Considerable literature exists about teacher§qualities that promoted talent development in general§education and specialized settings. Talented teachers§are the most important means of reaching gifted§students (Feldhusen, Van Tassel-Baska, & Seeley,§1989; Renzulli, 1987). What do these teachers know,§do, and believe to bring out the best in students of§talent? §A surprising gap revealed little research and vague§standards of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions§(attitudes) of a gifted and talented teacher. The§naturalistic inquiry study named, categorized, and§studied, key qualities using Costa s (2001) habits of§mind as a conceptual organizer. Results indicated§teachers with reputational expertise display the§habits regularly and articulate well their thoughts§and dispositions. Reputational expertise surfaced§stronger with wonderment, learning continuously, and§commitment to policy; (Costa, 2001, p. 9).§The study raises intriguing questions relative to§preparing teachers to work with bright students,§preparation for teaching at various age levels, and§about the implicit curricula of teacher education.