History and grammar lessons aren't really David Lubling-Kolbow's thing. At a charter school in Southern California, the 12-year-old found himself bored in class and often distracted. Preferring science and math, David has goals of becoming an inventor and a physicist. He is particularly interested in theoretical physics, such as time-travel and the hypothetical existence of wormholes.

"David's principal said that he needed more of a challenge (than she was able to offer) ... a program where the sky is the limit," said Eve Lubling, David's mother.

So she and her husband began the hunt for a new school. They discovered an academy in Reno set to open its doors for the first time Monday - an academy started by two Incline Village residents.

Jan and Bob Davidson donated $15 million last year to create the Davidson Academy of Nevada, a one-of-a-kind public school for "profoundly gifted" children. The Davidsons have long championed the idea that our educational system should do as much to push gifted students ahead as guarantee that those with the least ability don't get left behind.

"We've always been very passionate about education, (and felt) that this was a population that nobody was serving," Jan Davidson said of the kind of students who will be attending the academy - students like David, who said he's very excited for his first day of school Monday.

"I think that professors, since they have experience in teaching a lot of kids and are specialists in (their) fields, will help me achieve my goals ... I want a curriculum that focuses more on science than on history and grammar, since I'm not really interested in that stuff," he said.

The academy will have between 35 to 40 middle and high school-aged students this year, many of whom have moved to Nevada specifically to attend the academy. It is located on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, and students will have the option of taking college-level classes for credit and of using the university's research facilities. Within a few years, the Davidsons hope to graduate approximately 100 students annually.

The Davidsons are no strangers to the world of high-end academic philanthropy. In 1997 - the year they moved to Incline Village - they sold their interest in Davidson & Associates, a publically-traded software firm that released educational titles like MathBlaster! and owned the award-winning Blizzard Entertainment label. That same year, they founded the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a non-profit organization which funds scholarships and fellowships for students with remarkable academic achievement, cognitive abilities and artistic talents. Many of these students have published works of fiction and scientific research before their 18th birthdays.

Despite the success of the institute's programs, many parents - such as Lubling-Kolbow's - felt that their local schools were simply not able to meet their children's needs and asked the Davidsons to consider opening a school for gifted children. Though the Davidsons said they were initially skeptical of the idea, they soon realized how strong a demand there was.

"It was the families who asked us to start a residential school," Jan Davidson said. "We always had a stock answer (to that question) which was that we can't put a school for profoundly gifted students in every place that wants one. But basically, the families said 'If you build it, we will come.'"

After deciding to donate the $15 million, the Davidsons sought a way to make their new "super-magnet" school part of the public school system.

"No other state in the country has established a school like this," Bob Davidson said. "This will have a positive influence on UNR, on Northern Nevada and on the state as a whole."

Making that happen, however, required the Nevada assembly to pass legislation creating a third category of public schools, of which the Davidson Academy is currently the only member. That legislation allows the academy to both admit or deny students based on their academic achievement and to have its students learn at whatever pace suits them best.

"We're not totally (fixated) on grade level," Bob Davidson said. "We intend to teach (students) on whatever level is most appropriate for them. If a student was at the 11th-grade level in math, but only at the 7th-grade level in language skills, we'd teach them at both of those levels."

Admissions to the academy are, understandably, very competitive. For instance, in order to be considered for admission, a student must either test in the fourth quartile on IQ tests - i.e. be in the top 99.87 percent - and receive extremely high ACT or SAT scores. Additionally, students must present three recommendations from teachers or other results, and must demonstrate proficiency in all subjects at their grade level.

For more information, visit the academy's Web site at www.davidsonacademy.unr.edu/



Staff writer Tom Meyer can be reached at 831-4666 ext. 112 or at tmeyer@tahoebonanza.com.