For OPI Unit updates please click here.
Superintendent's Message
School doors are almost open and the Office of Public Instruction is busy innovating for a productive school year.
OPI Montana Ready and Dick Anderson Construction working together
 The OPI Career Coaches, the Department of Labor, and Dick Anderson Construction met in Bozeman for a partnership revolving around workforce readiness. More to come on Career Coaches that are deployed in 9 regions around Montana. For contact information, please reach out to Mary Heller, Montana Ready Coordinator, 406-399-0640
DNRC Interactive Fire Map
Click on the map for current DNRC Interactive Fire Map
DNRC monitors fires all over our state, especially those on our school trust lands. We wish safe passage through this summer and fall to all communities, firefighters, and their families.
Apply to be a part of the Standards Revision Negotiated Rulemaking Committees
The Superintendent is seeking applications from interested parties to serve on the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (NRC), one of three committees for English Learners, World Languages and Mathematics. Qualifying individuals are likely to be significantly affected by the proposed rule amendment, including individuals from the following groups:
- School District Trustees
- K-12 Administrators
- K-12 Teachers
- Higher Education Faculty
- School Business Officials
- Parents
- Taxpayers
Members of the NRCs will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Cultural Diversity
- Geography/Location
- Relevant Content Experience
- District and School Size
- Grade Levels Served
The NRCs will meet multiple times between:
- July and August 2023 – English Language Learners
- September and December 2023 – Math
- September and December 2023 – World Languages
Applications for all three NRCs can be found here
For more information, please reach out to Marie Judisch, Teaching and Learning Senior Manager, 406-444-5883
OPI VIRTUAL JOB FAIR
When: AUGUST 4, 2023 7:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. MST
Candidates
Are you looking for employment in Montana’s schools? This is a free event you want to attend. This free virtual job fair will connect you with Montana school leaders, where there are over 400 public school districts from the one-room schoolhouse to our largest community of Billings that serves over 18,000 students. You will be able to search for available positions, participate in a live networking session where you'll meet many district decision-makers. Private interviews will be offered. Register as a job seeker for free. Have a link to your resume or portfolio ready when you register.
Schools and Districts
The OPI Education Virtual Job Fair features an expo center where you create a booth to promote your district and the employment opportunities you offer. Candidates will learn more about your district and community from the information you upload to your booth. Candidates will be able to chat with you and send you messages from which you can schedule private interviews. Each candidate will provide a secure link with information about themselves. On Saturday morning, a networking session is provided to randomly pair candidates with districts.
Register today for our OPI Educational Virtual Job Fair that brings candidates to help solve your recruitment challenges.
Virtual Job Fairs have been sponsored by the OPI since the summer of 2020.
- LAST JOB FAIR: 201 CANDIDATES
- 19 DISTRICTS PRESENT
Click here for to sign up
Chapter 55: School Accreditation
A Stakeholder Review committee comprised of school and community leaders will convene to discuss the new 4-point system to ensure that Montana schools can understand the new system.
The 4-point includes:
1. Family and Community Engagement
2. Professional Development
3. Academic Programming including how the education program enables students to recognize the district and unique cultural heritages of American Indians
4. Assurance checklist for required accreditation policies
The Stakeholder Review will meet 11 times between August 2023 and March 2024 via Zoom:
- August 9, 10, and 15, 2023
- September 11 and 18, 2023
- October 16, 2023
- November 20, 2023
- January 8, 2024
- February 12, 2024
- March 11, 2024
OPI will offer multiple work sessions offered to parents, teachers, and school leaders:
- August 14, 2023 via Zoom
- September 28 and 29, 2023 at Lockwood High School
- October 18-20, 2023 during the Montana Conference of Education Leadership (MCEL) Conference in Helena
- November, TBD at Montana Tech in Butte
- January 25 and 26, 2024 at the Great Falls Public Schools Office
- February 20-22, 2024 via Zoom
- March 1 and 5-7 via Zoom
More details on the work sessions are available here.
For more information, please contact Crystal Andrews, Accreditation and Licensure Manager, at crystal.andrews@mt.gov.
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Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST) Pilot Program
What's New?
As we move into year 2 of MAST pilot, there are 20,333 Students with 56 districts and 127 schools recognized with this opportunity to link teaching and learning. Thank you for saying "yes"!
Students in Reading/ELA and Math:
3rd Grade: 3,462
4th Grade: 3,482
5th Grade: 3,844
6th Grade: 3,184
7th Grade: 3,282
8th Grade: 3,079
We are still waiting for the Department of Education to grant the waiver to remove the summative test at the end of the year for these participants for this year. Our OPI team is strongly asking them to say "yes"!
For more information, please contact Krystal Smith at Krystal.Smith@mt.gov.
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Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Funds - ESSER
Looking Ahead:
Affordable Connectivity Program offers qualifying families $30-$75 per month for internet services. Broadband project and funding reports include Digital Opportunity Plan and Broadband 5 Year Action Plan. Contact Allison Agostino (406 202-7685) for details. The States Digital Opportunity Plan is open for public comment through July 31st. Please send all comments to Connectmt@mt.gov
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No cash requests or Final Expenditure Reports (FERs) will be processed in July. Submissions in July will be processed in August. Please review training on Final Expenditure Reports and guidance on ESSER II Close-Out for more information.
ESSER II critical dates:
E-Grants Budget and Cash Request Descriptions must be reviewed to ensure there is adequate detail provided. If you have questions, contact one of the ESSER team members.
Office Hours and System of Support. The ESSER Team is available through extended-hour coverage between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Feel free to reach out with your questions to any ESSER Team Member by phone or email.
OPI Review Process: OPI is assisting LEAs in mitigating risks to avoid audit findings by reviewing requests for funding and providing assistance with compliance. From June through August, we will be contacting schools to conduct monitoring assessments and helping to strengthen ESSER documentation. Contact Wendi Fawns, ESSER Director for assistance (wendi.fawns@mt.gov)
As a reminder, ESSER II must be expended by September 30, 2023, and ESSER III must be expended by September 30, 2024.
The state-wide ESSER allocation through May 31, 2023, is:
For more information on ESSER please click here or contact Wendi Fawns at wendi.fawns@mt.gov.
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Click the links below for important updates from OPI's units.
Accreditation & Educator Preparation
Achievement in Montana (AIM)
Assessment
Career, Technical and Adult Education
Coordinated School Health
Educator Licensure
Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)
Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS)
Indian Education for All
Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST)
Montana Autism Education Project
Montana Ready
School Finance
School Nutrition
Special Education
Standards, Instruction & Professional Learning
Title & Federal Programs
Transformational Learning & Advanced Opportunities
Tribal Relations & Resiliency
Outside Opportunities
United States Senate Youth Program
The 2023-24 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Scholarship will open August 7, 2023, to Montana Juniors and Seniors who meet the USSYP qualifications!
Two students from Montana will be selected to receive one $10,000 scholarship each, along with a trip to Washington, D.C., March 2-9, 2024. Attending the entire Washington Week public service and leadership program and the college scholarship are one, inseparable award!
The application will be available beginning August 7, 2023, on the OPI Student Scholarships & Student Exchange webpage and must be submitted electronically by 11:59 pm, October 2, 2023.
Questions? Contact Kristen Bokovoy, USSYP Coordinator, at Kristen.Bokovoy2@mt.gov or 406-444-2417.
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Questions? Contact:
Brian O'Leary, Communications Director, (406) 444-3559
Dustin Scott, Communications Associate, (406) 438-2789
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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