About Us

Our Mission

Our mission is to recognize, nurture and support profoundly intelligent young people and to provide opportunities for them to develop their talents to make a positive difference.

Who We Are And How We Started

Formed in 1999, the Davidson Institute is a 501(c)3 private operating foundation funded by the Davidsons and headquartered in Reno, Nev.  Prior to starting the Davidson Institute, the Davidsons founded Davidson & Associates Inc., a successful educational software company best known for the Math Blaster™ and Reading Blaster™ series.  They sold Davidson & Associates in 1997 and decided to launch a significant philanthropic effort to continue their commitment to make a positive difference in education and to help all children be successful learners.

Who We Serve 

We serve profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. Profoundly gifted students are those who score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ and achievement tests. This population thinks and learns differently than other students. Some common characteristics of profoundly gifted students can include one or more of the following:

• An advanced ability to learn and process information rapidly.
• An extreme need for constant mental stimulation.
• A need to understand the world and for it to be logical and fair.
• An ability to relate a broad range of ideas and synthesize commonalities among them.
• An insatiable curiosity; endless questions, inquiries and appreciation for nuance.
• An inborn sensitivity and awareness of life.
• A need to explore some topics in greater depth.
• A sense of frustration with regard to mundane or repetitious processes.

Profoundly gifted students may also:

• Demonstrate different or unusual interests compared to their same age peers.
• Reach developmental milestones earlier and faster.
• Read early or understand math concepts at a very young age.
• Hold themselves and others to high standards.
• Exhibit asynchronous development, which can manifest as uneven intellectual, physical, and emotional development.

Oftentimes profoundly intelligent young people are not properly identified and, thus, do not receive an appropriately challenging education. Research shows this can lead to underachievement or even dropping out of school – studies indicate that 40 percent of all gifted students may be underachievers (Handbook of Gifted Education, p. 424).

What We Do

Davidson Institute
The Davidson Institute offers much-needed support to profoundly gifted young people through the following programs and services:

• Davidson Young Scholars is an individualized, family-oriented program that supports the educational and developmental needs of profoundly intelligent young people between the ages of 5 and 18. This program assists parents and students with academic support and educational advocacy, child and adolescent development, and talent development.
• Davidson Fellows scholarships recognize young people 18 and under for completing a significant piece of work that has the potential to make a positive contribution to society in one of the following areas: science, technology, mathematics, music, literature, philosophy, or any other college graduate-level work considered outside the box. Davidson Fellow Laureates are awarded $50,000 scholarships, and Davidson Fellows are awarded either a $25,000 or $10,000 scholarship. 
• THINK Summer Institute is a three-week residential summer program on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno for 13- to 16-year-old students. These students are enrolled in university-level courses taught by University faculty and earn college credits that may be transferable.
• Educators Guild is comprised of teachers, counselors and school administrators who are interested in connecting with colleagues to locate resources and discuss strategies for identifying and serving highly intelligent students. 
• Davidson Gifted Database is a gateway to resources for and about gifted students. This database features easy search capabilities for articles, resources and state policy pages to help students, parents and educators pinpoint gifted information.
• Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting our Bright Young Minds co-authored by Jan and Bob Davidson, with Laura Vanderkam was published in 2004 by Simon & Schuster. This award-winning book has generated conversations throughout the nation about the importance of educating our nation’s brightest students.

Davidson Academy
In 2006, the Davidson Academy opened as the first free public school of its kind for profoundly gifted students with classes grouped by ability, not age. In 2017, the Academy launched an online option for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S.

• Davidson Academy Reno Day School - a free public day school located on the University of Nevada, Reno campus that encourages and supports the abilities, strengths, and interests of profoundly gifted middle and high school students who score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ or college entrance tests, such as the SAT or ACT. Not a charter school, the Davidson Academy is a third type of public school, called a "university school for profoundly gifted pupils" created by the Nevada State Legislature in 2005.
• Davidson Academy Online - a tuition-based online school for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the United States.

Why We Do What We Do

The Davidson Institute's services are based upon the following shared beliefs:

• All young people should be lovingly nurtured in a safe, supportive environment where each person is accepted and appreciated as a unique individual.  
• All young people should have access to an education where they can learn and achieve at a level appropriate to their abilities.  
• All young people should have an opportunity to develop their talents in positive ways to create value for themselves and others. 

Profoundly intelligent young people should not be denied what we desire for all young people. Their needs should be recognized and accommodated. Their uniqueness should be understood and nurtured. Rather than be locked into an age based curriculum, profoundly gifted young people should have the opportunity to be challenged to excel and achieve. 

We do it for the children. We are pleased with the positive effect we have had on the lives of the profoundly gifted young people we serve. They need an educational program that appropriately challenges their abilities.  They need a safe, friendly place where they aren't ostracized or discriminated against because of their intelligence. They need emotional support because even though they think at an advanced level, they are still young people. And, they need to know that people understand them, care about them and accept them for who they are. 

We do it for their parents. Parenting any exceptional child who is at an extreme from the norm involves special challenges. This is as true for the parents of profoundly gifted children as it is for the parents of children with developmental disabilities. We have learned that parents of profoundly gifted young people need the support of others, such as parents who can share been-there-done-that experiences and access to professionals in advocacy, education and psychology.

We do it for the community. Society is shaped by the contributions of its most intelligent and talented members. It is important that we nurture and support the individuals who have the extraordinary intelligence and talents to improve the quality of life for all of us. In the words of educator Julian Stanley, "If we want these young people to be prepared when society needs them, we need to be there for them when they need us. That is the mark of a humane, responsible, effective society."

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