Gifted Math Program Seeks Nominations for Fall 2001 Class

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Gifted Math Program at the University at Buffalo is accepting nominations of outstanding sixth-grade mathematics students submitted by schools and parents for its Fall 2001 entering class. The nomination deadline is Jan. 17.

A three-hour battery of tests, including the math section of the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, will be administered in March to about 200 nominees to select students for the 60 available places in the new class.

The Gifted Math Program, in its 21st year, enrolls approximately 280 students from secondary schools in Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties.

The program offers advanced math courses, which replace math classes in students' home schools and are designed to challenge students with high levels of ability. Students in grades seven to 10 study an enriched and accelerated math program; 11th and 12th graders take university-level courses in calculus and discrete math. They complete about four semesters of university-level mathematics as part of the six-year program and may accumulate a total of 22 college-credit hours.

Classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. Seventh and eighth graders attend class from 3:30-6 p.m. and senior high-school students meet from 6:15-8:45 p.m.

A review group established by the National Science Teachers Association, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the American Association of School Administrators recently recognized the program as one of 10 outstanding math-science activities nationwide.

The program was founded by its current director, Betty J. Krist, professor of mathematics at Buffalo State College, and by Gerald R. Rising, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus in the UB Department of Learning and Instruction.

Informational meetings for the families of nominated students and others interested in the program will be held at UB in February.

For more information or to obtain a schedule of informational meetings, call Anne Szczesny, Gifted Math Program administrator, at 645-2455, ext. 1045, or visit the program's Web site at http://wings.buffalo.edu/org/giftedmath