Welcome!  This program at Old Town School Department began through the hard work of staff, parents, students, and school board members advocating for students who have significantly different needs than their peers.  The first staff hiring was in July of 2005, when the Board funded a 2/3 time Coordinator of Gifted & Talented Services, focused on K-8 programming.  Currently, we serve students K-12 with one full-time Coordinator and three part-time tutors (~0.75 FTE). 

Gifted education programming is a coordinated and comprehensive structure of informal and formal services provided on a continuing basis intended to effectively nurture gifted learners. (NAGC, 2000)

Gifted learners are “Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.” (No Child Left Behind, 2002)

Program Philosophy

 Our goal is to develop a program that is:

• sustainable:  most development efforts should result in long-term successes which do not rely on a single staff person
• effective:  programming should consistently and appropriately challenge and support students
• comprehensive:  programming should challenge and support students academically, socially, and emotionally, as research shows “G/T” students have different needs than their peers in each of these areas
• non-elitist:  some “G/T” programs nationally are plagued by competition to be labeled with the title “Gifted”, or to access exclusive programming.  Our program is focused on student needs and open access, rather than on labels.  Programming will be developed to meet the needs of identified students, but may be accessed by many other students.  The program should be effective but essentially invisible to students and visitors; “G/T” programming is one of the many adjustments our professional educators make in classes to meet the needs of our diverse students.  Pullout groups may be part of appropriate programming, but making more options available in the normal classroom experience will be the focus. 
•  sensible:  as we develop an exceptional program, we will choose options that focus first on enrichment and increased breadth of knowledge, and use vertical acceleration as necessary for students who exhaust reasonable enrichment options.  Through this philosophy, we will provide appropriate education to high-ability students while maximizing interaction with age peers. 

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Long-Term Staffing Goal:  full-time equivalent teacher in Old Town Elementary School, Leonard Middle School, and Old Town High School, one of those teachers to have the responsibilities of “district-wide coordination.  Teaching positions to be supported by curriculum development funds, tutoring funds, distance education and college course funds, etc. 

Present Staffing:  Coordinator of Gifted and Talented Services (K-12), 3 part-time tutors (~0.75 FTE).

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Definitions of "Talent Pool" and "Chapter 104" Students

We are developing a program guided by the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (Renzulli, University of Connecticut ).  As we implement this program, we identify two groups of students:

          “Talent Pool Students:  This group includes students who often need different lessons or activities than their age peers.  Common characteristics include high ability, academic success, quick mastery and recall of information, early reading ability, etc.  Our program includes focused curriculum development to create lessons that meet the needs of this population, while studying topics similar to their age peers.

          “Chapter 104 Students”:  We frequently use this label, rather than "Gifted & Talented", as each of our community's students has talents to be proud of and to share.  We identify a few students for Chapter 104 services when it has become clear to staff that these students' needs are so exceptional that their educational needs to be carefully monitored for appropriate challenge and support.  There is no single “picture” of a gifted learner, but exceptionally quick mastery (often mastering a new skill with 1-2 repetitions), exceptional recall of information, exceptional abstract thinking ability, consistent scoring in the 98^th or 99^th percentile, etc., are common characteristics.  Historically speaking, many programs nationwide required tested IQ above 130 (an exceptionally high score) for admission. 

The following chart may help illustrate the difference what it means to be a “Gifted and Talented” learner:

(Source: Janice Szabos, Challenge Magazine, Tennessee Association for the Gifted: http://www.tag-tenn.org

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Maine Chapter 104 (excerpt)

Gifted and talented programs in the State are to be based on the following educational principles:

1.       Gifted and talented children need to move at their own rate, regardless of chronological age or grade placement; therefore, academic subjects, including the fine arts, shall be taught to them in an manner that allows them to learn at their appropriate instructional level and at their own pace.

2.     Gifted and talented children need diversity in their educational experiences; therefore, diverse and appropriate learning experiences shall be offered through variety of program models, instructional strategies and materials.

3.     Gifted and talented children need to be challenged to develop their abilities and potential; therefore, specialized curricula that are advanced, conceptually complex and carefully differentiated from regular curricula shall be provided in lieu of the regular curricula.

4.     Gifted and talented children's needs vary as they progress through the elementary and secondary grades; instructional settings shall be appropriate to their changing needs.

5.     Highly gifted and talented children may need further modifications to their educational programs; therefore, appropriate adjustments or alternatives to their gifted and talented programs must be made.

(full text of Chapter 104 is available through www.megat.org)

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Identification of "Talent Pool" and "Chapter 104" students

Students are identified as part of the "Talent Pool" or for Chapter 104 services by a committee in each school (which includes a teacher, an administrator, and the Coordinator of G/T Services).  Students may be brought to the attention of the identification committee by anyone (staff, parents, community members, self-referral, peer referral).  The committee will consider all available information (including assessment data, statements by parents and teachers, characteristics rating scales, etc.) to determine whether a student ought to be identified.  If a parent or student disagrees with the committee's decision, they may elect to appeal that decision to the Superintendent. 

Referral forms are available on this web page. 

"Talent Pool" identification may happen in all grades (K-12), while "Chapter 104" identification will occur in grades 3-12.  Research shows that identifying very young students as “Gifted and Talented” often later proves inaccurate.  Early learning opportunities and nurturing activities (pre-school, storytime, enriching toys, etc.) heavily influence children’s performance in early grades, leading to over-identification of students as “Gifted and Talented”.

The Selection Committee will use the following guidelines to inform their decision:

Identification Committee Guidelines (.pdf)

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Advisory Committee

The staff responsible for programming will be advised annually by the “Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee”.  The committee includes:

• An administrator representing each grade span
• Curriculum Coordinator
• A School Board member
• A teacher representing each grade span
• Parents of 1-3 students in the Old Town School Department
• A student

Discussion topics will include:

• The process of identifying Gifted and Talented students
• Programming
• Use of community resources
• Professional development
• Staffing
• Goal-setting for the next year

Individual students will not be discussed. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

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