Gifted Math Program Seeks Nominees for Fall 2005 Class

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Gifted Math Program is accepting nominations from parents and schools of outstanding sixth-grade mathematics students for its Fall 2005 class.

Some 200 nominees are expected to apply for the 60 available positions. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 31, 2005.

Nominees must complete a three-hour battery of tests, including the math section of the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), to be administered in March.

Informational meetings for the families of nominated students and others interested in the program will be held at UB in February. For information or to obtain a schedule of information meetings, call Anne Szczesny, Gifted Math Program administrator at 645-2455, ext. 1045, or visit http://giftedmath.buffalo.edu.

The Gifted Math Program, in its 25th year, enrolls approximately 250 students from secondary schools in Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties. The six-year program is designed to challenge students with high levels of math ability. Its advanced math courses replace math classes in students' home schools.

Seventh through 10th graders enrolled in the program study an enriched and accelerated math curriculum; 11th and 12th graders take university-level courses in calculus and discrete math, which studies phenomena that are not continuous, but happen in small, or discrete, chunks, including graph theory (networks), counting techniques and coloring theory. All complete about four semesters of university-level mathematics as part of the program and may accumulate a total of 22 college credit hours.

The Fall 2005 classes will meet Mondays and Wednesdays on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. Seventh and eighth graders will attend two classes from 3:30-6 p.m. and senior high-school students will meet in two classes from 6:15- 8:45 p.m. Class sizes range from about 30 students in seventh-grade.

classes to 25 students in 12th-grade classes. A seventh-year course has been added for students who wish to study for mathematics competitions and to review their calculus skills.

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 emerita in the mathematics department at Buffalo State College, and by Gerald R. Rising, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus in the UB Department of Learning and Instruction.