CSH June 2023 Compass

21^st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Awards

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Title IV Part B, the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) receives funding which is sub-granted to local communities through a competitive application process to run out-of-school time programs before school, after school, and during summer months.  The purpose of the initiative is to establish 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) programs that provide targeted students with opportunities for academic enrichment, personal enrichment, and other activities designed to complement the students’ regular academic program. The 21st CCLC programs provide safe environments for students during non-school hours. These programs may have one or multiple centers/sites in schools, community facilities, and/or faith-based facilities. All centers must provide a range of high-quality services to support student learning and development that may include but are not limited to tutoring and mentoring, academic enrichment, service learning, physical fitness and wellness, career and technical programs, career exploration and development, internships, and apprenticeship programs, etc. Each 21st CCLC program must also work to engage adult family members of participating students by providing educational and personal development opportunities.

This year the Montana OPI was able to award 22 out of 31 applicants. A percentage of the eligible dollar amounts requested were awarded to the 22 new grantees based on their application scores. Five grantees were awarded 95% of the eligible amount requested, seven grantees were awarded 90% of the eligible amount requested, and 10 grantees were awarded 85% of the eligible amount requested. This enabled the OPI to fund a larger number of grants, awarding 71% of the applicants.

There will be another grant competition for the 21^st CCLC grant in early 2024. Details will be released in the fall of 2023 on the 21^st CCLC website.

Help Us Prioritize Youth Vaping Prevention Resources for Montana Schools It appears that there may be an increase in funds dedicated to supporting youth tobacco use prevention in Montana schools. Please take a minute or two to provide the Tobacco Use Prevention Education program with your valuable insight and priorities regarding tobacco use prevention resources for Montana schools. For more information contact Kris Minard.

Coordinated School Health at the OPI Summer Institute

The OPI Summer Institute at MSU Bozeman will offer several sessions that may be of particular interest to health educators:

Youth Risk Behavior Survey with Genie Zeeck on Monday, June 19^th.  This session will provide educators, students, and community members an opportunity to compare the recently released 2021 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey findings to those from Montana. The second goal will be to give all attendees an opportunity to provide feedback about the survey. People who have used the data, have been asked to implement the survey in their schools, or have had general interest can participate in a constructive discussion about where we can head with this survey moving forward.

Cartel, Drugs, and Danger: What the Community Should Know on Monday, June 19^th with Stacy Zinn from the Montana Drug Enforcement Administration. Ms. Zinn will provide information related to her job experience to give the participants a world view on the manufacturing of drugs, the destination of the monies back to the drug traffickers, and the origin of the chemicals to make the drugs. She will also touch on the different nefarious groups that are actively targeting Montana. The goal is to provide factual information in order to build a foundation of knowledge pertaining to the realities of the drug flow into Montana. Stacy has presented to students in many schools across Montana and gets rave reviews.

School Violence Prevention and Threat Assessments with Michele Henson on Tuesday, June 20^th.  Schools throughout Montana are taking steps to make schools safer while simultaneously supporting student well-being by implementing a threat assessment and intervention procedure. In this session we will review the research on acts of violence in schools and what can be done to proactively prevent violence from occurring, such as implementing a threat assessment process. We will walk participants through the threat assessment process and steps schools can take to establish a threat assessment team. When included as part of a school’s safety plan, threat assessments are highly effective tools to prevent acts of violence from occurring. A threat assessment is a violence prevention strategy that aims to (1) identify students who may be planning to commit an act of violence, (2) determine the seriousness of the threat of violence, (3) intervene to prevent the act from occurring and address the underlying problem or conflict. Threat assessments are restorative in practice and provide an alternative to “zero tolerance” school discipline policies by helping schools right-size their response to concerning behaviors.

Vaping Prevention Resources for Montana Schools: Are Vape Detectors Worth the Investment? with Kris Minard on Thursday, June 22^nd.  Vaping has reached new levels in Montana schools. Join us as we discuss how vaping impacts education in Montana and navigate resources to help our kids resist industry targeting and nicotine addiction. Let's discuss why out of school suspension doesn't work and share resources for alternative disciplinary measures. Several schools in Montana have installed vape detectors and this session will provide attendees with feedback regarding their successes, struggles, and potential funding resources. Join us as we strategize ways to turn this major school discipline issue into a forgotten fad.

Safe and Supportive Schools: Elevating Youth Voice Student Panel with Michele Henson and Alicia Doney Friday, June 23rd  Students, educators, and communities benefit from safe and supportive school environments. When students feel safe, they are better able to learn. Student feelings of connectedness and belonging are essential to promoting emotional well-being and engagement with school. In this session, Montana students will take the lead in presenting their thoughts and recommendations on how schools can support feelings of safety and connectedness for all Montana students.

YRBS: You Have Data, What Now? With Genie Zeeck on Friday, June 23^rd. School administrators will share how they’ve used YRBS data to help inform decision making around curriculum and school policy. Session attendees will also compare data across a variety of Montana demographics, identifying both positive growth and areas of concern.

Here’s a link to the OPI Summer Institute Agenda and Registration.

Do You Have Vape Detectors In Your School?

The OPI is gathering information about how well vape detectors are working for Montana schools. Have they helped reduce youth vaping in your school or is it too soon to tell? Have they been easy to install or more complicated than you'd hoped? Please help other schools benefit from your experience by following this link.

You can also contact Kris Minard directly with questions or to provide more information.

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.