 Get tools, tips, strategies and resources for gifted, high-ability, and 2e learners through MTSS, differentiation, behavior supports, and more!
*2025-27 GT Grant schools, since there will not be an AGATE Conference this year, you can use professional development funds budgeted for that to attend GT/high-ability sessions at Summer Institute instead.
MSU Campus - Bozeman, MT
Registration opens March 26, 2026
Schedule and link to registration will be posted on the OPI SI 2026 webpage
Montana AGATE is partnering with Edufest for the 2026 GT Conference.
- July 20-23
- Boise, Idaho
- Keynote by Jack Naglieri and sessions with his team
- Cost-effective campus housing and meals available
- Montana OPI Professional Development Units available
- Onsite Montana AGATE Affiliate Meeting
- Scan the QR code for the form to request Montana-specific information
*GT State Grant funds can be used to pay the registration costs for this conference in place of the traditional AGATE Conference.
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The Frontier Learning Lab (FLL) is Montana Digital Academy’s new statewide learning lab for cutting-edge learning tools—a place where teachers and students can explore artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and other emerging tech without leaving Big Sky Country. Anchored in the values of expanded access, strong privacy, and solid learning science, the Lab serves as a central hub that curates tools, surfaces best practices, and sparks practical innovation in every corner of the state, from bustling city schools to the most remote one-room classrooms. For more information on how you can utilize this first-of-its-kind tool in your Gifted and Talented efforts, visit the MTDA website. They want to be your thinking partners!
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Twice-exceptional \'twis-ek-'sep-shənl\ adj(1990), also 2e:
Having exceptional academic ability in one or more area(s) and simultaneously being challenged by a learning/social emotional disability or diagnosed disorder.
Twice-exceptionality affects an estimated 6% of gifted children in the U.S. alone. Visit the Davidson Institute Resource Library for Twice Exceptional Students to find information on characteristics, identification, and how to meet the needs of 2e children.
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 Infinite Campus now requests that an evaluation date be entered for each GT identified 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 in the enrollment section each year.
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, 2025 so that we know that evaluation happened some time prior to the upcoming school year. Do your best for the students with the time and records you have.
Contact Jenny Jarvis for the instructional slides that describe the process for entering the new evaluation information.
MTSS is a school-wide, multilevel instructional framework for supporting the needs of students. This framework incorporates universal screening, progress monitoring, and data-based decision-making for instruction and movement within the multilevel system. The system works equally well for addressing the needs of highly capable students and those who experience learning difficulties. The MTSS model assumes that each student receives high-quality, research-based, differentiated instruction from a general educator in a general education (classroom) setting. Find out more on the OPI Gifted and Talented Training Site (Gifted & MTSS tab).
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 Did you know that MIT offers access to high-level content through its OpenCourseWare site? They also have a special page for educators looking for OER (open educational resources). They have free interactive modules, lecture videos, and online textbooks. Consider exploring their resources for materials that might be appropriate to help meet the unique needs of your gifted learners.
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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