School on Saturday? For Gifted Minds, It’s the Best Time to Learn
School? On Saturday? For kindergartners through eighth-graders?
Yep, and the kids can't wait to get there. That’s because this isn't your everyday classroom. Georgia State’s Saturday School for Scholars and Leaders is a place where young minds can tackle new challenges and get a taste of the college experience.
"We have a microbiology class that's very popular," says John Kesner, director of the Saturday School and assistant professor of early childhood education. "Students actually get to go into our microbiology labs here on campus and work with equipment that college students use. That's obviously something they would never have a chance to do in an [elementary or middle] school."
Saturday School began in 1975 as a way to provide educational enrichment programs for gifted students in metro Atlanta. When Kesner took over as director in 1999, he expanded the program to a yearround schedule that includes two five-week sessions in the spring and fall, and weeklong camps in the summer. Last year alone, the school played host to about 1,200 K-8 students.
Since Kesner wants the program to offer as much variety in its courses as possible, there is no set curriculum. Subjects range from drama, video production and creative writing to math and even hard sciences. Students find the classes so enjoyable, Kesner says, that almost two-thirds of them return each session to seek new challenges.
"The main complaint I get from parents is that their children have taken all the classes in their age group — and they want more," he says. "We're always trying to expand our course selection." Kesner contends that while most public schools have plenty of programs for remedial and special education students, there isn’t the same emphasis on education for gifted students.
"And that’s not right," he says. "If a gifted child is not in an educational setting that's appropriately challenging to them, they are in a very restricted environment because they are not able to achieve and excel up to their abilities."