On Wednesday, January 24, the Superintendent hosted the first community discussion of 2024. The focus was on on HB 338, sponsored by Representative Jonathan Windy Boy, which includes:

• The addition of language instruction for American Indian studies
• Requiring Indian Education for All (IEFA) in state content standards and accreditation
• Additional reporting requirements for IEFA

Please see the following items for more information:

• Recorded meeting
• Agenda
• IEFA FAQ
• IEFA Funding & Reporting Guide
• IEFA Reduction PDF
• IEFA Funding Reduction for BPE

The recordings of past discussions and dates for future discussions are available on OPI’s Parent Resources page.

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Rob Stutz, Chief Legal Counsel and Deputy Superintendent.

Superintendent Arntzen is actively implementing HB 352, Early Literacy Targeted Intervention Program, 20-7-1803, MCA. This program enhances early literacy learning in Montana schools by offering optional classroom-based, home-based, and jumpstart programs for eligible students. The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is working with the Board of Public Education's Early Literacy Advisory Council to ensure successful program implementation, aiming to improve reading proficiency by the end of third grade. The Early Literacy Collaborative provides guidance to engage stakeholders and offers clear directives for local districts.

There are three optional programs for parents and schools to participate in the program:

• Classroom-Based Interventions:
  • The classroom-based program is specifically tailored for children who are not yet entering or have not completed kindergarten. To be eligible for this program, a child must be 4 years of age or older on or before September 10. Programming options include both half-time (360 instructional hours) and full-time (720 instructional hours), providing flexibility to meet the diverse needs of students. The instruction within the classroom-based program must align with the Montana Early Learning Standards, which are currently undergoing revision to ensure the most up-to-date and effective educational practices.
• Home-Based Interventions:
  • The home-based learning program is designed for eligible children who are 4 years of age or older on or before September 10 of the year in which the child is to participate and who have not yet completed 2nd grade. This program, which will be established through a Request for Proposal (RFP) must be research-based, proven effective at developing early literacy skills in populations at risk of not being reading proficient by the end of 3rd grade, and foster parental engagement. The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) will provide access to school districts on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the RFP process has been completed, the agency will notify districts of how to apply for these resources.
• Jumpstart Programs:
  • The jumpstart program targets eligible children who are 5 years of age or older, on or before September 10, and have not yet completed 3rd grade. Taking place during the summer between school calendars (except for 2024, where the effective date is July 1, 2024), the program requires 120 hours of instruction in a minimum of 4 weeks. All program hours/weeks for the summer of 2024 must begin on or after July 1, 2024. The jumpstart program must align with both the Montana Early Learning Standards and Montana Content Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. Additionally, an eligible child participating in a jumpstart program may be counted as quarter-time enrollment for Average Number Belonging (ANB) calculations.

Parental consent is required for a child to undergo screening for participation in any of the established early literacy intervention programs. Eligibility is determined through the evaluation methodology established by the Board of Public Education through the work of the Early Literacy Advisory Council. The evaluation methodology, a guidance document, and a District Implementation Interest Survey are available on the OPI’s Early Literacy Targeted Interventions page.

The Education Savings Account Steering (ESA) Committee, which provides strategic advisory support to ensure the administrative process of the ESA program meets the needs of students and families enrolled in the program met the first time on January 9, 2024. The meeting agenda can be viewed here and the recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

The next Committee meeting will be on February 12. To view the agenda, click here. The recorded meeting will posted February 13 on the ESA page.

The OPI ESSER Team is preparing for the federal COVID relief ESSER III funds deadline of September 30, 2024.

ESSER System of Support includes 6 days/week via Zoom, phone, email, text, and in person.

Allocation Report:

The state-wide ESSER allocation through January 26, 2024, is:

MAST Summit

The first Montana MAST Through-Year Assessment Summit, scheduled for February 27, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

This virtual event is specifically designed for Montana school personnel involved in grades 3-8 assessments as part of the preparations for MAST statewide implementation in the 2024-2025 school year.

Event Highlights:

• Engaging in discussions with keynote speakers from Education First, the Center for Assessment, and New Meridian.
• Topics range from the foundations of through-year assessments to Montana's MAST implementation.
• Participation-based sessions, role-alike discussions, and a panel on family engagement.
• Insights into educator engagement, score report development, accommodations, and instructional utility.

This summit will provide valuable insights and enhance your understanding of through-year assessments. Please mark your calendar, and we look forward to your presence at this informative and collaborative summit. Navigate to the MAST KickOff Virtual Event page to find registration information, agendas, presenter bios, and more!

MAST is gaining national attention!

In November, OPI's MAST partner, New Meridian, hosted an edLeader Panel, The Future of Summative Assessment: A Statewide Approach to Innovation. This panel discussion was recently featured in the latest addition of edWeb Voice (page 22-23), a monthly e-pub that features the voices of education leaders on timely topics and reaches over 500,000 educators. The article states that "Montana is on the leading edge of this work." Thank you to all of our participating students, teachers, schools, and districts for helping make the MAST program a success!

For more information, contact Tressa Graveley, Assessment Specialist.

Superintendent Arntzen has consolidated the Office of Public Instruction’s (OPI) office buildings from two to one as of February 1, 2024. In November 2022, the Superintendent announced that she was vacating the second of four previously rented office spaces. The consolidation of buildings will save state general fund dollars.

This was made possible through the implementation of an agency-wide telework policy. Currently, there are:

• 177 total agency employees
• 125 agency employees teleworking
  • 70.6% of employees telework
• 27 Montana counties have teleworkers

Between September 21 and October 20, 2023, the OPI conducted a Fall Work Survey of both on-site and teleworking employees. The results showed:

• 93% of respondents agree that their work location allows them to serve our students and schools efficiently
• 92% of respondents’ productivity has increased by teleworking
• 92% of respondents feel informed and engaged with their unit’s activities and co-workers while teleworking
• 80% of respondents’ stress levels decreased by choosing to telework
• 47% of respondents choose to telework for a better work/life balance

The statewide results for the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) have been released. The 2023 survey consisted of 97 questions that assessed six priority health-risk behaviors resulting in the most significant morbidity, mortality, and social problems among students. All public schools in Montana with students in grades 9 through 12 were eligible to be selected for inclusion in the sample. The 2023 Montana YRBS was completed by 4,467 students in 50 public high schools during the spring of 2023. The school response rate was 100%, the student response rate was 85%, and the overall response rate was 85%.

The assed behaviors include:

• unintentional injuries and violence
• tobacco and nicotine use
• alcohol and other drug use
• sexual behaviors
• nutrition and dietary behaviors
• physical activity 

According to the survey:

• Over 42% of high school students reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness for two or more weeks in a row (32% males; 54% females).
• In the 30 days before the survey, 23% of students reported that their mental health was not good most of the time or always. Females were more likely than males to experience poor mental health, including stress, anxiety, and depression (44% females, 21% males). 
• Among suicide ideation questions, 26% of students considered suicide, 22% made a plan, and 15% attempted suicide. Among students who attempted suicide, 32% had an attempt that required medical treatment. 

The survey shows that:

• 43% of students reported texting or e-mailing while driving
• 39% of students reported using the Internet or apps on their cell phone while driving
• 71.5% of students reported spending three or more hours on “screen time” per day

In the 30 days prior to the survey:

• 9% of students smoked a cigarette
• 30% used an electronic vapor product
• 6% used smokeless tobacco
• 6% smoked cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars  
• 29% drank alcohol 
• 21% used marijuana