WKU's Center For Gifted Studies Awarded $2 Million Grant For Project GEMS, Will Partner With Warren Co. Schools

November 11, 2008

Bowling Green, Ky. - Dr. Julia Roberts, director of The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University, will lead a five-year, $2 million grant to address the need for a steady supply of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students in Kentucky and the United States.
           
The grant from the U.S. Department of Education is one of seven in the country awarded under the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act. Project GEMS (Gifted Education in Math and Science) will focus on creating opportunities to generate interest and develop talent in disciplines related to science and math and encourage careers in STEM disciplines, Dr. Roberts said.
           
Project GEMS will be a partnership between The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU and the Warren County Schools in Bowling Green. It will target upper elementary children from low-income backgrounds and minorities who are underrepresented in STEM disciplines by providing services for children gifted in math and science at four elementary schools with more than half their children qualifying for free or reduced meals: Cumberland Trace, Lost River, North Warren and Bristow.
           
The Academic/Aquatic Center under construction at the Warren County Board of Education Central Office will have science classrooms and will house a magnet program for these students who will receive problem-based learning instruction in math and science there one day a week.
           
Warren County Superintendent Dale Brown said the grant will be a wonderful opportunity for young people in the county. “We believe this is the first step in addressing underrepresented students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math,” Brown said.
           
Another project component is professional development. Dr. Roberts said 70 teachers will be targeted to receive professional development in problem-based learning and gifted education.

Project GEMS research results will be used to design services and programs that are based on developing curriculum for identifying advanced abilities among elementary students and developing talent in children who are advanced in STEM disciplines, with the ultimate goal to replicate the successful program in the district, state and beyond, she said.

The Center for Gifted Studies will also partner with local businesses, such as Trace Die Cast Inc. and Bowling Green Metalforming, to foster an understanding of technological and scientific application in the work force. Lowell Guthrie, CEO of Trace Die Cast, said, “I look forward to our involvement with these young people to help create an interest in science and math fields.”

Dr. Sadiq Shah, associate vice president for Research and Economic Development at WKU, said Dr. Roberts has played a “critical role in developing and implementing programs for gifted students. We are delighted that this funding will allow her to recognize and develop talent in science, math and engineering so that we can remain competitive in this global economy.”

Dr. Roberts said the Javits grant “provides unique opportunities to engage in research to develop effective strategies to identify and create interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics among upper elementary children.”

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/.

For more information, contact Julia Roberts, (270) 745-6323.