CTE January Newsletter
All things CTE in Montana
OPI - CTE Division Administrator Todd Eyer Retires
After 12+ years of dedicated service and leadership towards the excellence in Montana's Career and Technical Education programs, Todd Eyer has decided to retire from The Office of Public Instruction. His final day was December 6, 2019.
Any questions or inquires that previously needed T.J.'s attention should be directed to:
Jule Walker - 406-444-7325 jule.walker@mt.gov
and the CTE Division Specialists listed below
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OPI Data Request Extended to January 31, 2020
In preparation for Perkins V, the Office of Public Instruction needs to collect information on CTE Participants and Concentrators for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years from all Montana Schools. The information requested is the LE Number for your school and the State ID for any student who was a CTE Participant. Please also include the CTE Concentrator information for the 2018-2019 school year to help ensure that the previously collected data on CTE Concentrators was accurate.
This information is necessary to establish a quality baseline for reporting student performance levels under Perkins V for the State of Montana. This information is also used to calculate the amount of money each school receives from Perkins. To facilitate this collection, a spreadsheet is provided on the OPI-CTE webpage under the yellow Data Collections box which contains the information and submission format required. The spreadsheet has separate tabs for each school year.
The form can also be downloaded directly at http://opi.mt.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=SQ9g8Bl4S5s%3d&portalid=182. Please note that this information must be submitted by January 31, 2020. This information is federally required to establish baseline numbers as Montana continues to transition into Perkins V. Any school that has not submitted the requested data by January 31, 2020 will be contacted directly to determine any issues.
As directed by the Montana state authorized agency for Perkins, The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, failure to submit this information may result in the loss of Perkins funding. A CTE Participant is defined as any student who took at least one (1) CTE class during their time in high school by the completion of the given school year. A CTE Concentrator for the 2018-2019 school year was defined as any student who has taken three (3) or more CTE credits by the completion of the given school year.
Please submit the data in the supplied spreadsheet to Ian Beagles at ian.beagles@mt.gov using the ePass Montana File Transfer Service at ePass Montana. For questions regarding the data collection, data submission, or data format please contact Ian Beagles at 406.444.9019 and ian.beagles@mt.gov. For other questions regarding this request, please contact Jule Walker at 406.444.7325 and jule.walker@mt.gov or Jason Butcher at 406.444.3449 and jason.butcher@mt.gov.
Columbia Falls High Schools Students Assemble Christmas Food Bags
 Columbia Falls High School students from both Diane Marsh’s Introduction to Business Class and the Key Club out did themselves this year at the food bank. They packed 632 Christmas food bags including: juice, cans of milk, powdered milk, two cans of fruit, four cans of vegetables, jar of peanut butter, two cans for tuna and chicken, pasta, a block of cheese, and rolled oats. They also pack 1,008 back pack lunches for elementary schools throughout the valley. That is an amazing number. Students also unloaded trucks containing 260 cases of milk, bagged groceries for customers, filled 508 bags of cereal, and transferred 180 frozen turkeys and over 40 cases of chickens and ribs from the freezer to the refrigerator.
Montana Business Education Students & Business Educators Participate in 2019 Hour of Code
Montana’s Business Education students and teachers from all across Montana took part in the 2019 Hour of Code (hourofcode.com/us) project as part of Computer Science Education Week held December 9-15, 2019.
The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone—ages 4 to 104—anywhere—tutorials are available in over 30 languages—can participate in an Hour of Code event. Hour of Code is designed to be an opportunity for every student to try computer science for one hour.
During the week, Montana’s business education students and teachers were part of the global event which saw over 50 million students worldwide learn computer coding and programming within the seven-day period.
Almost all of Montana’s secondary business education programs are currently teaching computer science-related curricula including coding, programming, computer modeling, cybersecurity, web design, computer animation, mobile application development, network administration, robotics, and software engineering.
The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. The Hour of Code is organized by Code.org, a public 501c3 non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. A number of organizations have come together to support the Hour of Code, too—including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and the College Board.
Kalispell FFA Student Awarded Grant from National FFA
 Abby Fritz of the Kalispell FFA was recently awarded a grant from the National FFA Foundation to expand her SAE. Abby is a senior at Glacier High School and is the owner/operator of Abby's Show Hogs where she produces market hogs for 4H & FFA members to raise for fair or to begin their own breeding operation. She breeds & farrows twice per year and last year she had 29 pigs born, 13 of which found their way to fairs in 4 different counties and two different states. She currently has 8 sows in production and hopes to expand to 15 in the future with the goal of producing approximately 100 pigs each farrowing season.
The funds from this SAE grant will help Abby to isntall a new watering system as well as to re-organize and build new pens in order to accommodate her expanding operation. Congratulations Abby and thank you to Rabo AgriFinance for your generous support of the FFA SAE Grant Program!
I Matter: Self-care for Montana HOSA
 Montana HOSA: Future Health Professionals student Executive Council designed a new State Project for the 2019-’20 school year: “I Matter: Self-care for Montana HOSA.” The program is designed to assist teens address their own physical and mental health throughout the school year, focusing on a different theme each month. State Officers want to determine if a pro-active campaign will have more positive results than the numerous “don’t” campaigns which they find in their high schools.
Each month, state officers create a poster which is distributed to chapters and posted online featuring mental and physical exercises, current anecdotes, health tips, and online resources. State Officers communicate with chapter liaisons to provide ideas for chapter activities. “I Matter” themes have included: Suicide Prevention, Sleep Deprivation, Nutrition, and Relationships. January’s theme is Stress.
More Information and archived posters can be found at, https://www.montanahosa.org/copy-of-national-hosa-project For more information, contact Montana HOSA State Officers at, mthosaofficers@gmail.com
Below, Billings HOSA practices relaxation exercises for Sleep Deprivation month, October, 2019.
Health Science Update:
Health Science Update:
New teacher training for health sciences has a new approach in the new year and courses start this month!
National HOSA- Future Health Professionals designed three, free, on-line courses for HOSA chapter advisors at different phases of their tenure. The first course (Bronze level) will become part of the Health Science teacher training as it provides a solid background of CTSOs as well as a step-by-step process for starting a local chapter. This is a critical piece for new Health Science teachers because their previous educational training was secondary science that did not include CTSO guidance.
The second course, AHMS 491E, Health Career Foundations, will be taught as an online course through UM-Western. This course starts in February. There is a minimal fee for this course.
The National Association of Career and Technical Educators also designed and posted new training for health science teachers. After a side-by-side comparison of this course with our OPI Learning Hub course, we will determine the best course to complete the training sequence. Members and non-members are invited to take any of these courses.
Additionally, UM-Western is offering Health Career Foundations as a dual credit course for high school students.
The course is AHMS 107 and will be offered as a 1 credit course, eligible for the “One-Two-Free” option.
While every effort has been made in the past to keep all Health Science Education training free, this new combination of courses will offer a more robust approach to the discipline.
Happy New Year,
Renee Erlandsen
Health Science Education Specialist
Office of Public Instruction
(406) 994-6986
Rerlandsen@mt.gov
SkillsUSA Students Make Flowers for Local Nursing Home
 Butte High SkillsUSA has been in the process of making flower bouquets for the Crest Nursing Home residents. For two evenings the students met from 6-9pm. The students designed, cleaned and welded an assortment of flowers of their choosing. Students used the PlasmaCam, plus assorted finishing methods, and then added paint color to the surfaces. With a little added pizza and music, all enjoyed putting in the time and effort to produce these three-flower bouquets. The BHS Art Department is contributing a variety of pottery vases, which will be filled with gravel to hold the flowers upright. The students will hand deliver them next week, before Christmas. The one-on-one time spent with the Crest recipients will be the bonus for a job well done!
Industrial Technology Education Update:
Happy New Year and welcome back!
As we wrap up the first half of the school year, I want to thank everyone I have met and corresponded with for making my transition into this position. I hope that I have been able to answer some questions and offer support to schools and programs.
In my travels, I have visited many amazing teachers and programs and have met a number of supportive administrators making CTE a priority for our students and I am looking forward to seeing as many as my time will allow.
Industrial Technology programs are teaching our students valuable technical and employability skills as well as helping them to develop personal skills as well. Here is just one example that was sent to me. Denise Bordeleau, Welding Instructor and SkillsUSA advisor at Butte High worked with her CTSO members to provide some cheer to their community. Thank you to Butte SkillsUSA.
Please share with me the accomplishments of your students and programs and I will do my best to share these wonderful accomplishments. Feel free to email me with a description and photos.
Regards,
Mike Houghton
Industrial Technology Education Specialist
Office of Public Instruction
(406) 444-4452
michael.houghton@mt.gov
For questions, please contact:
TJ Eyer, Division Administrator - 406.444.7915
Shannon Boswell, Agriculture Education & CTE Transition Specialist - 406.444.4451
Renee Erlandsen, Health Sciences Education Specialist - 406.994.6986
Ian Beagles CTE/Perkins Data Control Specialist - 406.444.9019
Mike Houghton, Industrial Technology Specialist - 406.444.4452
Austin Schweitzer, Marketing Program Coordinator - 406.444.2059
Eric Swenson, Business Education Specialist - 406.444.7991
Megan Vincent, Family & Consumer Sciences Education Specialist - 406.444.3599
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, TTY 406-444-0235.
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