Belin-Blank Center

The Belin-Blank Fellowship Program is residential and will take place in the Blank Honors Center (at the University of Iowa) from July 13 – 17, 2025.

• Application Opens - February 10
• Application Closes - April 1
• Acceptance Decisions Made - May 16
• Registration Payment Due - June 13

The specific goals of the Belin-Blank Fellowship Program are to help participants:

• Learn effective new ways to recognize gifted/talented students and meet their unique affective needs;
• Enhance their abilities to meet the different academic needs of gifted/talented students;
• Act as an effective resource in gifted education for other educators in their schools and districts;
• Review their new knowledge and skills for applications to ALL youngsters in their classes;
• Nurture the sense of social responsibility in the use and development of talents among gifted students.

Fellowship holders will be expected to:

• Complete all preliminary writing assignments and readings required by the instructor;
• Organize and/or support research that is designed to enhance his/her own teaching and further the goals of the Belin-Blank Fellowship Program;
• Make her/his classroom available to colleagues, administrators, and other educators for observations of new strategies;
• Plan and implement new ideas and instructional techniques for gifted students in his or her classroom;
• Lead others in the district to help develop a greater understanding of gifted students;
• Educate others by providing substantive in-services supporting the needs of gifted learners in the district;
• Try to keep current on new literature and developments in gifted education;
• Enjoy the full four days of the Fellowship experience!

All application materials must be submitted online by April 1, 5PM CST. 

Here's how to apply:

1. Complete the online application. The link is found on the Belin-Blank Talent Development website.
2. As part of your online application, you will provide an administrator email address so the Belin-Blank Center can send them a recommendation form. If needed, here is a button on this website where an administrator can access the recommendation form.
   
   By completing the recommendation form, the administrator is agreeing to pay the fee to help defray costs. In addition, administrators are encouraged to provide their Fellow(s) with time over the course of the school year to share their learning with others and foster additional professional learning in advanced learners and meeting their needs (including the annual state conference).

The Belin-Blank Center will evaluate completed candidate applications and administrator recommendation forms. Preference is given to Iowa educators who have received little to no training in meeting the needs of talented students. Accepted Fellows will be notified via email in mid-May.