WKU News

Dr. Lynette Breedlove, a prominent gifted and talented educator from Texas, has been named Director of the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at WKU.

Dr. Lynette Breedlove

Dr. Breedlove, who will start at the end of July, will succeed Dr. Tim Gott. Dr. Gott, Gatton Academy’s first director, retired this month.

“The Gatton Academy is a remarkable place for bright and gifted high school students to thrive and pursue their areas of passion,” Dr. Breedlove said. “The academy is a clear demonstration of Kentucky legislators’ commitment to the education of high ability students and to the state’s future. Through the dedicated support of Western Kentucky University’s president, provost and faculty, the Gatton Academy has been well established within the University ensuring the academy’s success. The staff of the Academy has carefully created a warm and supportive community within which students flourish. I am honored to lead the Academy as it continues to develop and serve exceptional students of Kentucky.”

Dr. Breedlove is with the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas, where she has been the Director of Advanced Academic Studies since 2005. In 2011, she became the Director of Advanced Academic Studies and Secondary Counseling.

Prior to Spring Branch, she was the Coordinator of the Gifted and Talented Program at the Fort Bend Independent School District in Sugar Land, Texas.

She holds a doctorate in educational psychology from Texas A & M University in College Station; a master of education from the University of St. Thomas in Houston; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

Dr. Breedlove has been active in state and national professional organizations, and is treasurer of The Association for the Gifted – Council for Exceptional Children and Education Committee Chair of the National Association for the Gifted.

“My most precious accomplishment has been the establishment of a public school for highly gifted students which will eventually expand to meet the needs of students kindergarten through 12^th grade,” she said. “It was a long journey but well worth it based on the feedback from parents and students.”

Dr. Julia Link Roberts, Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies and Executive Director of The Center for Gifted Studies and The Gatton Academy, said naming Dr. Breedlove as director “opens a new chapter in the history of the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. She is an outstanding educator with leadership experiences that make her a perfect fit for the Gatton Academy. I am honored to welcome Dr. Breedlove as director of the Gatton Academy.”

WKU President Gary Ransdell said he was delighted Dr. Breedlove had accepted the appointment.

“We are very proud of what the Gatton Academy has achieved through its students, faculty and leadership,” he said. “We look forward to Lynette’s leadership as we seek new and bolder dimensions for the Gatton Academy.”

About the Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, the Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s high school for gifted and talented junior and seniors. Gatton Academy students enroll early as full-time WKU students to pursue their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. Newsweek named the Gatton Academy the number one public high school in the United States in 2012 and 2013.