# Davidson Academy (Reno, Nevada)

The Davidson Academy is a public school for gifted middle and high school students located in Reno, Nevada on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The school, founded in 2006, is the first university public school in the nation for profoundly gifted (high IQ) students, a unique classification in Nevada legislature. As of the 2024-2025 school year, 169 students are enrolled in the Davidson Academy Reno campus and 100 students are enrolled through the online campus. The Davidson Academy groups students by ability, rather than age, and allows students to take curricula at any level, including university classes as part of a dual-enrollment program with the University of Nevada, Reno. The school was designed with the purpose "to provide profoundly gifted young people an advanced educational opportunity matched to their abilities, strengths and interests." Eligible candidates must score in the 99.9th percentile on accepted intelligence and/or achievement tests (about 145+ on traditional IQ tests); perform at a required academic level; exhibit intellectual and academic achievement; be, or intend to be, residents of Nevada; and pass other criteria such as an in-person assesment. As listed by the Washington Post's Jay Mathews, the Davidson Academy is one of the nation's "Top-performing schools with elite students." The academy was ranked as the #1 Best Public High School in America by Niche.com in 2024 and has the highest average ACT score in the nation.
The average class ratio of students to teachers is currently about 4:1. The academy's directors are Colleen Harsin (Reno campus) and Stacy Hawthorne, Ed.D. (online campus).
In 2017-2018, the academy launched an online option. For the most-up-to-date information, see the online campus section of the academy's website.
The school is a division of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national nonprofit organization established by the Davidsons to support the needs of profoundly gifted children through information resources, networking and educational opportunities, family support, advocacy, and scholarships.

## Academics

The Davidson Academy is consistently ranked as one of the highest-achieving academic schools in the nation, being ranked 4th in the USNews 2023 report. Class sizes are small, with an average of less than 15 students and some classes as small as 3-4 people. Curriculum offered includes math up to differential equations, language instruction in Spanish and Chinese, as well as various electives such as machine learning and animation. Any classes not offered by the academy can usually be taken at the university, where students are encouraged to enroll when their abilities or interests exceed the academy course catalog.

## History

The academy's Reno campus was created following state legislation that passed in 2005 allowing the creation of a "university school for profoundly gifted pupils." Bob and Jan Davidson, previous owners of Davidson & Associates and supporters of gifted education, decided to create the academy as an outgrowth of the Davidson Young Scholar program, upon requests by many of the parents asking them to start a school and saying they would move for their students to attend. A full-time online campus for the Davidson Academy was launched for the 2017-2018 academic year. The online option provides profoundly gifted students across the United States and Canada a "rigorous online academic environment where these students can thrive among their intellectual peers."

## Awards and honors

* Consistently ranked as one of the nation's "Top-performing schools with elite students" by the Washington Post's Jay Mathews.
* Ranked #1 Public High School in America by Niche.com
* 16 out of 25 Davidson Academy seniors were named 2024 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.
* 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Winners of the Nevada Science Bowl.
* One Presidential Scholar each in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020, and two Presidential Scholars in 2017.
* 2023 and 2024 winners of the middle school Nevada Mathcounts competition.
* 2017, 2018, 2022, and 2024 "Elite Eight" team in the International Public Policy Forum.
* Davidson's DECA chapter regularly sends about half of its students to DECA's International Career Development Conference

## Notable alumni

* Taylor Wilson (born 1994), nuclear scientist and youngest person to build a working Farnsworth–Hirsch fusor.