December 3, 2001

The Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development has received unexpected, but much appreciated recognition for its website. The Tufts University Child & Family WebGuide gives it five stars - the highest rating possible - making the website part of an elite group.

The evaluation is based on four criteria: authority, content, ease of use, and stability of the site. The Neag Center's site was found to be "a useful and extensive resource of enrichment programs and links for families and those working with children."

Joseph Renzulli, director of the Neag Center, says the credit belongs to Siamak Vahidi, webmaster, and Susannah Richards, a research associate, who generate many creative ideas for the site and put in long hours keeping the site going and the information up-to-date.

The Tufts WebGuide is a not-for-profit resource that identifies, describes and evaluates websites that contain the most credible child development information available. Only a small percentage of sites pass the rigorous screening process by the group, and of those that do, less than 10 percent receive the five-star award. Noted experts in the field, Fred Rogers, David Elkind and Edward Zigler, helped guide the creation of the service.

The Neag Center site is located at http://www.gifted.uconn.edu./

Janice Palmer