Hungry Minds
Some kids finish their work early.
They read three grade levels ahead. They ask questions their teacher doesn’t have time for. They get bored before lunch and stare out the window. They build the worksheet’s harder version in their head while everybody else is still on problem one.
If you have a kid like this, you already know. You don’t need a label. You just need to know what’s out there for them.
Bowling Green has more gifted programs than most cities its size. Western Kentucky University runs nationally known summer programs. Local theaters and arts studios run camps for kids who love to act, sing, and create. Both school districts have gifted and talented programs in the public schools. Vanderbilt University, ninety minutes south, runs more.
Most of these programs are free or have financial aid for families who qualify. Some have applications that open in the fall. Some have testing requirements. Some are residential summer camps. Some are weekend academies. The list below tells you what each one is and how to start.
If your kid has been identified as gifted at school and you’re not sure what comes next, the second part of this page explains how the system works in Kentucky.
If you want to read more about raising a gifted kid, the third part links to the best resources we know about.
This list is not every program for gifted kids in Warren County. It is the places we know about. If you know a place we missed, tell us and we will add it.
Programs to Enroll In
Center for Gifted Studies at WKU
The Center for Gifted Studies has been running gifted programs at Western Kentucky University for over forty years. They run all the WKU programs listed below, plus year-round assessment and identification services. If you are starting from scratch, start here.
Super Saturdays at WKU (Grades 1 through 8)
Saturday morning classes during the school year for kids in grades 1 through 8. Three sessions a year (fall, winter, spring). Kids pick from courses like creative writing, robotics, forensic science, theater, and rocketry. The classes are taught at WKU by professors and graduate students. Modest fee with financial aid available.
Arts and theater
Strings Academy at WKU (Music for Kids)
String instrument lessons for kids of all ages and skill levels. Violin, viola, cello, and bass. Group classes and private lessons taught by WKU faculty and graduate students. Music education does real things for a young brain. Tuition-based with scholarships available.
Art Matters Community Studio & Gallery (Visual Art)
A community visual art studio and gallery in Bowling Green. Classes, workshops, and open studio time for kids who like to draw, paint, sculpt, and make things. Different programs for different ages.
Public Theatre of Kentucky (Theater Camps)
PTK runs summer theater camps for kids in elementary and middle school. Kids learn acting, singing, and stage movement, and put on a real show by the end of the week. For kids who light up on stage, this is the place to start.
BG OnStage at SKyPAC (Performing Arts)
The education arm of the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center. Year-round classes, ensembles, and summer camps for kids who want to act, sing, dance, or work backstage. SKyPAC is the major performance venue in town, so kids who train here perform on a real stage in front of real audiences.
Summer camps and academic programs
Camp Innovate at WKU (Elementary Day Camp)
A summer day camp at WKU for elementary school kids. One or two weeks of hands-on STEM, creative writing, problem-solving, and games. Kids commute each day. A great first taste of what the harder stuff feels like.
SCATS at WKU (Grades 6 through 8, Residential)
Summer Camp for Academically Talented Students. A two-week residential program at WKU for kids in grades 6 through 8. Kids live in dorms, take college-style classes, and spend two weeks with peers who think like they do. For many kids, the friendships they make at SCATS are the friendships they keep through high school.
VAMPY at WKU (Grades 7 through 10, Residential)
Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth. A three-week residential program at WKU for kids in grades 7 through 10. Older, longer, and more intense than SCATS. Many of the students who go on to Gatton Academy and other elite programs came up through VAMPY first.
Vanderbilt PTY (Nashville, All Ages)
Programs for Talented Youth at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Summer camps, weekend academies, and online courses for gifted kids of all ages. Vanderbilt is a top twenty research university, ninety minutes south of Bowling Green. Financial aid available.
Davidson Young Scholars (National, Profoundly Gifted)
A free national program for kids who score in the top 0.1 percent on standardized tests. The Davidson Institute provides educational consulting, family support, online community, and access to scholarships. If your kid is years ahead of grade level, this is worth applying to.
In your school district
Warren County Schools Gifted and Talented
Warren County Public Schools runs a gifted and talented program in every elementary, middle, and high school. If your child has been identified as gifted, the school district has services and support already built in. Ask your school’s gifted coordinator about specific programs.
Bowling Green Independent Schools Gifted and Talented
Bowling Green city schools have their own gifted and talented program, separate from Warren County Schools. If you live within Bowling Green city limits, this is the program for you. Talk to your school’s gifted coordinator about identification and services.
How Gifted Education Works in Kentucky
Kentucky law requires every public school district to identify and serve gifted students. The legal framework is laid out in 704 KAR 3:285, which is the regulation that tells districts what they have to do. You don’t need to read the regulation, but it is good to know it exists.
In elementary school, identification often starts with the Primary Talent Pool, called PTP. The PTP is a way schools watch and document kids who show signs of gifted behavior in grades K through 3, before formal testing happens. Read the PTP brochure from the Kentucky Department of Education for the full picture.
If your kid is in a public school in Kentucky, ask their teacher about gifted services. If you do not get a clear answer, ask to talk to the district’s gifted coordinator. Every district has one. They are the person who knows what programs your kid qualifies for and how to get into them.
If you want the official parent guide from the state, the Kentucky Department of Education publishes Nurturing Our Future: A Parent’s Guide to Meeting the Needs of Kentucky’s Gifted and Talented Youth. It is free and detailed.
For Parents Who Want to Learn More
Raising a gifted kid is its own thing. These four resources are the best places to start.
Hoagies’ Gifted Education
The unofficial bible of parent gifted resources online. Hoagies’ has been around for decades and links to almost every legitimate gifted resource in existence. Start here if you don’t know where to start.
Kentucky Association for Gifted Education (KAGE)
The state-level organization for gifted education in Kentucky. They publish resources for parents and teachers, hold conferences, and advocate for gifted programming statewide. Worth following if you want to stay current with what is happening in Kentucky.
Davidson Guides to Twice-Exceptional Students
Twice-exceptional, or 2e, means a kid who is both gifted and has a disability or learning difference. Like a gifted kid with ADHD. Or a gifted kid with autism. Or a gifted kid with dyslexia. 2e is real, common, and often missed by both gifted and special education systems. If you suspect your kid might be 2e, this guide is the place to start.
NAGC Family Tip Sheets
The National Association for Gifted Children publishes free tip sheets for parents on specific topics: perfectionism, social-emotional needs, talking to teachers, helping a gifted kid through transitions. Short, practical, free.
A note from Sarah
I went through Super Saturdays at WKU when I was in elementary school. I performed with WKU Strings Academy and had violin lessons. I spent years with Ms. Christmas at ART Matters. I did PTK’s Acting camp as a kid. I also did BG On Stage. The programs on this page are not theoretical. They are the programs I grew up in.
I would not be the same person without WKU’s gifted programs, WKU’s Strings Academy, ART Matters and all the acting classes. They were where I learned that being smart was something you could practice, not something you were stuck with. If your kid is curious, push them toward these programs. They are free or close to free. They are run by people who care. They will change your kid’s life.
— Sarah Pannell, Creator of Bowling Green Neighbors and BGHS Student
Know a program that should be on this list? Email us and we will add it!