanne Janney, assisted by Tawnya
Bissell.
"The gifted student is arguably America’s most precious natural
resource," said Duke TIP's Executive Director Martha Putallaz.
"It is essential that we identify such students early so that
they can be nurtured and developed. Duke TIP plays an important
role – to the student, his or her family, school and community –
in identifying America’s most academically talented students and
providing educational resources for them throughout their middle
and high school years.
"With all of the demands on our educational system to provide
services across the broad spectrum of students, it is vital that
parents and educators have access to additional resources
focused specifically on the gifted population."
Talent Search participants will receive a certificate of merit
and a comparative-results summary and counseling guide to help
interpret their scores. Duke TIP will also provide participants
with suggestions for using their ability more effectively, and a
variety of educational materials and publications. These
publications, including a newsletter, a directory of educational
opportunities around the country, and a resource for beginning
the college choice process, help students learn more about
academic opportunities available to them and about the needs and
interests of people like themselves.
Duke TIP is a non-profit, educational organization designed to
identify and support academically talented youth. Since its
establishment in 1980, more than 1.8 million students have taken
part in Duke TIP.
The organization runs two talent searches annually: one for
fourth and fifth graders and one for seventh graders. Duke TIP
also runs summer, weekend and online educational programs for
gifted students in grades 7-12 and has developed numerous
independent learning resources for students in grades 4-12.
Parents, students and educators interested in the Duke TIP
4th/5th Grade or 7th Grade Talent Search, or Duke TIP's
Educational Programs should contact the Duke TIP office at (919)
668-9100, or visit the Web site at
http://www.tip.duke.edu/.
For more
information on New College's Duke TIP Scholar Programs, visit the
Web site at
http://www.ncf.edu/duketip/.
