Maine's commitment to High Achievers
Gifted and Talented Updates for SY 23-24
Annual Application/District Update Survey
At this time we are not requiring districts/schools to submit a new program update survey as long as you have met the following criteria: 1) you have an approved waiver/program from SY18-19 and 2) you have already submitted a district update between September 2022-July 2023 and/or 3) your financial reporting does not indicate a significant change in g/t funding projections (more than 5% increase). I believe I have most schools on file at this time. If you are unsure if you need to fill out a district update, I would suggest reaching out to your g/t coordinator or administrator and determine what your next steps are, if any. They may have already submitted on behalf of the school/district. It is likely that we will be requiring new updates after this school year, but I will keep you posted on that.
Regional Meetings
Regional meetings will wrap up this week. If you were not able to attend a regional meeting, or were not aware of regional meetings taking place, not to worry, there will be other opportunities to participate in discussion groups in the coming months. So far the turn out for meetings has been solid and I am excited and looking forward to future work with g/t educators.
Office Hours
Returning this school year are g/t office hours. Office hours will take place on Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30 beginning September 19th. If you can not make the g/t specific office hour, you may also attend the general MTSS office hour which also takes place on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30. Office hours are unstructured times where you can come get questions answered and network with colleagues around the state. I will also try to provide any announcements about training, PD, etc. at office hours. At this time, office are NOT going to be recorded, but that my change in the future depending on attendance and the types of topics/needs that arise. The link for office hours can be found on the Maine DOE Professional Learning calendar at http://www.maine.gov/doe/calendar Hope you see you there!
Annual Financial Reporting
This information is likely most relevant for g/t administrators or coordinators, that said, the deadline for submitting financial information for g/t is September 30th, 2023. Please be sure to double check with your district business manager to ensure they have all the information they need for this annual reporting period.
Website Resources
I have had many people ask me for where they can find the resources that used to be available on the DOE website for g/t. Most, if not all, of the original resources you used to have access to should still be available, however I believe they are located in a different place. If you would like access to your 18-19 Program approvals, information in g/t program components, g/t professional learning resources, identification resources, Maine laws and rules resources, and program evaluation tools, scroll down until you see “Where would you like to go?” and you will find links to these resources.
Contact information
There are two emails that you can use to reach me with questions. There is gt.doe@maine.gov and andrea.logan@maine.gov. Please try to use my direct email, andrea.logan@maine.gov as your primary contact for me as the other email address leads to a separate inbox that is not checked as often. I’m sure I have missed some communication in the past, so if you are able to email me directly you have a much better shot at getting a timely response from me.
Subsidy allocations for school units with approved programs will be calculated using the same methodology as in previous years, comparing budget costs to actual costs, therefore it is important that school units enter their financial data in the NEO Financial module, per the model chart of accounts for Gifted and Talented programs, available at the following link in the “Regular Instruction” box: https://www.maine.gov/doe/funding/accounting/handbook.
If your Gifted and Talented Coordinator is unsure of what constitutes an allowable cost or if your business office is unsure of what constitutes an allowable cost for State subsidy, please refer to Rule Chapter 104 or contact andrea.logan@maine.gov.
If a school unit did not have an approved program in school year 2023-2024, but plans to have one in school year 2024-2025, please contact andrea.logan@maine.gov or you can visit https://www.maine.gov/doe/mtss/funding/gpa/gt for more information.
Where would you like to go?
You can find additional MTSS-GT resources by clicking here.
Focus on Educational Equity
It is the philosophy of the Maine Department of Education that all Maine students receive equitable access to enriched educational opportunities when evidence of high performance capacity in intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, and/or specific academic areas arise in a student's natural learning environemnt. The Maine DOE is committed to providing supports to schools that assist with establishment and implementation of responsive advanced programming designed to meet the needs of any student in a targeted and flexible way at the time the student needs it most.
Maine’s students across all populations and socio-economic environments can and do posess exceptionalities in all academic areas or in only one academic area including artistic abilities and leadership abilities. A well-developed multi-tiered system of support can assist the education of high capacity learners by incorporating targeted needs assessment of students, ongoing screening, and established processes designed to monitor each students’ progress within the responsive system of support.
Like all students, Maine's highest capacity students need differentiation in their class work all day, every day. Using multi-tiered systems of supports, Maine schools can meet the needs of these learners in a deliberate and responsive way. MTSS-X is a framework that addresses the academic, social and emotional, and behavioral needs of accelerated learners within three distinct levels of instruction and intervention.
Where do high ability learners fit within the MTSS Structure?
Incorporating supports for accelerated learners into your MTSS Framework has shown to be highly effective at meeting not only the needs of high ability students, but has also shown to increase access and equity for all students. Check out how some of our fellow states have addressed high ability and accelerated learners below.
The Maine Department of Education
is dedicated to providing LEA’s with resources to assist in developing gifted and talented programming designed to meet the unique needs of Pk-12 students who excel or have the potential to excel more quickly in school. Maine’s gifted and talented students may be found across all populations and socio-economic environments and can include exceptionalities in all academic areas or in only one academic area including artistic abilities and leadership abilities. A well-developed GT program will incorporate needs assessment of students, ongoing screening, and established processes designed to monitor each students’ progress in the GT system of support.
Like all students, GT students need differentiation in their class work all day, every day. Using multi-tiered systems of supports, Maine schools can meet the needs of these learners in a deliberate and responsive way. MTSS-GT is a framework that addresses the academic, social and emotional, and behavioral needs of accelerated learners within three distinct levels of instruction and intervention.
Tier 1: Universal Supports. A tier 1 setting includes instruction given to all students in the classroom. The majority of students needs are met within this tier. Differentiation for GT students in the tier 1 setting include: pre-assessment, learning contracts, independent study design, modifying instruction for depth and complexity, coaching on higher-order thinking, and strategic flexible grouping.
Tier 2: Targeted acceleration. A tier 2 setting includes additional academic supports designed to help high-achieving students extend their learning goals when they have achieved their learning goals in the tier 1 setting and require further opportunity to accelerate. GT tier 2 supports may be provided by qualified staff including individualized work with qualified staff, increased intensity and rigor in programming, practice, or monitoring.
Tier 3: Intensive acceleration. In some cases, a student will require tier 3 interventions. This level of intervention involves significant changes to student learning experiences and is addressed on a case-by-case bases aligned with student academic, social and emotional, and behavioral needs.
States across the United States are incorporating their accelerated learners into a comprehensive MTSS
- Select a State to Explore