We are pleased to have Shelagh Gallagher, Ph.D. as the developer of PSA’s curriculum. Dr. Gallagher received her Ph.D. in Special Education, with an emphasis in gifted education, at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. She spent her early career at two of the nations’ prestigious public residential high schools for gifted students, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA).
Dr. Gallagher left IMSA to go to the College of William and Mary where she was project manager of the initiative that produced the respected William and Mary science units. From 1995 to 2007 she taught licensure and masters’ degree courses in gifted education at UNC Charlotte, and where she also directed two federal grants developing curriculum for gifted students.
A longtime member of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), Dr. Gallagher has served on the Board of Directors and has twice won NAGC Curriculum Division awards. She has also served on the board of the North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented. She is widely published and conducts workshops nationwide on a range of topics. She and her father, Dr. James Gallagher, are co-authors of Teaching the Gifted Child.
PSA was formed by a group of parents and educators seeking a unique educational experience for high ability students. They wanted a school setting that provided academic challenge in all subjects (not just math and English language arts) and met the social and emotional needs of Gifted students.