In the summer of 2006 the Carmel Hill Fund Monroe program began its Summer Institute for the gifted program. Every summer, the foundation provides scholarships for gifted and talented students from Monroe, Louisiana to attend the Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG). Students attend SIG sites at the University of Texas-Austin, University of California-Berkley, Dartmouth and Princeton during the summer.

At SIG, students live on college campuses for three weeks and take advanced classes in humanities, math and sciences, visual and performing arts, and fitness and recreation. Students learn through hands-on activities: building rockets, solving mysteries, learning to fence, producing talent shows, test-taking strategies and learning new languages. Our students make friends from all over the world and gain the experience of a lifetime.

Students selected to attend SIG have scored in the 95th percentile in reading on a nationally norm-referenced test. These gifted students choose a college site and create their own academic and recreational schedule. The Carmel Hill Fund Education Program sponsors these students and provides transportation to and from the college campuses.