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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)-- A new Academy for Gifted and Talented middle school students is coming to Huntsville City Schools.

At a work session Monday evening, Superintendent Casey Wardynski and the board voted to establish it.

Leaders say it's for students in grades 6-8, and will be at Williams Middle School. AGT starts next fall, and this month through March the school system will be recruiting fifth graders to come into the program. The magnet will start with just 50 sixth graders and grow year by year to a full capacity of 150 students.

"They have an opportunity to be in an environment with like-minded individuals who think like them," said Tammy Summerville, Director of Magnet Programs. She said they're looking for a diverse group of students who are "problem-solvers, creative thinkers, [and] communicators."

The magnet boasts problem and project-based learning, along with opportunities for field studies and mentorships. Wendy Graham, Gifted Services Coordinator, said the students will be clustered for content area studies and there will be a pathway built into the magnet to New Century Technology High School for engineering, biomedical, and computer science programs.

"As a parent, I look at my child and what's best for her, and so this might be an extra opportunity for her that would help her in her future," commented Traci Hicks, a parent who is already interested in the magnet.

Summerville said students will also participate in a learning showcase. They announced the slogan for the magnet is, "Where learning is an expedition." Teachers involved in the new magnet will have specialties in gifted and talented education.

Students who wish to be involved in the magnet will be required to apply at the proper time, submit writing samples, have teacher recommendations, and be designated as a gifted and talented students. Admission will also be based on ACT scores and report cards. Once they're accepted, Superintendent Casey Wardynski said transportation would be provided from the student's home-zoned school to Williams Middle School.

Educators are excited for this program. They say there aren't gifted and talented programs currently offered to Huntsville middle schoolers, and this would change that. But there aren't any magnets like this in the state. When this begins, it would be a first.

Interest in Huntsville's growing magnet programs is strong. Summerville said nearly 1,500 students applied for them last year. Some parents wonder, though, how this new magnet will affect gifted students' interest in the others.

"To pull [those students] from those programs, I'm concerned about how that might hurt the [magnets], explained Hicks.

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