One of the ways for the Reno area to become a technology-based economy, consultants say, is to attract more smart people to live in northern Nevada.
A new school under construction on the University of Nevada, Reno, campus does just that even though some of the really smart people it attracts will be in their early teens.
The school, The Davidson Academy of Nevada, is the brainchild of Jan and Bob Davidson, entrepreneurs who sold their education software company for more than $1 billion.
About six years ago, they decided to focus their lives on the needs of the world's profoundly gifted students the prodigies who are likely to make significant contributions to the world.
The Davidson Academy, a charter public school, is the next step for the couple.
It will open this August, enrolling about 35 middle-school and high-school students, many of whom will be moving to northern Nevada with their families. Nineteen of the initial students come from cities across the United States. One comes from Australia.
John Breternitz, the chairman of the board of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, calls the school "a dream come true" for economic developers hoping to supercharge the region's entrepreneurial economy.
"The education format Bob and Jan Davidson have devised for their academy melds science and business in a way that engenders entrepreneurial thinking," Breternitz says.
Ken Pierson, EDAWN's director of business development, notes that the students' experience at The Davidson Academy may encourage them to return to northern Nevada when they've completed higher education.
And even in the short-term, he says the arrival of the students' parents some of them high-achieving in their own right will add intellectual horsepower to the region's economy.
The new school is in the KNPB Channel 5 building at 1670 N. Virginia St.
Sparks-based Q&D Construction where Breternitz works as a vice president is handling about $750,000 in tenant improvements to get the space ready for classes.
He calls the school one of the most exciting projects Q&D has undertaken in its 42-year history largely because of the energy of the Davidsons.
"Through the planning and construction of this project, they were decisive and focused," he says. "Their enthusiasm is contagious."
