Important reminders for 25-27 GT State Grant districts:
GT Grants are awarded for two years through legislative funding. Only districts awarded in 2025-26 are eligible for Year 2 funding as noted below:
The GT State Grant Ongoing Application for SY 26-27 is now open. Due Oct. 30, 2026
- For the 26-27 SY, you must have GT students IDENTIFIED in the AIM system with their evaluation and identification dates. Please refer back to previous emails with the instruction slides for this procedure or contact Tammy Lysons.
- Don't forget that each GT Grant district MUST spend local matching funds each grant year equivalent to the amount of the grant allocation that year. Please have your clerks track this according to category, description, and dollar amount. You will have to account for your matching funds at the end of the 2 year grant period in your GT State Grant Program Report.
- Remember to document progress toward your GT Grant objectives along the way. You will be required to account for this (and for matching funds) in the GT Grant Program Report.
GT Program Report for 2023-25 Grant year is now available in Egrants under 2025.
This program report is required and asks for information re: students served in the 2024-25 SY and progress towards goals on the previous grant as well as fiscal information related to matching funds for the 2023-35 grant period. Districts have until Sept. 30,2026 to submit this program report.
Final Expenditure Reports for 2025-26 GT Grants should be submitted without further delay. Please submit by Sept. 25, 2026.
Jessica Wilhelm is our new Gifted and Talented Program Specialist!
Tammy Lysons is also assisting with E-grants as Jessica onboards. Please reach out if you need assistance.
The Montana Association of Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) has a NEW WEBSITE. Whether you are looking for Montana-specific classroom strategies or wanting to provide parents information on a supportive GT community, the website can help you with connections and resources. Check out AGATE's wealth of information. |
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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.
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:
Jessica Wilhelm, GT Program Specialist
Tammy Lysons, Administrative Coordinator, 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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