General information and nomination forms are attached for the 2010 Arkansas Governor’s School for gifted and talented rising high school seniors. Please read the information carefully. THE APPLICATION PACKET HAS BEEN UPDATED AND THERE ARE CHANGES TO BE NOTED. This Commissioner’s Memo will be the only notification for Governor’s School student nomination. PLEASE NOTE: Auditions will continue to be submitted by tape (VHS or VHS-C).
Completed nomination forms and materials from school districts, non-public schools and students must be postmarked NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010. Each year, unfortunately, some nominations are received after the deadline, and those students are not eligible for selection to the School.
Principals, headmasters, counselors and coordinators of gifted and talented programs are given a great deal of responsibility in nominating students. Schools are urged to nominate the most qualified students while keeping three things in mind: (1) nomination is NOT tantamount to selection, since there is a Student Selection Committee at the state level; (2) only those students who meet the criteria explained in the enclosed packet and WHO EVIDENCE A SINCERE INTEREST IN ATTENDING THE ENTIRE FOUR-WEEK SESSION should be considered; and (3) students who are disadvantaged through economic, cultural or language differences must not be excluded from services by identification procedures which are biased.
Principals and counselors should notify all students under consideration for nomination whether the nomination is being sent to the State Selection Committee. ALL NOMINATED STUDENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY MID-APRIL by the Arkansas Department of Education whether or not the student has been selected to attend. The dates for the 2010 School are June 13 - July 10, 2010. The location will be at Hendrix College in Conway. Hendrix has already started planning and is committed to making this first four-week session of Governor’s School just as memorable as the past 30 years of six-week sessions. With this summer’s session being only four weeks, students will have more time available to pursue other summer opportunities as well as attend Governor’s School.
Schools interested in having someone come to talk to juniors about Governor’s School should contact the Governor’s School at 501-450-1279 or 1-800-808-2944 or e-mail – ags@hendrix.edu. The staff at Governor’s School will make arrangements for this presentation. Additional information, including a short video, is available at http://www.hendrix.edu/ags