Released March 1, 2005

HATTIESBURG – A study to determine best practices in screening, identifying, and serving potentially gifted preschool students is being conducted by the Frances A. Karnes Center for Gifted Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi through a series of workshops being held in April.

The workshops, which are being offered free of charge, are designed to help participants understand the best ways of identifying and serving potentially gifted preschoolers and to help secure appropriate educational experiences for all young children.

Four sessions will be conducted throughout the state by researchers from the center to share information gathered from the study with administrators, educators, and parents. The sessions have been scheduled in the following cities:

Biloxi - Tuesday, April 5 (9 a.m.-noon)

Hattiesburg - Thursday, April 14 (8:30-11:30 a.m.)

Jackson - Tuesday, April 19 (9 a.m.-noon

Columbus - Friday, April 22 (9:30-11:30 a.m.)

For more information and to register for the complimentary conference, contact the Frances A. Karnes Center for Gifted Studies at (601) 266-5236 or (601) 266-5246 or via e-mail at gifted.studies@usm.edu.

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