North Carolina Governor’s School was founded in 1963 as a way to supplement the educational needs of gifted students. Former NC Governor Terry Sanford created the program to teach modern concepts and cross-disciplinary thinking. NCGS was the first program of its type, but 47 similar programs in 34 states now exist for exceptional students across the United States.
The homepage of NC Governor’s School describes the program as “a six-week summer residential program for intellectually gifted high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses…[focusing] on the exploration of the most recent ideas and concepts in each discipline.” The Governor’s School of North Carolina is funded by the NC General Assembly, allowing 800 students to attend the program each year. NCGS is held on two campuses–East at Meredith College, and West at Salem College.
Students attend classes in a primary area, such as Math, Science, English, and Music, which are supplemented by two classes that discuss philosophy and personal experience. Required and optional seminars cover topics in contemporary thought and feature speakers from universities and organizations in the US. In-depth information on the curriculum of Governor’s School can be found here.
Students are required to sign an honor code and abide by the rules contained in the Governor’s School Student Handbook.
January 11, 2009 at 7:01 pm |
I attended the North Carolina Governor’s School in 1982 and considered it appalling.
See my full critique at
http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Setzer/North_Carolina_Governors_School_Experience.shtml
In my opinion, a summer school dual enrollment of nine credit hours at my local community college would have delivered far more value to me.
Taxpayers should scrutinize Governor’s School closely to see exactly how these anointed visionaries spend their money and then apply to those expenditures the Governor’s School motto: “Accept Nothing. Challenge Everything.”
I personally consider Governor’s School a waste of tax dollars in the face of a dual enrollment program that places the burdens of food, shelter, and babysitting back onto the shoulders of parents where they belong.