Superintendent Elsie Arntzen has approved the online application for the English Language Arts and Literacy Standards Revision Task Force. The application is now open, and we are inviting interested stakeholders to apply!
For more information about the ELA standards, contact ELA Content Specialist Stephanie Swigart.
Fellow educators, parents, and community members can find more information about the standards revision processes and materials on the new Montana Content Standards Revision site.
The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee for Mathematics and World Languages will meet this month! The NRC for each subject area content standards will consist of the following stakeholders:
- parents
- local school district trustees
- school business clerks
- tribal education representatives
- K-12 educators
- higher education representatives
- administrators
- business owners/taxpayers
- Superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction or proxy
These meetings are open to the public. We encourage interested parties to attend and share widely with their networks. More information including dates and meeting links can be found on the OPI's K-12 Content Standards webpage.
Gobble up these Discovery Education Resources! Sign up for FREE Discovery Ed programming. If not, you are missing out on a wonderful ‘deal’ for great education resources for your classroom as well as your own PD! Discovery Ed has partnered with OPI! FREE access for all Montana schools! Please follow this link to register for November PD offerings from Discovery Education!
Please scan the QR code below to register and gain access to streaming lots of excellent content support for your students as well as PD for your school staff! Superintendents, you can sign up your district here! OR any educator can scan below and share it with your District Administrator:
Are you an educator teaching provisionally or under an emergency authorization? Have you been assigned a grade or subject area for which you are not certified or are not prepared to teach due to staffing needs? Would you like to connect with a non-evaluative collegial mentor AND get paid for participating? Check out Montana State University's Mentee Information/Application for Enrollment!
Teacher Learning Hub News
#1 - Feast on These Great Hub Courses!
You can’t go wrong when you elect to take any of these great self-paced courses! Every content area requires proficiency in reading and writing and these courses are great for supporting all teachers in that shared responsibility! Any one of these courses is of tremendous value to any K-12 educator!
“Reading is important because if you can read, you can learn anything about everything and everything about anything.” ~ Tomie dePaola. (And that in turn, empowers our students’ oral and written voice!)
Check out our Hub Course List for additional learning opportunities that may fit your game plan!
#2 - Grace and Gratitude
All of us at the Teacher Learning Hub would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Though we all encounter trials and tribulations, there are abundant positives and moments that deserve gratitude that we can find all around us! All of us here at the Hub are so grateful and thankful for living and working in the beautiful state of Montana, collaborating with excellent educators, energized and idea-prone colleagues, teacher tenacity in addressing their daily school challenges, schools that care about student success, and the opportunity to offer free online professional development to all of you! We hope all of you take a moment with your staff, students, and families, to pause, reflect, and share the positive moments of gratitude that we have all experienced this calendar year and rejoice in a year where despite any challenges, we know that the sun still comes up each and every day!
#3 Tidbits and Helpful Hints!
-
Save those certificates! We still cannot guarantee that courses are being auto-transferred to TeachMT. Tech is continuing to work on the issues. In the meantime, be sure to download and save your completion certificate any time you complete a course whether it is on the Hub or a PD certificate you obtained at an outside event.
-
All courses on the Hub are now auto-graded. They are reliant on your professional honesty and integrity when completing them. Please continue to respond to all submissions to the best of your ability and in a professional-worthy manner so you are able to get the utmost from the course. Course submissions will be randomly monitored for accuracy.
Do you have ideas or specific needs for professional development opportunities?? We would love to hear from you! Please take a minute to complete this Professional Needs Survey
Course List | Catalog | Calendar
Questions? Contact Allyson Briese or Kimberly Evans
opilearninghub@mt.gov | 406.444.3557
English Language Arts & Literacy News
#1 First Lady of Montana and Dolly Parton Announce Statewide Expansion of Imagination Library
Partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will provide free books to Montana children from birth to age five in every Montana zip code.
“Literacy is critical for our kids and their development. When parents read to their kids or when a child reads, it engages them, it fires their imagination, and sparks their curiosity,” First Lady Susan Gianforte said. “I’m proud of the partnership we’ve developed with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and local organizations throughout Montana. Working together, we’ll make sure all our youngest kids have access to reading resources so they can dream, grow, and reach their full potential.”
Through the partnership, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will provide a free book each month to any Montana child, ages 0 to 5 years old, who is registered with the organization.
For more information, or to register a child, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.
#2 Dr. Beverly Chin Receives Prestigious Squire Award!
It is my great pleasure to report that the National Council of Teachers of English has awarded Dr. Beverly Chin the 2023 NCTE James R. Squire Award!
Previous winners of this prestigious award include Carol Jago (2022), Carol D. Lee (21), Arthur Applebee (16), George Hillocks Jr. (11), Donald Graves (08), Louise Rosenblatt (02), and Peter Elbow (01), among distinguished others.
Moreover, Beverly is only the 10th individual to be awarded both the James R. Squire Award and the NCTE Distinguished Service Award!
Beverly will receive her award at the 2023 NCTE Annual Convention in Columbus, Ohio in November.
This is a crowning addition to the numerous awards Beverly has received over the years.
Congratulations Beverly!
The OPI ELA Webpage is Your Source for Montana ELA Announcements, Opportunities, and Resources
Keep up to date on high-quality professional learning conferences and workshops. Stay in touch with our Montana community and nationwide education partners' programs, resources, and news. Learn how to participate in exciting challenges and competitions for your students and school. Your ELA webpage is updated weekly to keep you in the loop on our ELA community’s events and opportunities.
Have an event you want to share with our Montana ELA community? Looking for resources or professional learning collaboration? Contact ELA Instructional Coordinator Stephanie Swigart for assistance!
Questions for our ELA & Literacy Instructional Coordinator?
Contact Stephanie Swigart | stephanie.swigart@mt.gov or 406.444.0736
The OPI Science webpage offers the following information for educators:
- Grant or paid opportunities,
- Challenges and competitions,
- Student and classroom opportunities,
- Conferences and professional development
- Connect with the STEM community!
Also available are:
- Science Fair Information Across the State
- Refereed Curriculum
- Resources
- Science Content Standards
- News in the World of Science
Questions for our Science Instructional Coordinator?
Contact Michelle McCarthy | mmccarthy5@mt.gov or 406.444.3537
Keep up to date on high-quality professional learning conferences and workshops. Stay in touch with our Montana community and nationwide education partners' programs, resources, and news.
Have an event you want to share with our Montana Math community? Looking for resources or professional learning collaboration? Contact Mathematics Instructional Coordinator Katrina Engeldrum for assistance!
Questions for our Mathematics Instructional Coordinator?
Contact Katrina Engeldrum | katrina.engeldrum@mt.gov or 406.444.0706
OPIRUPS@mt.gov is now OPIPDUPS@mt.gov
The Professional Learning Team continues to transition our language and documents from "Renewal Units" (RUs) to "Professional Development Units" (PDUs) in alignment with the new Administrative Rules of Montana Chapter 57, 10.57.216 APPROVED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RENEWAL ACTIVITY.
The former Renewal Unit Provider System (RUPS) has successfully transitioned to the Professional Development Provider System (PDUPS), and we are in the process of updating documents, webpages, and systems to reflect the change.
Notably, Renewal Unit Certificates, or RUs, have been transitioned to Professional Development Unit Certificates (PDUs). The certificates remain the same and certificates that bear the term "Renewal Units" will still be valid for educator license renewal.
Please contact the Professional Learning Team at OPIDUPS@mt.gov with any questions.
Professional Learning Portal Reopening
The Professional Learning Portal is open! Thank you for your patience as we worked through tech updates.
With a calendar of already scheduled events and a catalog of professional learning available, the OPI Professional Learning Opportunities Portal is your free resource to learn about professional learning opportunities happening across Montana!
Visit the Professional Learning Portal to learn about professional learning opportunities in Montana and, for providers, to submit opportunities to be added to the portal.
Questions about Professional Learning?
Contact the Professional Development Unit Provider System Staff | OPIPDUPS@mt.gov or 406.444.3538
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.
|
