Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy: What an incredible opportunity for New London to be able to host a program to serve their gifted and talented students! These students are as different from other students in their school system as are those who require special education for developmental delays. Dr. Renzulli is renowned nationwide and, indeed, worldwide for his studies of the needs of gifted students and his methods for meeting those needs through teacher education and curricular models. He is in our backyard at the University of Connecticut.

For far too long, local school systems have neglected their exceptional students at the upper end of the spectrum. Fearing being perceived as "elitist" and suffering major budgetary cuts, systems eliminated the gifted and talented programs because some thought they had relatively few supporters.

Well, our country needs these gifted students to be nurtured through challenging and supportive education. They are our future leaders, innovators, and performers. They deserve our attention. As we continue to focus on "minimum competency," we must also strive for "maximum competency."