SAVY Student Life

Fall and Spring SAVY

SAVY Saturday classes are designed to provide students access to interesting topics, to teach students higher-order thinking skills, and to encourage development of conceptual frameworks for understanding new knowledge. We encourage students to enroll in classes that sound interesting to them. The short sessions provide students the opportunity to enroll in a class they already know they will love or take an intellectual risk and sign up for a class they have little experience so they can explore a possible new area of interest!

Session Structure

Fall and Spring programs typically meet for three consecutive Saturdays. Students enroll in the session and attend all three Saturdays, taking the same class each day of the session. Classes meet from 9 AM to 2:30 PM.

Sample Schedule for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023

Lunch

Students will be provided a box lunch or pizza lunch for each SAVY day. Lunch is included as part of the tuition fee. Dietary restrictions will be collected after admission into the program. Feel free to contact our office for additional questions or concerns (savy.pty@vanderbilt.edu).

Summer SAVY

SAVY classes are designed to provide in-depth study on interesting topics, to teach students higher-order thinking skills, and to encourage development of conceptual frameworks for understanding new knowledge. Vanderbilt faculty and graduate students, Programs for Talented Youth, the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary, and the University of Connecticut have designed some of SAVY’s curriculum. Many of the published units used at SAVY have won the Outstanding Curriculum Award from the National Association for Gifted Children, have been well researched, and have been shown to be effective with this unique population of learners.

Sample Schedule

Session Structure

Students gain experience in a rigorous and engaging environment by participating in an academic course taught by Vanderbilt scholars, graduate students, content experts, or educators.

These full-day courses provide an in-depth look into a discipline and expose students to the habits of scholars. Students participate in one course for the entire week. Courses are also designed to be fun!

Lunch

Students should plan to bring a lunch and water bottle for the day from home. Morning and afternoon snack will be provided for summer SAVY.

Organized Recreational Activities (ORA)

All SAVY students have a 25–30 minute period of structured recess that is built into each SAVY day. Led by trained PE teachers from local schools, ORA gives SAVY students a chance to engage socially with grade-level peers in a fun, non-academic setting. ORA typically takes place outdoors on Peabody campus, weather permitting.

Career Connections at SAVY

Similar to SAVY, Career Connections courses offer accelerated opportunities where students explore a topic in depth with like-ability peers.

Different from SAVY, these courses have a particular focus on how content knowledge is applied in unique ways in different fields or industries. Students will gain a better understanding of the importance of knowledge application as they begin to envision possible careers in content areas that most interest them.

Sample Schedule

Lunch Options

Career Connections at SAVY Students have the option to eat in the Commons Dining Hall when it is open, just like college students at Vanderbilt. There are two meal options for students. Students may bring lunch from home to eat in the dining hall or may pre-purchase lunch for the week from the dining hall. Pre-purchase options will be sent to families after admission into the program.

Organized Recreational Activities (ORA)

All Career Connections at SAVY students have a 25–30 minute period of structured recess that is built into each day. Led by trained PE teachers from local schools, ORA gives students a chance to engage socially with grade-level peers in a fun, non-academic setting. ORA typically takes place outdoors on Peabody campus, weather permitting.