Gifted Program Eases Standards to Attract New Students
A summer academic program which has offered unique summer programming for gifted and talented students in Southern Maine for 27 years has announced that it will no longer require prospective students to supply proof of qualification for the program, such as a high IQ.

John Glynn, founder and director of The Festival of Creative Youth, said that the change was being made in line with recent changes in public education, where G&T teachers now work within regular classrooms instead of G&T students being put in special classes.

Glynn retired last year after teaching Gifted and Talented programs in Southern Maine public schools for more than 30 years. He started the Festival in 1980 to provide services to Gifted and Talented students during summer vacations. Last summer, the program, which is run out of the Southern Maine Community College campus, offered 40 programs to 200 students.

In the past, the Festival had an IQ requirement or identification by a school system. With the new open enrollment policy, the program becomes less exclusive, said Glynn.