The Governor's School of Texas, formerly the Texas Honors Leadership Program (THLP), is a summer program for academically talented
high school students from
Texas, who have completed their
sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
or
junior years. The program is a member of the
National Conference of Governor's Schools
The National Conference of Governor's Schools (NCoGS) is a United States national organization committed to establishing, supporting, and enriching summer residential governor's school programs. Its members are individuals involved in maintaining ...
. 100 students are selected each year and scholars, who are nominated by their senior counselors, are invited to serve as junior counselors for the following year. Held at
Lamar University in
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...
, the School is an intensive three-week residential program. The program's curriculum is designed to develop skills in
creativity,
problem-solving,
leadership,
negotiation and
conflict resolution, higher-level thinking, research and study skills and ethical decision-making. As an incentive to foster creativity, the program includes no grades or academic credit.
After classes conclude each afternoon, scholars participate in artistic and athletic activities, including
drama,
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
, instrumental ensemble,
tennis, cross country,
strength training,
basketball,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
volleyball and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
.
History
The
Texas Education Agency (TEA) established the Office of
Gifted and Talented Education in 1976 and developed the first state plan for Gifted Education in 1981 and funded the Texas Governor's Honors Program. From 1986 until 1988, the program was held at the
University of Texas at Austin, and in 1989, the program was not held. The Texas Commissioner of Education Dr. Tom Kirby asked Dr. Sisk at Lamar University to plan and develop a Governor's Honors Program, and from 1990–1999 the Texas Governor's Honors Program was held at Lamar. Funding from the Texas Education Agency was withdrawn for 2000–2002; however, Lamar University decided to continue the program by seeking funding from
private foundation
A private foundation is a tax-exempt organization not relying on broad public support and generally claiming to serve humanitarian purposes. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the U.S. with over $38 billion ...
s and individual donors to support the program; and the program was renamed the Texas Honors Leadership Program. In 2008, once again under funding by the TEA, the program reemerged as the Texas Governor's School. As of 2010, there are 4 Governor's School programs in the state of Texas.
Lamar University
The Texas Governor's School for Leadership Development at
Lamar University in
Beaumont is a free three week residential program with focus on leadership in the
Humanities,
Language Arts,
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
, and
Science.
Eligible participants are Texas residents who complete the sophomore or junior year of high school, is enrolled in a tenth or eleventh grade state approved program for gifted students or was in a state approved honors or advanced placement course; or displays outstanding achievement and performance.
Texas A&M University-College Station
at
Texas A&M University in
College Station
College station or College Station may refer to:
Transportation
*College station (MetroLink), a St. Louis light rail station in Saint Clair County, Illinois, United States
*College station (PNR), a Philippine National Railways station in Los Baño ...
is a free three-week, intensive residential summer educational program.
The program is open to high achieving high school students who complete the sophomore or junior year of high school. "High Achieving" must be documented in the application essays by any one or more of the following: top ten percent of high school class; active participation in a gifted and talented program; outstanding scores on achievement tests or TAKS test; leadership in school organizations; leadership in community organizations; significant accomplishments in the arts and humanities.
University of North Texas
In 2003, another Governor's school, focusing on
science and
technology,
The Texas Governor's School in Mathematics and Science, was established at the
University of North Texas in
Denton. A 3-week program, the School focuses on enriching and developing a student's abilities in science and technology as well as exploring the impacts of these fields on past, present, and future societies including
ethics,
history, and
the arts.
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
In 2009, the Texas Higher Education Commission awarded a 3-year grant to
Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi to establish a 3-week residential summer program for 100 gifted and talented high school students who are interested in teaching the subjects of science and math.
The Governor's Academy for Teaching Excellence (GATE) will commence on July 12. Located on the gulf of Mexico, the Island University's program features excursions on research vessels, field trips to the Texas State Aquarium and the national seashore, and the exclusive "kids college" school within a school. You can link to GATE at: gate.tamucc.edu.
External links
Lamar University - Texas Governor's School
References
{{reflist
Educational organizations based in Texas
Governor's Schools