BALTIMORE \u00a0— Maryland will honor seventeen schools with the Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education (EGATE) School award next month. This award recognizes top elementary, middle, and high schools with outstanding Gifted and Talented programs.<\/p>\n
Now in its ninth year, the EGATE awards spotlight gifted and talented programs aligned with the Maryland Criteria for Excellence: Gifted and Talented Program Guidelines<\/em> and Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR ) 13A.04.07 Gifted and Talented Education. Each EGATE school submits a comprehensive application which provides documentation of 21criteria of excellence under four program objectives: student identification, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and program management and evaluation.<\/p>\n \u201cA robust gifted and talented educational program moves our students above and beyond their goals and helps enrich their already outstanding levels of talent and performance,\u201d said Dr. Karen Salmon, State Superintendent of Schools, \u201cI applaud the accomplishments of each of these schools and their students, and look forward to seeing what else they can achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n Seventeen schools will be awarded with the designation of EGATE Schools, and 115 individual awards will be presented to students, teachers, local school and school system administrators, and university professors from across the state. Awards also will be given to winners of the Maryland\u00a0Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education’s Student Essay Contest.<\/p>\n In the years since the award\u2019s conception, 68 different schools from 10 school systems have earned \u00a0EGATE status. Members from the Maryland Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education, as well as local school system personnel review and score the EGATE applications, which document the school\u2019s gifted and talented program activities over a 27-month period.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This year\u2019s new EGATE schools will be recognized during Maryland\u2019s Gifted and Talented Education month at a reception and awards ceremony on February, 5 from 6\u20138 p.m. at North County High School in Glen Burnie.<\/p>\n EGATE schools receive a citation from the Governor, and the EGATE banner to display on their school buildings and websites. They will also be honored at a meeting of the Maryland State Board of Education and host celebratory visits from Advisory Council members and MSDE staff in the spring. These schools will serve as models for other schools that want to achieve this status.<\/p>\n