Croley selected to attend Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University

The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at Western Kentucky University has selected 61 students for its Class of 2012. Included in those 61 students is Claire Croley.

Croley is a student at Williamsburg High School and is the daughter of Debra Croley.

The students in this year’s class span 38 counties from across the Commonwealth. This gifted group of high school sophomores brings with them to the Gatton Academy an average ACT score almost 10 points higher than the statewide average for graduating seniors.

Last fall, 275 students began the admissions process with 125 students qualifying for review. Students were reviewed based on ACT/SAT scores, high school grades, awards, extracurricular activities, responses to essay questions, and letters of recommendation. Earlier this month, 85 candidates were invited for interviews with Academy staff members and representatives from across Kentucky. In the end, 61 dynamic applicants emerged from the review process.

When faced with the talented pool of applicants, Tim Gott, the Academy’s director, knew the program needed to find a way to meet the needs of a greater number of students. Consulting with Academy staff members, a decision was made to expand the student body to 128 students beginning in fall 2010, an increase of nearly 7 percent.

Gott expects these students to continue the level of academic and personal engagement Academy students have demonstrated over the last three years.

“As we begin planning for our fourth year at the Gatton Academy, I am amazed and honored to work with such outstanding students,” Gott said. “The incoming Class of 2012 once again demonstrates the incredible caliber of students from across the Commonwealth. The depth of academic strength and emerging leadership among this group reveals that the state is making a major contribution toward meeting the demand for more professionals in the STEM fields.”

The selected students scored an average composite of 29.2 on the ACT and 29.5 on the math portion of the exam. The highest possible score is 36. The 2009 state average ACT score for graduating Kentucky high school seniors was a composite of 19.4.

“The members of the Gatton Academy’s Class of 2012 have demonstrated they are ready for a greater academic challenge,” said Corey Alderdice, the Academy assistant director for admissions and public relations. “They will bring to WKU a variety of passions and abilities. Our goal will be to sharpen those skills as they grow and mature both academically and socially. Their experiences will be the flagstone in their pursuit to lead Kentucky in the 21st century.”

The incoming class includes students from the following counties: Boone, Bourbon, Boyd, Boyle, Breathitt, Bullitt, Calloway, Campbell, Carroll, Carter, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Graves, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Larue, Laurel, Logan, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Nelson, Oldham, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Simpson, Todd, Warren, Wayne and Whitley.

This year, eight counties had students admitted to the Gatton Academy for the first time: Breathitt, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Montgomery, Rockcastle, Russell and Todd.

To date, the Gatton Academy has admitted students from 95 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.

The goals of the Gatton Academy are to enable Kentucky’s exceptional young scientists and mathematicians to learn in an environment which offers advanced educational opportunities, preparing them for leadership roles in Kentucky. Moreover, the Gatton Academy assists in preparing Kentucky to compete in a knowledge-based economy by increasing the number of scientists and engineers who live and work in the state.

Students will finish their junior and senior years of high school living in Schneider Hall and taking courses offered by WKU. At the end of their two-year course of study, they will graduate from high school and have earned at least 60 college credit hours.

The Academy provides a rich living/learning environment designed specifically for academically talented adolescent students that features clubs, organizations and community service. Additionally students are able to participate in advanced research with WKU faculty members. Research conducted during students’ time at the Gatton Academy has been honored in the nationally competitive Siemens Competition, Intel Science Talent Search, Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, and the Department of Defense Science, Math, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship Program.

The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s only state-supported, residential program for high school students with interests in advanced science and math careers and one of sixteen such programs in the nation. In 2009, Newsweek magazine honored the Academy as one of 16 “Public Elite” American high schools. More information about the Gatton Academy is available online at http://www.wku.edu/academy/