Maryland students are striving to become world class students and their talents are being recognized this month as part of a month-long celebration of Gifted and Talented Education that will culminate in a state awards reception on February 29 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Governor Martin O'Malley has proclaimed February as Gifted and Talented Education Month throughout the state of Maryland, "to urge all Marylanders to take this opportunity to review past accomplishments in Gifted and Talented Education, conduct special activities and events, and plan future activities that will continue to bring high-quality Gifted and Talented Education programs to all of Maryland."

"For Maryland students to compete and succeed in the global market place, we must continue to place a strong emphasis on our gifted and talented programs," said Bernard J. Sadusky, Interim State Superintendent of Schools. "Every student in Maryland's public schools should have access to high-quality programs that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as offer enrichment to strengthen a student's academic skills, and provide mentorship programs to further embrace a student's talents."

Gifted and Talented students are defined by law as students who have outstanding talent and perform, or show the potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with their peers. Gifted and talented students are present in all populations, and they require different services beyond the regular school program to develop their full potential. These services include inquiry learning, advanced problem-solving, enrichment clusters, acceleration within the discipline of a student's particular strength, Maryland Summer Centers, mentorships with experts, in-depth seminars, and debates, among others.

For more information visit www.MarylandPublicSchools.org and under programs click on Gifted and Talented or contact the Gifted and Talented program at 410-767-0363. In addition, the 2012 Maryland Summer Center brochure will be posted on the website later this month.