Lawmakers Get Closer Look at Gatton Academy

A year after its students first arrived on campus, lawmakers got an up-close look at Kentucky’s Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science where members of the Interim Joint Committee on Education held their monthly meeting yesterday.

The academy, now in its second year, hosts 120 students from across the commonwealth on its campus at Western Kentucky University. The students, all high school juniors and seniors, take half their classes with regular WKU students. Other courses contain solely academy students, while others are part of the WKU honors program. By the time they graduate high school, students can earn two years of college credit, saving their parents money.

Academy director Tim Gott noted that the first class of graduates accepted $2.6 million in scholarships, or nearly $50,000 per student on top of their earned college credit.

Students from 81 counties have already taken part in the program, said Gott, and efforts are made to attract students from every county in the state. While the school’s focus is on math, science, technology and engineering, Gott said he was proud of students’ social studies and arts and humanities CATS scores, which ranked among the top in the state. “Our students are gifted in many areas,” he beamed.

Gott and assistant director Corey Alderdice noted that while students have a measure of freedom because of the class schedule, they are still monitored. There is a 10:30 p.m. curfew during the week and separate wings for male and female students within the academy’s Schneider Hall dorm. Although separation from their families could cause anxiety, “it’s amazing how quickly students adjust to the environment,” Gott said. “The transition has been very smooth.”

Last year’s first graduating class finished with 54 of the 55 seniors it began with, he noted.

WKU President Gary Ransdell pointed out the benefits to the state. “First and foremost, this is an economic development strategy for the commonwealth,” he said. Of the first graduating class, 42 of 54 students attended Kentucky colleges, with 25 of them staying at WKU.

Familiarity with the campus and ongoing research are incentives to stay, academy administrators said. Many students conduct research projects, and some are producing published papers, Gott said. Alderdice noted that students have a number of math and science electives they can complete, allowing them to study any field with a science component, from astronomy to agriculture.

Students are chosen for the program in their sophomore year, with applications due in February. Legislators received a tour of the academy and WKU from students, met with academy students from their districts, and received a packet of information, including application materials detailing the rigorous nature of the program and its admission process.