Introduction

A group of community members and school district personnel are concerned that high ability students in your town are not getting the best possible education in high school. They are considering starting a Magnet School, or a school strictly for talented students, which will provide them with the chance for learning more in a specific area. They have formed a committee to explore how to do a better job, but they need your help.

As potential future students at the Magnet School, you are being asked to examine the lives and backgrounds of people who are generally considered to be geniuses in their areas of expertise. Your job is to look for anything these individuals have in common that could be a part of the new high school's curriculum.

Is it possible that all of them have a common characteristic? Is academic or intellectual giftedness enough? Or, could there be something about their education that was similar? Why are these people special? How can a high school be developed to help students achieve greatness?