Extra Credit

College for smart kids

Are your bright children bored in the summer? Send them to college! The Summer Institute for the Gifted is launching a new three-week program at the University of Texas at Austin for academically gifted and talented students in fourth through 11th grades. Learn more at a March 8 open house. 

-Martha Deller

Their brains are working just fine, thank you

Seventh-grade gifted and talented students in the Birdville school district will take part in what educators are calling a "minds-on" seminar. During the Scholar's Conference on Feb. 7 and 8 at the Fine Arts and Athletics Comples, the students will do activities that focus on the different functions of the brain and how they apply to daily living or learning. One of the activities is dissecting a sheep's brain. Researchers say that sheep brains function like human brains. But can a sheep do algebra at age 12?

- Terry Webster

The Super's first day

What's on your day planner next week? Try topping Hector Montenegro's tentative schedule for Monday, which will be his second official day on the job as Arlington school superintendent. Beginning at 7 a.m. he will ride buses to a high school (Lamar) and an elementary (Sherrod). He will pop in at four other elementaries during the morning to give announcements, read to a third-grade class, and have lunch. After dropping in at Gunn Junior High, he will wrap up the Monday tour at Foster Elementary, to greet parents during the afternoon pickup. Oh, and Montenegro's first school board meeting is Monday night at 7 p.m. His plans haven't been made public yet for Tuesday through Friday, by the way.

-Shirley Jinkins

The kid who fought for snow day

You never know what it is that will inspire a person to fight the system. For Dave Kori, 17, a high schooler in Virginia, it was an administrator's decision to have school during an snowy day. But that then, um, snowballed into a big mess. The Washington Post reports that after Kori was unable to reach the school administrator at his office, he left a message at the official's house. The admin's frustrated wife returned the call leaving a scathing message that he put online. It was then put to various animations poking fun at her, which have been aired all over Facebook, You Tube and national news outlets. So does the student have a right to talk contact government officials making decisions for him? What about the family's privacy?

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Gun training 101

West Virginia is considering offering gun training in schools, to students in seventh through ninth grades. Real ammo wouldn't be used, however. The plan comes after the West Virginia saw a big drop in the number of hunters, and the state's feeling the pinch in lost revenue from hunting licenses.

Read more about it here. 

- Julie Sobczyk Mitchell

Learning about learning

Do you have an artistic student that can't do math? An inquistive child that can't sit still in class? A creative student who has trouble putting his ideas on paper? North Carolina pediatrician Mel Levine is showing parents and teachers how to identify different learning styles and help children "strengthen their strengths" and work on their weaknesses. To learn more, see my article.

-Martha Deller      

'Redshirting' for kindergarten, Part II

The Washington Post tackles the question posed a few days ago by our blogger Julie Sobczyk Mitchell. See what the Post's expert says on how to tell whether your child is ready for kindergarten.

- Patrick M. Walker

Community colleges' challenges

The nonprofit College Board is trying to ensure that the nation's 1,200 community colleges and their 11.6 million students don't get forgotten. A new report that it commissioned calls for more public funding and says just letting students in the door is no longer enough. Community college leaders want more resources for making sure students are getting the education they need. The Associated Press reports.

- Patrick M. Walker

Campus expansion project

Carroll High School Principal Rick Westfall is posting updates and photos chronicling renovations at the campus on a blog. The Southlake school serves students in grades 9 and 10.

- Jessamy Brown

What's in a name?

Northwest ISD is accepting nominations for names for elementary schools Nos. 12 and 13, which will open in August. District officials say including the community in the naming process gives residents ownership of their schools. Click here to take a look at the criteria for names or to submit a nomination. The deadline is Feb. 25.

- Sarah Bahari