Jasper County Teacher Receives National Gifted and Talented Education Scholarship

RIDGELAND, SC – September 23, 2008 – LaQuandra Stevenson, third grade teacher at Ridgeland Elementary School in Jasper County, has been named as a recipient of a Javits-Frasier Teacher Scholarship by the National Association for Gifted Children. She is the only teacher in South Carolina and one of only 15 educators across the country to receive the award.

The grant provides for teachers from Title 1 schools (that serve children from low-income households) to attend the NAGF convention and provides support for continued professional growth in the teaching of gifted students.  The goal of the organization is to increase the access of culturally and linguistically diverse students to talent development opportunities, supporting both equity and excellence in gifted education.

As part of the award, Stevenson will be an honored guest at the annual convention of the association in Tampa, receive various teaching resources, be linked with an NAGF advisor and receive a two-year membership in the organization.

The Javits-Frasier program honors the late Jacob Javits, Senator from New York, and the late Mary Frasier, founding director of the University of Georgia’s Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development.  The Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act was originally passed by Congress in 1988 as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to support the development of talent in U.S. schools.  Frasier led the way in identifying under-served children and her work resulted in tripling the number of African-Americans and quadrupling the number of Hispanic children in the Georgia gifted and talented program.