 10 Years of Service:
Pictured:
Left column, top to bottom, Yvonne Field - School Improvement Specialist for School Improvement, Anne Carpenter - Program Support Specialist in the Continuing Education and Technical Assistance Unit.
Middle: Mattie Murphy - Teacher Data Coordinator in the Data Operations Unit.
Right column, top to bottom, Kris Minard - Instructional Coordinator for the Health Enhancement and Safety Division, and Zach Hawkins - Director of American Indian Education for All for the Teaching and Learning Division.
Not Pictured: Annette Young - Montana SSIP Director in the Special Education Unit.
Thank you all for your public service and the passion you show as you serve Montanans!
Calendar:
Please be aware of the upcoming meetings:
Many of our talented OPI staff will be involved in presenting the great work the OPI does in putting Montana students first.
- December 12 - In the Know - MT Ready Presented by Mary Heller
- December 18 - SITSD Maintenance Weekend
- December 19 - In the Know - MAST Presented by Sam Walsh
- December 19 - OPI Recycling Pickup
- December 26 - Christmas Day Holiday
In the Know are learning sessions presented by OPI staff. All start times are at noon. In person: the meeting will be held in the conference room 1300-2. Virtual: Zoom information is as follows: In the Know - Zoom Link Meeting ID: 851 1792 1375 Password: 074298. Dial by Telephone: 1 646 558 8656.
If you have any events to add to the calendar, please contact T Jensen at T.Jensen@mt.gov
New Hire:
Jessika Bol, the Administrative Specialist for ESSER, moved to Montana with the goal of expanding her career through helping others. Her mom has worked for a school district for 15+ years, thus inspiring Jessika to share her passion of helping others through this field. Jessika brings with her a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. In her free time, you can find Jessika enjoying the great outdoors hunting, fishing, and spending time with her dogs and family.
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Wishing you a 'Happy Birthday' this week:
 Heather Davidson, James Carroll, and Scott Furois
Agency Proofreader:
Kristen Bokovoy is OPI's proofreader. Everyone can utilize her services for things like correspondence, website text, newsletters, other publications, etc. Please contact Kristen at Kristen.Bokovoy2@mt.gov. When an item for proofreading is sent, Kristen will provide an expected turn around time dependent on the size and content. Thank you Kristen for the support you provide for all of OPI!
ESSER:
 The OPI ESSER team meets every week to discuss the best ways to serve our schools with these federal dollars. Thank you team!
ACTE Conference:
 The following is a brief summary of the many successes the CTAE Unit were able to celebrate with our Montana Teachers and Programs last week and ACTE Vision and NAAE Conference in Las Vegas. With record attendance of over 6,000 attendees-Gayla Randel, AFFCS Board Member, Eric Tilleman NAAE Region 1 VP, and Shannon Boswell CTAE Director were able to attend ACTE Vision and NAAE Conference in Las Vegas.
First, our very own Eric Tilleman was elected by his peers to serve the National Association of Agricultural Educators as President Elect for 2022-2023, this will begin a 3 year term as he moves through leadership roles on their National Board. These membership are vital to the comradery and partnerships we are able to build within our state, Western region and across the country. Our Specialists are able to connect with industry leaders as well as learn from thought leaders and best practices to help us ensure our students are Montana Ready.
Several other CTE teachers and partners were recognized for their efforts and leadership. The Montana ACTE Association was again honored as a Quality Program. Nicole Wanago, a teacher educator in Family and Consumer Sciences, was named a Graduate Fellow. We heard wonderful updates from OCTAE about a WBL grant that will be released this spring. Gayla shared two presentations that well represented Family and Consumer Sciences and Montana OPI. It was a busy jammed packed few days of reconnecting, learning, and sharing ideas. I greatly appreciated being able to attend the state leaders meetings; including a join session from Advance CTE and ACTE. While we still have much work to do, it is nice to be able to share out and glean ideas from other states. Some of the highlights we were asked to share on were: Chapter 55 changes for CTE Endorsements, Teacher Recruitment with TEACH CTE and TEACH AG as well as our unique WBL partnerships and Teacher Externship experiences.
Attending this conference provided the opportunity to bring back great ideas and reenergized staff to see the Montana Ready mission through. I have included some pictures on the award winners from their social media posts below.
We See You, We Appreciate You, We Thank You:
Shout out to the following deserving support staff. Each employee displayed professionalism, knowledge of content, and a strong desire for the OPI team to achieve success in the past weeks.
Kelley Brown – For continuous work to support the entire Special Education Unit in the office.
Tristen Loveridge – For supporting the Special Education Department with online collaboration and website support.
Katie Felde – For continuous support and excellent professional document crafting.
Angie Griner – For meeting deadlines and always completing work and projects in a timely manner.
Scott Furois – For his dedication to ensure data reports were completed and his work on the 1% Waiver data.
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 Shout out to our Tribal Youth Coordinator, Alicia Doney. She was invited into the Billings Senior School District to provide a presentation on applying to colleges, fafsa, and obstacles we often face after graduating from high school and going to college. Quote from a teacher, ”Alicia was well prepared and had great communication skills with high schoolers. We look forward to continuing to work with her.”
Thank you Genie Zeeck for the time and energy you put into preparing the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. This survey is an important aspect of MT Hope!
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Scheduled Maintenance:
The Network Team is performing schedule maintenance on a smaller server. The SABHRS application will be down from 12pm to 2pm on Friday, December 9, 2022. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Marla Swanby at 406-438-2160.
The OPI Bone Yard:
 The bone yard collects used technology from agencies and recycles what can not be used in schools.
Updated Floor Plans:
1227
  1300
 
OPI Openings:
Upcoming Holiday:
Employees needing to work on a holiday must send their request to Deputy Superintendent Sharyl Allen at Sharyl.Allen@mt.gov.
"TALENT WINS GAMES, BUT TEAMWORK AND INTELLIGENCE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS"
- Michael Jordan
Questions? Contact:
Brian O'Leary, Communications Director
T Jensen, Employee Engagement Coordinator
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, Relay Service: 711.
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