The Montana Gifted and Talented State Grant Intent to Apply is open in E-Grants.
Final confirmation of the total funding amount is pending legislative approval. In the recent past, this grant has been funded at $700,000 for a two-year legislative cycle.
You must submit the Intent to Apply before midnight on May 1 to be eligible for funds for 2025-2027 school years.
New for 2025, the grant will be allocated by OPI on a one-year basis rather than two, with a continuing application for districts between the two years of the legislative grant cycle. School systems wishing to participate in the grant must:
- Be current on all reporting requirements for Gifted and Talented grants from previous years.
- Update the Achievement in Montana (AIM) database to include all identified GT student in the school system.
- Agree to submit as part of the grant application a copy of the local Gifted and Talented Education Program Plan which must be in compliance with ARM 10.15.804
- List the actual local funding for the GT program as matching funds for the potential grant funds required in state law, MCA 20-7-903(3).
- Assure the OPI that items 1-4 have been completed and are accurate.
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Submit the completed Intent to Apply by midnight, May 1, 2025 (by the Authorized Representative).
Due to low registration numbers, the 2025 AGATE Conference in April was cancelled. If your school budgeted current GT State Grant funds for this professional development opportunity, you can still reassign those funds as long as they are obligated by June 30. Consider sending your GT staff to the OPI Summer Institute as an alternative (advanced learner session ideas below). It might be possible to send staff to Edufest as well. Create an amendment in E-Grants to request approval for adjustment of funds.
 Bring your friends and colleagues for an amazing learning experience. Campus housing, graduate credit, and parking available for a fee.
Sessions helpful to Gifted and Talented educators include:
- Differentiation in Place-based Mini Units: Practical Examples for 4th-8th Grade
- How to Design for All - Practical Strategies and Routines for Implementing UDL
- Using MTDA to Meet Diverse Student Needs (Montana Digital Academy)
- Maximizing Impact for Students using Title IV-A: Student Support Academic Enrichment Funding
- You’re Finished Already? Meeting the Needs of Advanced Learners (GT)
- Practical Strategies for Implementing Personalized, Proficiency-Based Learning
- Schoolwide Guide to Instructional Framework: Driving Consistency and Excellence in Learning
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Plan for the annual Gifted and Talented conference Edufest in Boise, Idaho July 21-24, in-person or virtual. Registration ranges from $399 to $844 depending on session, housing, and meal options selected. |
The NAGC Conference this year will be on November 13-16, in Pittsburg, PA. Plan ahead for sessions and travel. GT State Grant funds awarded for the 2025-2027 cycle can be used to send educators to this conference.
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Infinite Campus now requests that an evaluation date be entered for each GT student. This effort to record more accurate data allows for a GT designation to follow a student throughout his or her school career after identification. Schools will not have to check a box over and over each year. We know some of your students have been identified for a long time. If you know or can reasonably estimate the date that the student was evaluated (based on your universal screening grades, for example), please enter that information into the system so future school staff will have as clear a picture as possible of the student. If you do not know the exact evaluation date for students identified before this school year, you may enter June 30, 2024 so that we know that it was some time prior to this school year. Do your best for the students with the time and records you have.
If you are in need of engaging GT professional development for coordinators, individual teachers, teams, school staff, district personnel, or your school board, OPI has got your back. Contact Jenny Jarvis to schedule trainings, consultations, and support.
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Did you know that the OPI has a wealth of information about and tools for Gifted Education on its website? You can learn about legislation, programming, funding, and much more. There is even a link to a full Gifted Education Training Site filled with helpful resources to make your program for gifted and advanced learners the best is can be! Find the GT section on the OPI website by going to the Educators tab, then Teaching and Learning, then Gifted, Talented, & AP. Be sure to check out the Framework for GT Plans on the website (link below as well) for a detailed description of Montana State Board of Public Education requirements (Administrative Rules of Montana) for Gifted Education.
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Questions about Gifted and Talented in Montana?
Contact:
Jenny Jarvis, GT/MTSS Program Support Specialist, 406-410-1140
Tammy Lysons, CETA Unit Manager, 406-431-2309
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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