Who We Serve
Davidson Academy Online is the first fully online school for profoundly gifted middle and high school students. Profoundly gifted students are three standard deviations above the norm on the bell curve, so they are at the extreme end of the intelligence, or IQ, continuum. Unlike traditional school settings, Davidson Academy Online classes group students by ability rather than age.
We were founded on the principle that the brightest minds deserve the attention and resources they need to flourish. Since our founding, the Davidson Academy and now the Davidson Academy Online have been steadfast in providing access to gifted education. Our dedicated and visionary staff lead the conversation around gifted youth with empathy and understanding.
Davidson Academy Online truly reaches highly gifted students and their families wherever they are in the United States or Canada. We work one-on-one with families to ensure the student’s education path is rigorous but not rigid.
By creating a community where students feel like they belong, we combat the isolation they may feel while struggling to find a place in the world around them. We are proud to provide a sense of trust and stability for families and a place for students to strike friendships with intellectual peers. The community we continue to grow is a key differentiator for Davidson Academy Online students.
To attend Davidson Academy Online, students should score in the 99.9th percentile on accepted intelligence and/or achievement tests; perform at a required academic level; exhibit intellectual and academic achievement; and demonstrate motivation, social and emotional maturity, and an overall readiness for a fast-paced educational environment.
For Nevada residents, Davidson Academy Online is free. For students living outside Nevada, we use a flexible tuition model that takes into consideration annual family income, cost of living adjustment based on location of primary residence, the number of dependents in the household, and other relevant factors to determine a personalized tuition level for each family.
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
“Davidson Academy Online has helped be become a successful student. The school is meant for gifted kids and it shows in everything they do. Thanks to Davidson I finally feel at home at school.” ~Davidson Academy Student