The vision of the Center for Gifted Studies is to become a year-round provider of comprehensive educational opportunities for gifted and talented students, teachers working with gifted students, and parents of gifted children. Through this vision we will dramatically improve the quality of life for gifted children and youth in Kentucky and the nation. Conservative estimates project that The Center has served over 20,000 students, teachers, and parents in its eighteen-year history. Our goal is to establish the Endowment for the Future of Gifted and Talented Children to ensure the continuation of our mission and to move toward our vision.

The Center has operated its programming on a self-supporting basis through fees for various programs for children, youth, educators, and parents. This budget pays salaries for approximately 150 individuals as teachers, residential counselors, academic counselors, office staff, and consultants during the summer and for a few throughout the year. It meets expenses for programming including housing and food. Grant funding has focused entirely on specific partnerships with schools designed to achieve specific goals. Since 1990, The Center has received over a million dollars in such federal support for research and curriculum development.

To improve the services to gifted students, we must address the cost of programming. The Center continues its long established policy of admissions without regard to race, creed, gender, disabilities, national origin, or any other classification that deprives applicants of consideration as individuals. The Center offers needs-based scholarships. All students applying are endowed with the merit and qualifying scores to complete the programs. However, many students each year require financial assistance. We currently turn away one-half of all students requesting financial aid, while the other half of these funds is simply absorbed by The Center. So we have dreams of offering more scholarships. We envision an Educational Programming Coordinator and Graduate Fellowships. All of these require more resources.

As the world turns to the Information Super Highway to access any and all forms of information, The Center needs to be there. And we're off to a strong beginning with our Web page. Here we ultimately envision an electronic resource center offering a multitude of services. Student services and extended study courses will be available as well as instant up-to-date information on opportunities, applications, and deadlines for gifted students. Information for parents ranging from advice to publications and nationwide seminars will one day be on our resource's wire. Information on opportunities for teachers and administrators is available, and we hope to have current curriculum ideas as well. We have visions of becoming such a web site/resource center. The initial designing stages are completed thanks to Western Kentucky's Center for Instructional Technology. But we have room for growth.

Another part of our vision involves a lecture series. This series for parents and educators, conducted four times annually, would highlight the needs of the gifted child both at home and at school. Consultants from across the country would be commissioned to offer their expertise to parents and educators. The cost of improving our resources using this program would total $15,000 annually. The series and scholarships could be named in honor or memory of an individual or family. Also part of the professional development arena includes our vision of a Professional Development Coordinator, a Thinking and Problem-Solving Institute, and scholarship support for teachers to earn a Gifted Education Endorsement.

Several other areas are needed for The Center to be a comprehensive one. A Research and Grants Coordinator could generate funds. And we have a desperate need for a Testing/Counseling Coordinator. We have put much effort in creating a program that aligns with our mission for these three populations of gifted students, teachers of the gifted, and parents of the gifted. But our mission is not yet complete. If we are to envision the best for these people, we must have the resources to accomplish that vision.