PROGRAMS VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
This document was created by Argy Nestor Visual and Performing Arts Specialist argy.nestor@maine.gov
Artwork by: Abbey Donahue, Grade 4 Congin Elementary School, Westbrook, Maine Art Teacher: Lynne Shulman
Contents
Overview of Arts Program
Purpose of this Document
Chapter 104 Overview
Highlights of Chapter 104
Timeline & Steps
Frequently Asked Questions
Resources
Overview of Gifted & Talented Program
As part of the establishment of Gifted and Talented programs, opportunities must be provided for students with exceptional abilities in the Visual and Performing Arts. The Maine Learning Results serves as a guide to each School Administrative Unit for developing comprehensive and sequential standards-based curricula for student learning in eight content areas, including the Visual and Performing Arts.
Purpose of this Document
As of 2008-09, Gifted and Talented programs for the Visual and Performing Arts must be created for students with exceptional abilities in this content area in all School Administrative Units. The purpose of this document is to serve as a guide to help with the process of creating a program. This document also includes helpful resources and commonly asked questions and answers.
Chapter 104 Overview
This Chapter for the Department of Education was established to ensure that educational programs are created and implemented for gifted and talented students in each School Administrative Unit.
In this document you will find SEGMENTS ONLY of the Maine Rule, Chapter 104: Educational Programs for Gifted and Talented Children. The segments included are deemed necessary to provide guidance.
You can find the entire Chapter 104 on the Maine Department of Education webpage:
www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/chaps05.htm
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is it necessary to establish a program for students in K-12 or may an S.A.U. select a particular grade level span?
A: A program must be in place for all grade levels.
Q: If I have a student who is very creative, does that automatically mean that s/he is gifted in the arts?
A: No, students are not automatically gifted in the arts. That is one reason why all students must be screened for G/T education.
Q: If a student is identified as gifted/talented in grade 4, does s/he automatically receive G/T services in every grade level after that?
A: No, a student is not automatically in the program each year. At the end of each year, each student’s program is evaluated.
Generally students are identified at the elementary level and receive services until the end of 5th grade. All students are reevaluated going into the middle level for services in grades 6-8 or 6-12. However, no student automatically remains in the program each year.
Q: Is there funding available for materials, supplies and equipment for G/T programs?
A: Yes, there is funding available to support the G/T arts education programs through the local application for state subsidy. Funding is not available for equipment.
Q: Do all students have to be screened for the G/T arts programs?
A: Yes, initially all students must be screened. Thereafter, an annual review of K-12 students must take place annually.
Q: What if a district does not have someone assigned to administer the G/T program? Are we still responsible for establishing a program in G/T arts?
A: It is the S.A.U’s responsibility to have a program in place for students gifted in visual and performing arts.
Q: Ideally, who should be involved in creating a program for G/T arts students?
A: Program planning should be provided by a group composed of at least one administrator, an endorsed G/T teacher, arts educator(s), classroom teacher(s) and others, whom the S.A.U. selects as worthwhile contributors.
Highlights of Chapter 104
104.01 General Objectives
This rule establishes the standards and procedures governing the establishment, implementation, and approval of educational programs for gifted and talented children in each school administrative unit, including needs assessment, identification of students, and program planning, development, delivery and review. Its intent is to provide a framework to assure the establishment of programs in the elementary and secondary schools of each school administrative unit in an appropriate and timely manner.
104.02 Definitions
“Gifted and talented children” shall mean those children in grades K-12 who excel, or have the potential to excel, beyond their age peers, in the regular school program, to the extent that they need and can benefit from programs for the gifted and talented. Gifted and talented children shall receive specialized instruction through these programs if they have exceptional creativity in:
Artistic Ability as shown by demonstrated significant
achievement or potential for significant accomplishment above
their age peers in the literary, performing, and/or visual arts.
NOTE: Students with exceptional Artistic Ability usually comprise five percent of the school population.
104.04 General Principles for Gifted and Talented Educational Programs
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.
Gifted and talented children:
- Need to move at their own rate, regardless of chronological age or grade placement;
- Need diversity in their educational experiences;
- Need to be challenged to develop their abilities and potential
- Needs vary as they progress through the elementary and secondary grades;
Artwork by: Emily Dubovy Bangor High School—Class of 2008 Art Teacher: Kal Elmore
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How does the S.A.U. communicate the G/T Arts program to parents?
A: Communication between the S.A.U. and parents will help insure the success of the G/T education being provided. Chapter
104.09.3 requires the S.A.U. to inform parents of the requirements, description and permission for participation.
Q: How much time does a teacher need to spend teaching gifted students in order for an S.A.U. to receive reimbursement for their G/T program?
A: At the K-8 level at least 20% of the teaching time must be spent exclusively in the gifted and talented program. At the High School level, the teaching time is directly related to the G/T class that the teacher is responsible for.
Q: In Chapter 104 the terminology “artistic ability” is used. What does that mean?
A: A: In the Maine Learning Results the arts are called Visual and Performing Arts. The Visual Arts include painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, pottery, jewelry, fibers and other media that is most commonly created in a 2 or 3 dimensional form.
B: The Performing Arts include singing, playing an instrument, acting and/or dancing. The term “artistic ability” includes creative performance, composition and/or expression in dance, music, theatre or visual arts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do the arts educators in my School Administrative Unit (S.A.U.) need to have the “gifted endorsement” to teach the identified gifted arts students?
A: If a teacher is reported on the Maine Education Data Management System (MEDMS) as a G/T teacher, and/or G/T funding is received, s/he must hold the 690 Gifted and Talented (K-12) endorsement.* For specific teacher certification questions, please call 624-6603 or email anne.wehrman@maine.gov or mark.cyr@maine.gov
*However, the arts teacher may be responsible for arts programming and not have the endorsement. In this case, funding for his/her salary is not allowable.
Q: If my S.A.U. doesn’t have a strings program or a dance program, are we responsible for providing programming for students who are gifted in this area of arts education?
A: A school district is only responsible for G/T programs in areas where a curriculum of study (a program) is in place for all the students in the school. Therefore, if there is an instrumental program but not a strings program, an S.A.U. is not responsible for providing a strings program for a gifted violin player. The same rules apply for a dance program.
Q: Does differentiated instruction fulfill the needs of G/T arts students?
A: Students need to be placed in classes that provide learning environments in which their individual learning needs can be met. Perhaps, one of the options above provides that place for a G/T student. Appropriate resources/staff outside the S.A.U. may be needed to fulfill the needs, however the instruction must take place during the regular school day.
104.06 Identification: Establishment of Process
The identification team, under policies adopted by the school board, and approved by the superintendent, shall establish a process for the identification of children for the gifted and talented arts program for each school in their school administrative district. Each school unit shall conduct an initial screening and, thereafter, an annual review of the K-12 school population to insure that all children have an equal opportunity to be considered for selection and placement in the gifted and talented program.
104.07 Screening
Screening procedures shall be appropriate to the developmental characteristics of elementary and secondary school children and to the abilities being identified. Each school unit shall establish a procedure that uses a minimum of three assessment methods in which gifted and talented children are identified for visual and performing arts.
C. For Artistic Ability: The screening procedure shall include three measures that may be chosen from but are not limited to the following:
- Pupil products, such as auditions, portfolios, works-in-progress, performance
- Pupil interview
- Teacher referral
104.08 Selection
Annually, a team of at least three qualified professionals shall select children for placement in the gifted and talented program.
B. The responsibilities of this selection team are as follows:
- Review the information collected on children who have met the screening criteria.
- Collect additional information when appropriate.
- Select children for placement in the gifted and talented program based upon as in-depth assessment of the collected information.
- Oversee the annual review of the selection process.
- Assure that the selection process is equitable.
104.09 Placement
Selected children shall be appropriately placed in a gifted and talented arts program. The identification team, under policies adopted by the school board, and approved by the superintendent, shall establish procedures to accomplish the following:
- Assure collaboration between the regular (arts) classroom teacher and gifted and talented program staff to develop the program that will be provided for selected children.
- Notify the superintendent of the children selected for the program.
- Provide superintendent a description of the program(s) that will be provided.
- Notify parents of the eligibility of their child for participation in the program and obtain written parental permission to place the child in the program.
- Maintain records on each child’s participation in the gifted and talented program.
- Conduct an annual review of each child’s program to evaluate appropriateness of placement and instruction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where are some examples of G/T programs in the arts in Maine schools?
A: Below are examples of established programs. Additional contacts will be provided online as they become available.
- Westbrook School Department, Kathy Leggett, Director of G/T; Carol Connor, Director of Art, 854-0800
- Camden Hills School District, Nancy Albertson, nancy_albertson@fivetowns.net
Q: Where can I find resources?
A: Below are examples of current resources. Additional resources will be provided online as they become available.
Q: Are there community resources available to help in programming for gifted programs in the arts?
A: Local school district personnel should explore the community resources that might be available. State-wide resources include:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why should we provide gifted education in the arts?
A: According to Chapter 104, students must be provided with instructional programs to meet their learning needs. The Visual and Performing Arts section of Maine Department of Education Regulation 132 - Maine Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction document can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/
Q: How many students can be enrolled in the G/T program for the four arts disciplines?
A: The NOTE in Chapter 104.06 states that students with exceptional Artistic Ability usually comprise five percent of the school population. This indicates up to five percent of students for all four disciplines of the arts combined: dance, music, theater, and visual arts.
Q: How do educational programs and practices address student learning opportunities?
A: The Maine Learning Results are available to guide local curriculum for the Visual and Performing arts and can be found at:
http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/
Chapter 104.04, General Principles for Gifted and Talented Educational Programs, states that gifted and talented programs in the State are to be based on the following educational principles:
- 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 in lieu of the regular curricula.
104.11 Program Personnel
Personnel employed in the school district’s gifted and talented program shall be properly certified and possess such other skills as are appropriate and necessary for the particular assignments within the program.
104.14 Program Approval Application
The application for the Program Approval must be submitted by November 30, 2008. The following information shall be required and must reflect the degree of implementation at the time of reporting:
- A program abstract which describes the children to be served and the arts program(s) to be implemented in the school(s) of the unit
- The goals, objectives, and activities for each program component, K-12
- A description of the identification process used: screening, selection, placement, and review policies and procedures
- A description of the staffing and management of the program(s)
- A description of the annual program self-evaluation process
104.20 Program Personnel
Individual
Timeframe and Steps
Commencing with the school 2008-2009, each School Administrative Unit (S.A.U.) will establish a plan for the implementation of a gifted and talented arts programs for the top 5% of students identified as G/T in the arts in grades K-12. The steps described below will guide an S.A.U. in establishing a plan which must be submitted electronically by November 30, 2008 to Cliff McHatten at the Maine Department of Education. Full implementation of programs will take place in the 2009-2010 school year.
Steps to establish a gifted and talented program in the arts:
- Each S.A.U. will develop a process for the identification of children for the gifted and talented program in the arts. Each S.A.U. shall conduct an initial screening and an annual review of the K-12 population to ensure that all children have an equal opportunity to be considered for selection and placement. Instruments and procedures used in the identification process shall be as non-discriminatory as possible with respect to race, culture, or economic background, religion, national origin, sex, or handicapping condition.
- Each S.A.U. shall establish a procedure that uses a minimum of three assessment measures for the initial screening for visual and performing arts (VPA). Information derived from any one of the selected screening methods may qualify a child for further consideration.
- The screening procedure does not have to include an objective measure however, measures such as pupil products must be evaluated based on agreed upon criteria. The screening procedure shall include at least three measures chosen from but not limited to the following:
- Pupil products such as auditions, portfolios, performances
- Pupil interview
- Teacher referral
- Referral by professional artist(s), i.e. musician, artist, dancer, actor, based on analysis of pupil work
- Self-referral
- Referral by parents, peers, members of the community
- Annually, a team of at least three qualified professionals shall select children for placement in the G/T program. The selection team shall include a S.A.U. Administrator and at least two from, but not limited to, the following staff:
- Classroom Teacher
- Teacher of the arts
- Another individual who may be a school employee or another person, who would aid the selection procedure, e.g. an artist/ educator for selection of students with artistic ability.
- The responsibilities of the selection team are as follows:
- Review the information collected on children who have met the screening criteria.
- Collect additional information when appropriate.
- Select children for placement in the G/T program based upon an in-depth assessment of the collected information.
- Oversee the annual review of the selection process.
- Assure that the selection process is equitable.
- Establish a procedure for appeals.
- Establish a procedure for exiting the program.
6. Selected children shall be appropriately placed in a G/T Arts program.
7. Under policies adopted by the S.A.U. school board/committee, the
- administrator or person responsible for overseeing the G/T program shall establish procedures to accomplish the following:
- Assure collaboration between the regular classroom arts teacher and the G/T staff to develop the program that will be provided for selected children.
- Notify the superintendent of the children selected for the program.
- Provide the superintendent of schools with a description of the program.
- Notify parents of the eligibility of their child for participation in the program, provide them with a description of the program and obtain written parental permission to place the child in the program.
- Maintain records on each child’s participation in the G/T program.
- Conduct an annual review of each child’s program to evaluate appropriateness of placement and instruction.
This complete booklet including artwork can be found at:
http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/gtbooklet.pdf
Resources
There are Maine School Administrative Units with established Gifted and Talented programs for Visual and/or Performing Arts. These S.A.U.’s have given permission to be listed with contact information so that you can learn about their G/T programs.
S.A.U. Information and other resources are located on the Maine Department of Education Arts Education webpage:
http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/standards.html
Chapter 104: Educational Programs for Gifted and Talented Children is located on the Maine Department of Education webpage:
www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/chaps05.htm
Questions
If you have questions, please contact:
Cliff McHatten
Gifted and Talented Coordinator Maine Department of Education 23 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0023
cliff.mchatten@maine.gov
(207) 624-6654
Argy Nestor
Visual and Performing Arts Specialist argy.nestor@maine.gov
Other Useful Resources
The Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development 2131 Hillside Road, Unit 3007, Storrs, CT 06269-3007 Telephone: 860-486-4268 Website:
www.gifted.uconn.edu/
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) 1707 L Street, NW, Suite 550 Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: 202-785-4268 Website: www.nagc.org
