Six Gatton Academy students are presenting research this summer at the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) Student Research Conference at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA. From June 9-12, these students will join approximately 100 other students from across the country to share their research work through oral and poster presentations. Gatton Academy representatives and their presentation titles are:
• John Andrew Cliburn (’14) of Cloverport will give a presentation titled “Exponential Functions on Bigger Spaces”
• Hannah Graff (’14) of Alexandria will present “Discovery and Analysis of Mycobacteriophage CapnHook”
• Isaac Kresse (’14) of Louisville will present “An Analysis of Raman Spectroscopy on Photocatalytic Reactions”
• Lindsey Porter (’14) of Hillsboro will present “The Isolation and Characterization of Mycobacteriophage Pigpen”
• D.J. Richardson (’14) of Winchester will present a research poster titled “Reaction Coordinate Calculations for Simple Chemical Reaction”
• Connor VanMeter (’14) of Lexington will present “MyOTP, a Newly Discovered Mycobacteriophage from Bowling Green, Kentucky”

The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky has been named to The Washington Post’s list of top-performing schools with elite students for the fifth consecutive year.

Since 1998, educational columnist Jay Mathews has ranked Washington-area public high schools using the Challenge Index, his measure of how effectively a school prepares its students for college. The Post has since expanded its research and rankings to high schools across the United States. This year, The Washington Post recognized more than 1,900 schools from across the country.

The Challenge Index is designed to recognize schools that challenge average students. Twenty-four top-performing schools including the Gatton Academy were excluded from the regular list of well performing schools because, as the newspaper states, “their admissions and standardized tests indicate they have few or no average students.” Instead, these specialized schools are named to the top performing schools with elite students list.

The Gatton Academy once again found itself among the nation’s 24 most distinguished high schools, including many with emphases in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Schools such as the Illinois Math Science Academy, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and Thomas Jefferson High School (Virginia) make perennial appearances on the top performing schools with elite students list.

Dr. Tim Gott, director of the Gatton Academy, noted how Academy students can compete academically with students from some of the top schools in United States.

“Being on The Washington Post’s list of top-performing schools with elite students once again confirms that Kentucky students are on par with outstanding students from all across the U.S.,” Gott said. “Over the past few years, our students have interacted with many of the listed schools in student research conferences and other leadership programs. In these interactions, we have come to realize that our students are among the best from around the country. Kentucky can be very proud that its Academy is contributing strongly to the intellectual capacity of our nation.”

The Washington Post’s recognition drew attention to the strategic partnership between the Gatton Academy and Western Kentucky University, which facilitates all coursework for academy students. As part of the rigorous curriculum, students earn more than 60 hours of college credit during their four semesters in the program while also earning a high school diploma.

Dr. Julia Roberts, executive director of the Gatton Academy, praised WKU’s longstanding commitment to the program.

“Students, faculty and staff of the Gatton Academy and Western Kentucky University are thrilled with this recognition of academic excellence,” Roberts said. “It is a testament to the capacity of Kentucky’s young people to achieve at the highest levels when the learning ceiling is removed.”

Chad Phillips, assistant director of admission and external relations, added that the Gatton Academy serves as an extension of every school district in the Commonwealth.

“The great thing about this honor is that it reflects the partnership that the Gatton Academy has with all of the high schools across the state,” Phillips said. “This recognition elevates the amazing students that come from across the Commonwealth. Every school represented at the Academy shares in this accolade.”

Since the program’s inception in 2007, students have been admitted from 110 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. In all, students from more than 190 public high schools across the state have enrolled in the program.

Joseph Crafton

UnderSTAND Together was a capstone project for a group of WKU Seniors that focused on raising awareness of bullying around campus. The group focused on Gatton Academy and the integration of Academy students into WKU’s residential society and many of the issues that Academy students face while out and about on campus. Bullying is nothing to take lightly, nor is feeling uncomfortable or distraught due to a situation that you might be in. Many enlightening and surprising revelations were brought to the attention of those running the project, Gatton students and WKU students. First of all, most of the bullying that Academy students faced was in a classroom setting. Secondly, most university students act with stereotypes in mind without actually knowing what the Academy is and what the students are like. Third, many other organizations on campus are exposed to adversarial situations around campus—these things do not only happen to Academy students. In the culmination of their research, a panel was held. Open to university students and faculty, the panel focused on spreading their excavations and heightening awareness of bullying around campus. A sorority leader, a member of the lady golf team, and a member of University SGA were present to discuss common misconceptions about their organizations and how they and the Academy could partner together in order to stop bullying.

Personally, the experience was great. I know what it like to be bullied, and I know what it takes to handle intense adversity in a classroom setting. Being able to talk about experiences, how I handled certain situations, and how awareness and partnership can grow was an amazing experience. I have always been involved as an Academy student, and I plan to continue being involved with the opportunity that I was so greatly afforded. I have and always will embrace the fact that I attend Gatton Academy, and I hope that the fact that Academy students are just that—Academy students—will be readily and fully accepted by other university students. underSTAND together is the first step in that fulfilling that dream.

By: Chiraag Kapadia

[fblike]The Gatton Academy Greek experience has reached the midway point. While we are looking forward to the trips planned for the upcoming days, we wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on our travel so far.

The group departed from the Nashville airport for Greece on January 4th stopping in Detroit and Amsterdam for some VERY long layovers. Bedraggled and jet-lagged, we finally arrived in Athens, Greece. After some much needed beauty sleep, we kicked off the trip with a scenic drive across Greece where we had the chance to see breathtaking snowcapped mountains and bubbling hot springs.

During our scenic drives, we have seen some unique aspects of Greek culture. For example, during a brief visit to hot springs at Thermopylae, the group had the privilege of witnessing a Greek man in a robe chopping at a tree for wood. Who knew that there were Greek Lumberjacks?

Another marvel was seeing a “dinosaur”. Yes, a dinosaur. Atop the mountains of Meteora, a lone figure was spotted carrying a life-size realistic velociraptor. Whether the Greek fellow was having a pleasant picnic with his extinct companion or filming Jurassic Park IV, we may never know.

Of course, these amusing anecdotes were not the true highlights of the trip. Thus far, we have visited mountain-top monasteries, Byzantine ruins, and archeological sites. All of these visits have been nothing short of amazing. We can’t wait to reach Delphi later today and see what new adventures may come our way. But for now, I shall enjoy this pleasant bus ride and take pictures of the beautiful Greek country. We are approaching Mt. Olympus now. Until next time, Yasas!!

[fblike] Issac Kresse

On November 29, a delegation of five Gatton students headed to Louisville to participate in the Kentucky Youth Assembly Conference (KYA). KYA is a mock government conference where students from across Kentucky develop and debate legislation learning firsthand the legislative process. Issac Kresse, Leah Cannady, Lexi Sunnenberg, and Samantha Dinga served as bill authors at the conference. Their bill proposed extending Emergency Protective Orders (EPOs) and Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs) to couples in an abusive relationship that are not married and do not have a child together. The bill successful passed the Senate Committee. However, the bill was ultimately defeated by a small margin in the Senate.

While the majority of the Academy delegation participated in the legislative program, Naomi Kellogg was busy running for the office of Governor. Naomi focused her campaign around the idea of “Think Big” and how youth can create positive change in their local community. Naomi’s hard work paid off as she became the first Governor to be elected from the Gatton Academy. Two other Academy delegates received individual awards at the Conference. Lexi Sunnenberg was named outstanding delegate, while Samantha Dinga received the Outstanding Speaker Award.

The Kentucky YMCA Youth Association develops engaged citizens and servant leaders, inspired to affect change in their school, community, Commonwealth, nation, and world. Through experiential learning, service, and community activism, the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association fosters critical thinking, leadership, and social responsibility in teens. http://kyymca.org/