Differing Terms:
Q: Please explain the differing terms used in your articles.
Specifically, early entrance, early college, and dual
enrollment.
A: This section from http://www.hoagiesgifted.
org/eric/faq/gt-early.html explains these answers very well.
"Early entrance is a way that highly gifted students can
accelerate and enroll in postsecondary education before
completing high school. There are different types of early
entrance:
Dual enrollment is admission to college courses while
continuing to be enrolled in high school.
Early admission is a program for gifted high school
juniors who have exhausted their high school curriculum.
Some of these students have met state graduation
requirements by the end of their sophomore or junior year.
Early admission programs allow these students to skip
their senior year and go on to college.
Early entrance programs offer the opportunity to start
college or university work at an early age, some as early as
age 12. These students might never attend traditional high
schools.
The above programs are different from early decision or
early action, which expect applicants to complete high
school. Early decision programs give students the chance to
apply to a college or university before the regular
admissions deadline. By applying to an early decision
program, a student is making a commitment to attend that
school if accepted, assuming the financial aid package is
acceptable. Early action programs allow students to apply
and receive their notification early, without committing to
attending the school if accepted.
Dual enrollment is more common than early admission
or early entrance, and provides students with an
opportunity to supplement high school course work. Some
students earn dual concurrent credit—that is, credit for
both secondary school and post-secondary courses. In some
cases, particularly where a student has exhausted the high
school curriculum offerings in one subject, a college or
university course may be taken instead of the high school
academic subject. A few public schools will pay for
postsecondary courses when the student has exhausted the
high school curriculum in one or more academic subjects,
but the majority will not provide funds or transportation.
Almost any college will allow a motivated student to enroll
in one or two classes while completing high school,
especially if the student has proven ability to master
college level work.
Early admission applicants have completed 3 full years
of high school. Students who have exhausted most of the
high school curriculum and who have a reasonably high
grade point average should not hesitate to contact any
college to request early admission. Be persistent and
patient."
"Early entrance is a viable option for some gifted
students. There are currently 11 early college entrance
programs at various institutions in the United States. In
many of these programs, students simultaneously complete
high school course requirements while taking college
classes. Three of the 11 programs admit students as much
as 3 to 4 years earlier than usual".
SPAN is one of these programs.
Q: What about the long term effects on social integration?
A: In a long term study, "But What about the Prom?
Students' Perceptions of Early College Entrance."
Noble, Kathleen D.; Drummond, Julie E.
Publication date: 1992
Gifted Child Quarterly; v36 n2 p106-11 Spr 1992
"This study interviewed students participating in the
University of Washington's Early Entrance Program.
Students were unanimous in their satisfaction with their
choice to forego major high school social events and found
attitudes toward them sometimes annoying."
The entire article weighs the issue very well but our
personal experience is very similar. The Todd Academy
students have their own extracurricular activities and find
that they seem to have no deficit from missing such social
events. In fact, on several occasions when standard social
events were available they had no desire to participate.
Q: What grades does SPAN enroll? Â
A: Generally 9th-12th, however, in some situations students as young as 11 have
been accepted into the program. Each case is specific. Todd Academy, Inc. enrolls at 5th grade or age 10 thru 12th grade.
Q: Is Todd Academy only for the profoundly or very gifted?
A: No, many of our students are in the bright to gifted ranges, however the one thing that make for success in the SPAN Program and Todd Academy is the will and drive
to succeed academically. The thirst for knowledge is present in all our students.
Q: Does Todd Academy, Inc. have financial aid available for students with limited financial resources?
A: Yes. Todd Academy, Inc. is proud to have never turned a qualified applicant away over a lack of financial resources.
Q: Is Todd Academy, Inc. a for-profit school? No, Todd Academy, Inc. is a small non-profit school that receives no state or federal funding. We survive solely on our own tuitions and fund-raising efforts.
