Vision is the projection of past experience and present knowledge into a future that is viewed with intelligence and daring, always keeping in mind that discipline and patience are necessary for the realization of an individual or collective goal.

Writing as an educator who has some responsibility for teaching gifted and talented students, I would like to publicly thank communities where G/T programs have survived budget cuts. In addition, I want to thank Rep. John Baldacci for his vision in cosponsoring a bill that could relieve communities everywhere in the United States of part of their financial burden for the important cause of gifted and talented education.

In the United States today, approximately 3 million students are gifted and talented. They give evidence of their giftedness in artistic, creative and intellectual areas. These students are usually able to grasp information more quickly than their age peers. They generally have the ability to engage in study with greater depth and complexitiy. The typical academically gifted student has mastered much of the content to be covered in a school year before that year begins; it is estimated that many gifted and talented students start a school year with mastery of between 35 to 50 percent of the year’s content in several subject areas. These students come from all racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic groups.

Clearly, such students have special educational needs. They require services not ordinarily provided by a school system. Currently, there is no federal requirement to either identify or serve the special education needs of gifted and talented students. Some states allocate money for G/T programs. But most existing programs survive because parent and community support keeps them alive during budgetary processes.

The district where I teach, SAD 22 (serving Hampden, Newburgh and Winterport), is one of the more fortunate state districts in that respect. Citizens with vision, who also vote with their vision in place, are to be commended for their perseverance during recent years. SAD 22 has programs designed to meet a variety of special needs, including those of gifted and talented learners.

Now there is hope for federal help in the endeavor to provide programming suitable to the needs of G/T students, regardless of where they live. HR 4127, the Education for Gifted and Talented Students Act, has been drafted as an answer to inequities among school districts in their attempts to address all special needs. In his letter of July 24 to Fern Brown, vice president and legislative liaison of MEGAT (the Maine Educators of the Gifted and Talented), Rep. Balacci indicated he was pleased to be a cosponsor of the bill and will be working to ensure its passage.

The purpose of HR 4127 is to give gifted and talented students the opportunity to develop their capabilities. The following statement is taken from the text of the proposed bill: “If the United States is to compete successfully in the global economy, it is important that more students achieve to higher levels, and that highly capable students receive an education that prepares them to perform the most highly innovative and creative work necessary in today’s workplace.”

Using figures from 1990, fewer than 2 cents of every $100 allocated to elementary and secondary education in the United States was spent on providing challenging programming for the gifted and talented students of this country. Under the Education for Gifted and Talented Students Act, block grants would be offered to states to support programs, classes and other services designed to meet the needs of G/T students in elementary and secondary schools.

The following activities would qualify for financial support under the act: professional development programs for educators, technical assistance, innovative programs and services, emerging technologies and state infrastructure costs. (Not more than 10 percent of the total amount received under this act may be used for educational agency administrative costs of the states.)

If sufficient funds are made available for this act, the minimum amount each state would receive in each fiscal year would be $1 million. There are accountability requirements a state must meet to receive the minimum award. The requested appropriation to carry out this act is for each of the fiscal years from 1999 to 2003.

Maine’s Common Core of Learning (1990), State of Maine Learning Results (1997), and numerous mission statements written by residents for their local districts are documents which attest to the serious consideration given to education in this state during the last decade. So, perhaps it should not be too surprising that one of our congressmen has had the vision to take a stand on a bill that could be a landmark in legislation directed toward American excellence and responsibility.

Rosemary Cook-Backer is a teacher in SAD 22 and is on the executive board of the Maine Educators of the Gifted and Talented.