May 2001 – Hunter College has chosen David J. Laurenson to take the helm of its elementary and high school for the intellectually gifted, known as the Hunter Campus
Schools, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. He will start on August 6.Hunter College Interim President Evangelos J. Gizis said, "Dr. Laurenson's previous experience with gifted and talented
students will have a profoundly positive impact on the Hunter community."
Dr. Laurenson will hold two titles: principal of the high school and director of the two Campus Schools. (The elementary
school has its own principal as well.) He fills a position that has been open for two years, during which Christine Cutting served as the acting principal of the high school.
"We were looking for
someone with administrative experience who's also worked with gifted students," said Courtland C. Lee, dean of the School of Education. "They don't always go together." In addition to bringing
the right background, Dean Lee also said that Dr. Laurenson has "a real grasp of the issues concerning the Campus Schools."
The Hunter College Campus Schools (HCCS) consist of an elementary school (nursery
– grade 6) and a high school (grades 7 – 12), with enrollments of approximately 360 and 1200 students, respectively. The schools are publicly funded (tuition-free), chartered by the Board of Trustees of the
City University of New York, and administered by Hunter College. The Campus Schools serve as coeducational laboratory schools, organized as research and demonstration centers for students who exhibit
superior cognitive ability.
Born in New Zealand, Dr. Laurenson earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Auckland in 1966. He moved to Canada in the 1970s and earned a
master's degree in mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. After moving to the United States in the early '90s, Dr. Laurenson earned a Ph.D. in Teaching and Teacher Education from the
University of Arizona.
He leaves a position as executive director/director of external relations at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, a public, residential school for gifted and talented
students from Alabama. During his seven-year tenure there, Dr. Laurenson developed the school's recreational facilities; raised money to renovate buildings; established programs in art, music, and
philosophy as well as a division of institutional advancement; and secured grants for research and innovative programs. Dr. Laurenson held previous posts as principal and assistant principal at
laboratory schools at the University of Toronto, which he said were comparable to those run by Hunter College.
"There are a lot of parallels between the Toronto schools and the Hunter Campus Schools,"
said Laurenson. "There's a camaraderie—the faculty believe in these kids." Dr. Laurenson suspects Hunter's students are "more worldly" but believes the capacity for learning is the same among all
"intellectually curious" children, whether they're from Canada, rural Alabama, or the streets of New York. "They can bring to the table a level of discussion that can be a real challenge to teachers;
the teachers have to be secure and knowledgeable, and not feel threatened." Educators who work with intellectually gifted children, he added, must "make them think, bring out their creativity—not just
give them information."
Dr. Laurenson also said he hopes to reinvigorate the relationship between Hunter's School of Education and the Campus Schools. "I see this relationship as a unique opportunity
for the college's student teachers to interact more closely with gifted students," he said. "I'd like to have a strong affiliation with the college."
Dr. Laurenson is married and has a
daughter. A warm and friendly man, he speaks with an accent that reflects two very different areas in which he has lived, New Zealand and America's Deep South. He is not fazed by the prospect of
relocating from Alabama to New York City; "I've lived in Toronto, which is a big city—I'm going to fit in fine here," he said.
History of the Campus Schools
In 1869, The
Female Normal and High School was established to educate young women for the teaching profession. In 1870, the name was changed to the Normal College of the City of New
York; the school
encompassed both high school and college-level courses. In 1902, the high school and college courses were separated. In 1914, the High School and the College were named for their first president, Dr. Thomas
Hunter. The High School was officially designated as a "laboratory school for the education of intellectually gifted girls" in 1955, and in 1974 boys were admitted for the first time. For many years Hunter
College High School and Hunter College were on the same campus. Since 1977 the Campus Schools (Hunter College Elementary and Hunter College High School) have been located on 94th
Street, between Park and Madison Avenues in Manhattan.
Hunter College High School is a combination junior and senior high school. It is a six-year program that begins in the seventh grade. Each year
approximately 2,500 sixth-grade students from the five boroughs of New York City take the Hunter College High School entrance exam, competing for roughly 240 spaces in the entering class. The seventh grade
is the only entry point. Students must remain New York City residents as long as they are in attendance.
Hunter College Elementary School was established in 1870 as part of the Hunter College Teacher
Education Program. It was originally known as the Hunter Model School; its name changed to its present form in 1941. Its curriculum includes instruction in foreign languages, art, computer
technology, math, music, science, and physical education. Children who are admitted to the HCES may continue their education at the high school as long as academic, residency, and personal conduct
requirements are met. The elementary school is open to students who live in Manhattan.
