St. Aug’s Gifted Academy challenges young students

While a dozen or so boys were exploring the body’s organ systems in one classroom, others were simultaneously gaining skills in leadership, time management, test taking, coding and gaming during the recent, two-week St. Augustine High School’s Gifted Academy.

For the past three years, St. Augustine has opened its doors for summer enrichment to 55 boys, ages 6-13.

“The goal is to keep the students engaged in the STEM area in the summertime, support learning new things and look for boys who are curious in science and technology,” Gifted Academy coordinator Areah Bocage said. “As an educator, I know we have that summer gap. If their minds are not engaged in some form of educational enrichment, students may lose some of the content they gained in the previous school year.”

The Gifted Academy began as a pilot program in 2019 with a grant from the Daughters of Charity, said Bocage, a certified math teacher and school administrator. It initially concentrated on science, technology (coding), engineering (hands-on projects) and math. 

With a recent infusion of $700,000 from a two-year W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant, the 2021 Gifted Academy added a leadership component called “exploratory,” where public speaking, communication and leadership skills are honed alongside STEM offerings. 

“We’re excited by this,” said Pearl Algere-Lonian, manager of corporate and foundations relations for St. Augustine School, who wrote the grant. “This is an opportunity to take the skills that we have been successful at with older students and begin to incorporate those kinds of experiences with students at much younger age.” 

In addition, the grant made possible the hiring of full-time math and science teachers and part-time teachers for after-school tutoring, Saturday field trips and other year-round activities, Algere-Lonian said.

“We want to see these young men develop self-confidence and leadership potential, perform at significantly higher parameters on standardized testing and attend high school taking more AP classes that develop and expand their interest in STEM and arts disciplines,” Algere-Lonian said. “So, when they graduate from high school, they can enroll in any university in this country and succeed.”

Positive effects
Bocage said the academy strives to take STEM concepts and teach participants how to apply them to real life. A recent discussion brought the concept of the Green New Deal – debated currently at a national level – into the classroom. New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board representatives explained the path of toilet paper once it is flushed, where it winds up and how waste is broken down. In a coding class, students used 3-D printing to make name tags.

Through these experiences, Bocage has witnessed shy students morph into outgoing leaders during the Gifted Academy.

“I like the academy because it really helps me get out of my comfort zone, and it teaches me things I wouldn’t learn in school,” said Branden Villavaso, a rising Audubon Charter School seventh grader who has enjoyed three summers at the academy. “We learned about probabilities and a good bit about biology and how animals evolve.”

Other participants, like Zach Thornton, 13, who will attend eighth grade at St. Aug in August, advanced from a camper to junior counselor this year. A recent Christian Brothers School graduate, he said the gifted academy gave him opportunities to learn new things and prepared him to be a top-notch student with advanced skills.

“I met a lot of new friends who are coming with me to St. Aug this year and learned a lot of stuff like how to code, dissecting, how to build towers out of marshmallows, and we built a car out of Legos and raced them,” he said.

In addition to academics, St. Augustine’s Gifted Academy has twice-weekly field trips “to expand what we are learning and to look at it from a different facet,” Bocage said, such as exploring ecosystems outdoors.

An exit interview helps the academy determine offerings for the next year, Bocage said.

Ultimate goal
“In its 60-year history, the community is very familiar with what St. Augustine produces,” Bocage said. “With our program, we hope to capture the kids early enough to see who has what, how we can support them and enhance the knowledge they already have, so if they indeed intend to become a Purple Knight, that Purple potential is maximized early on.

“We know those high school years go very quickly, and we’re trying to make sure when the students ultimately enroll, they come well-prepared and well-versed and are ready to take advantage of what the school offers.”

Enrollment is year-round for expanded Gifted Academy. Call Algere-Lonian at (504) 944-2424, ext. 313. 

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