Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter were among the 6,500 attendees representing nearly 800 school chapters who attended the 2024 BPA National Leadership Conference in Chicago, Illinois, May 10-14. While in Chicago, students vied for top honors in BPA’s Workplace Skill Assessment Program competitions, which cover the areas of business administration; digital communication and design; finance; health administration; information technology; and management, marketing, and communication. Conference participants also attended professional development workshops, received awards for community service activities, and elected BPA’s 2024–2025 national student leadership team.
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Montana’s delegation represented secondary chapters 11 middle-level chapters, and 1 collegiate chapter. Montana Association had 479 attendees (54 ML students, 320 Secondary students, 1 collegiate student, 10 ML advisors, 57 Secondary advisors, 1 collegiate advisor, and 35 guests). Business Professionals of America is the leading Career and Technical Student Organization for students pursuing careers in business management, office administration, information technology, health administration, and other related career fields. Students and Advisors were also provided with the opportunity to receive national certification through Certiport and/or Precision Exams.
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The BPA Cares Program recognizes schools that participated in service-learning programs: marketing and public relations as well as chapter activities award of excellence.
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Montana was recognized with the following National BPA Honor Awards: BPA CARES 2023-2024: Certificate of Achievement: Membership Explosion: Bainville High School; Special Olympics: C.M. Russell High School Recruiter of the Year: C.M. Russell High School, Clara Martin; Membership Explosion: East Helena High School;
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Membership Explosion: Hardin High School; Recruiter of the Year: Sentinel High School, Avery Stephens; Membership Explosion: Shelby High School; Membership Explosion: Skyview High School; Community Service: Twin Bridges High School. Award of Achievement: Marketing & Communications Award: C.M. Russell High School; Community Service: Capital High School; Special Olympics: Colstrip High School; Marketing & Communications Award: Great Falls High School; Marketing & Communications Award: Montana BPA State Officer Team; Special Olympics: Montana BPA State Officers; Marketing & Communications Award: Simms High School; Marketing & Communications Award: Skyview High School. Recognized with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Bronze Level) were Christian McGuire of Broadview Schools, Taylor Ferretti of Capital High School, and Jennifer Walks Skyview High School.
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Quality Chapter Distinction for 2023-2024 (42) was awarded to the following schools: Custer Middle School, Broadview School (ML), Washington Middle School, Billings Senior High School, Broadview Schools, Capital High School, Colstrip High School, Conrad High School, Custer High School, Ennis High School, Fergus High School,
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Garfield County District High School, Lavina Public School, Hardin High School, Helena High School, Jefferson High School, Billings West High School, Moore Public School, Powder River Co. Dist. High School, Shepherd High School, Simms High School, Skyview High School, Superior School District, Winifred High School, Shelby High School, C.M. Russell High School, Great Falls Public Schools, Columbus High School, Scobey High School, Hellgate High School, Circle High School, Glasgow High School, Lincoln Public Schools, Twin Bridges High School, Joliet High School, Lima High School, Seeley Swan High School, Harlowton High School, Anaconda School District, Anaconda Junior High School, Charlo, Plevna High School.
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The following students and advisors completed the National BPA Student Certification and Local Advisor Certification: Student Certification (level 1)Kaitlyn Gouchenour, Conrad High School; Trey Kinamon, Conrad High School; Julia Kunau, Fergus High School; Skylar Smith, Jefferson High School; Rebecca Aye, Powder River
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Co. Dist. HS; Gunner Aflleje, Simms High School; Hudson Rohrer, Simms High School; William Mishler, Simms High School; Chloe Jones, Skyview High School; Konrad Joy, Skyview High School; Cort Kaufman. Skyview High School; Grace Harris, Skyview High School; Vanessa Afraid of Bear, Skyview High School; Dylan Francis, Skyview High School; Taylor Awbery,Superior High School; Gage Horn, Superior High School; Lane DiGiando, Superior High School; Janet Best, Superior High School; Eddye Betts, Superior High School; Kodi Kelly Superior High School; Brydon Drey, Superior High School; McKenzy Norquist, Park High School; Cian Logan, Froid Public School; Aliah Batalla, Opheim High School; Billy Still, Opheim High School; Elloria Jensen, Noxon High School Student Certification (level 2): Julia Kunau, Fergus High School; Skylar Smith, Jefferson High School; Hudson Rohrer, Simms High School; Konrad Joy, Skyview High Local Advisor Certification: Angelina Maggio, Moore Public School
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Montana State Director, Lisa Parker, was inducted into the National BPA Hall of Fame. Montana Vice President Julia Kunau of Fergus High School was a candidate as a 2024-2025 National Executive Council Member and was elected to serve as National Historian for the upcoming year. Cian Logan of Froid High School was Montana’s nomination for Student of the Year and Jody Sandru was Montana’s nomination for Advisor of the Year.
Montana BPA students (24) were recipients of the Ambassador Torch Award: Adisyn Wahl, Circle; Alicia Dale, Twin Bridges; Avery Stephens, Sentinel; Caiden Sekuterski, Cascade; Cian Logan,
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Froid; Clara Martin, C.M.Russell; Elizabeth Olson, Ennis; Gabrella Garay Harlowton; Gracelyn Gonsioroski Lambert; Gunner Aflleje, Simms; Hallie Iverson, Bainville; Jaeleigh Davidson, Froid; Kodi Barnes, Hobson; Konrad Joy, Skyview; Lauren Prevost, Lambert; Megan Knack, Ennis: Reegan O’Rear, Laurel; Ty Wheeler, Skyview; Skylar Smith, Jefferson; Trey Kinamon, Conrad; William Misher, Simms; Zachary Foss, Ennis; Taylor Ferretti, Capital; Sophie Blanchard, Colstrip.
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The following students represented Montana at NLC this year as voting delegates: August Witham, Twin Bridges, Julian Alviar, Hellgate; Lexi Wichman, Moore; Avery Stephens, Sentinel; Lane DiGiando, Superior; Hanna Suganob and Trey Kinnamon, Conrad; Carmen Katzenberger, Harlowton and Alexa Nelson, Medicine Lake. Will Tresch, Moore as well as Faith You and Juliet Geilen of Hellgate served as alternates.
Montana Advisors were also recognized for their “Years of Service” as a BPA Advisor: Julie O’Dell, Hardin 50 years; Della Anderson, Lodge Grass 45 years; Jeannie Leinwand, Laurel 30 years; Molly Barta, Skyview 25 years; Tamaira Wacker, Melstone 25 years; Julie Hanson,
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Meagher County 20 years; Jessica Goosen, CMR 20 years; Jill Page, Glasgow 15 years; Tammy Schwend, Bridger 15 years; Dawn Smartnick, Jefferson 10 years; Theresa Reimer, Red Lodge 10 years; Tina Hill, St. Regis High School 10 years; Jeff Zeltner, Bridger High School, 10 years; Lisa Parker, MT BPA 10 years; Charlene Heil, Custer 5 years; Heather Grey, Ronan 5 years; Shirley Dyer, Winifred 5 years; Cynde Cole, Joliet 5 years; Amy Griffin, Westby 5 years; Eva Bernard, Lima 5 years; Calie Wineinger Bainville 5 years.
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April 26-28, Belgrade High School represented the state of Montana at the National ProStart Invitational in both the Culinary and Management categories. There were 48 teams there and Montana ranked 25th in Culinary and 37th in Management. Both of these places are higher than last year's results, so big congratulations to our teams!
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Leading both teams were Kortney Douma and Melanie Young, FCS teachers at Belgrade High School.
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What other things happened at NPSI?
On Friday evening, after a riveting Welcome Ceremony, all teams were treated to a boat tour of Baltimore's Inner Harbor with dinner included. Afterwards, teams headed back to the hotels for a good night of rest before participating in the competitions the following two days.
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On Saturday, Belgrade was able to check out the Coca-Cola Lounge (a HUGE space with every flavor of Coke product imaginable, tons of snacks, and comfy seating to unwind before or after competition), enjoy lunch together, and then compete in the Culinary event.
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With one hour to cook at the same time as many other states, the room was loud and energized! (You can watch the video from the live stream on Facebook as well if you look up "Belgrade High Family & Consumer Sciences" if you're interested in seeing it all!) Post-competition, the team received feedback and was able to explore Baltimore with the rest of Belgrade High's crew.
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On Sunday, it was the Management team's turn to compete!
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In a room with seven other teams, Montana interacted with judges, presented their restaurant concept, and answered questions from industry professionals regarding things such as menu concepts, marketing tactics, HR (human resources) related questions, and so much more. (You can also view segments of this competition on the Facebook page!)
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Once they wrapped up and received feedback, they were able to go catch an Orioles baseball game! The timing worked out perfectly for a little mid-day fun before coming back to the convention center and finding out who placed in the top five nationally.
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There was an Awards Gala where we were surprised with a special guest, Laurie Hernandez, a former Olympic Gymnast and Dancing with the Stars winner!
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She spoke about Leadership and helped celebrate the winning teams. Following the Awards Gala, all students were invited to the ProStart Prom to dance and celebrate an incredible conference weekend!
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Interested in learning more about this program? Reach out to your State ProStart Coordinator, Jordan Collins, jordan@mtfccla.org
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*FREE FOR MONTANA TEACHERS!
This virtual (synchronous) course examines the computing field and how it impacts the human condition. Exciting ideas and influential people are introduced. A gentle introduction to computational thinking using the Python programming language is provided. The course also introduces participants to robotic platforms. Offered virtually July 8 – July 12, 2024, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm daily. Taught by MSU-Bozeman Computer Science Faculty, Hunter Lloyd. *Full tuition stipend available for teachers in Montana who submit a letter of support from an administrator and a brief letter of intent.
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Visit the MSU MSSE program website for registration, application and other information: montana.edu/msse [montana.edu] or msse@montana.edu.
(NOTE: you can take MSSE classes as a non-degree seeking student—you do not need to be admitted to the MSU Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) program to take this course.)
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Montana State University is offering CSCI 581 Computer Science in the Classroom: Computational Thinking for Teachers this summer, July 8-12, 2024. The course is free to Montana teachers and will be offered via a synchronous virtual format.
The course examines the computing field and how it impacts the human condition. Exciting ideas and influential people are introduced. A gentle introduction to computational thinking using the Python programming language is provided. The course also introduces participants to robotic platforms.
The course will meet 8 am-5 pm daily and will be taught by MSU Bozeman Computer Science faculty member Dr. Hunter Lloyd. A full tuition stipend is available for Montana teachers who submit a letter of support from an administrator and a brief letter of intent.
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[March 27, 2024, Helena, MT] — Career and technical education students from across Montana brought home medals from the 2024 SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference.
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The 2024 state championships were held in Helena, MT March 24-27, 2024. The annual SkillsUSA state conference was a showcase of career and technical education (CTE) students in our state where 318 outstanding students competed in 39 different trade, technical and leadership events.
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During the state SkillsUSA competition, the CTE students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as robotics, computer-aided drafting, cyber security, carpentry, welding, and culinary arts.
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All contests are run by SkillsUSA with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, testing competencies set by industry. In addition, leadership contestants demonstrated their skills, which included extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings using parliamentary procedure
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During the state SkillsUSA competition, the CTE students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as robotics, computer-aided drafting, cyber security, carpentry, welding, and culinary arts.
All contests are run by SkillsUSA with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, testing competencies set by industry. In addition, leadership contestants demonstrated their skills, which included extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings using parliamentary procedure.
Top student winners received gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade and scholarships to further their careers and education.
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The annual championships event is for middle school, high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA.
SkillsUSA Montana has a statewide membership of 586 students, representing 27 counties and 42 chapters Members have consistently demonstrated their expertise and professionalism while participating throughout the year in a variety of leadership and competitive conferences.
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SkillsUSA Montana empowers its members to become world class workers, leaders and responsible citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of the nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of SkillsUSA Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics.
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Our vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.
SkillsUSA Montana empowers its members to become world class workers, leaders and responsible citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of the nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of SkillsUSA Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Our vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.
State first-place (gold medal) winners are eligible to compete at the National SkillsUSA Championships, which will be held in Atlanta in June.
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Advisor of the Year - High School: Denise Bordeleau, Butte HS
Advisor of the Year - College: Tim Stenson, MSU City College-PS
Administrator of the Year: Tony Biesiot
Largest Student Engagement MT Chapter Award: Darby (48) and Hardin (58)
Pillars of Success Award: Greg Oblander
World Skills Recognition Award- Top 6 Welding Qualifier: Kevin Graves, City
College
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Highlight Keynote Speaker: Jeff Southworth, Allied Steel
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Scholarships provided by: UTI, WyoTech, AMP, Culinary Institute of America, and Helena College. Thank you!!
Gold sponsors that supported SkillsUSA Montana: Allied Steel, Lithia, Murdoch's, Pacific, East Helena High School, and Helena College.
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Silver sponsors that supported SkillsUSA Montana: Morton Buildings, Great Falls
College, Montana Chamber of Commerce, Tractor, and Equipment, MT Shed Center.
Bronze sponsors that supported SkillsUSA Montana: Montana Contractors
Association, Montana Sheet metal workers-JATC, Reach Higher, Steel Etc., Builders First Source, Big Sky Equipment
Congratulations to all Winners!!
For more information about this year’s events and the winners, contact:
Roberta Tilleman, SkillsUSA Montana State Director
statedirector@skillsusamontana.org
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Over 2,000 members and guests attended Montana FFA’s 94th Annual State Convention March April 2 - 6, in Billings, Montana. The Montana FFA State Convention hosted 22 career development events, general sessions, and workshops during the four-day event. The winning teams earn the opportunity to compete at the National FFA Convention which will take place this fall in Indianapolis, IN. New State FFA Officers were selected and are as follows: Jordan Leach – President from Conrad, Reagan Long - 1st VP from Shields Valley, Romulus Hiner - 2nd VP from Harlowton, Emma Lou Slivka - Secretary from Winifred, Sierra Mauland - Treasurer from Big Timber, Grace Mosher - Reporter from Shepherd, Ryan Bal - Sentinel from Park City, and Grace McPherson from Fairview - Parliamentarian from Plentywood.
The Beaverhead chapter from Dillon took home the title of Star Chapter. Adelaide Meyer from Stevensville was named Star State Greenhand with Reagan Long from Shields Valley being announced as the Star in Agribusiness.
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Montana’s Star in Agriculture Placement went to Echo Saunders of Gardiner, and Jordan Leach of Conrad earned the title of State Star Farmer. There were 184 members from across Montana that received their State FFA Degree which is the highest degree that a state can bestow upon its members. The individual sweepstakes title went to Joel Warneke of Winifred, followed by Joel Standley of Missoula and Reinhard Bold from Havre. Finally, the team sweepstakes title went to the Kalispell FFA Chapter followed by Stevensville and Winifred. The sweepstakes award recognizes the chapter that places highest in four of the five major state convention competitions.
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Over 250 Day of Service participants teamed up with three locations in the Billings area to lend a helping hand. The combined work effort of these student volunteers totaled over 500 hours to improve the city of Billings, as well as community businesses and organizations.
Montana Business and Industry representatives sponsored the event as well as promote their businesses during the two-day FFA Tradeshow. Individuals who were recognized as Honorary FFA Degree recipients were Kellan Standley (Montana Ag Teacher President), Chase Rose (longtime FFA supporter), and Joylynn Petrosky (Agriculture Teacher in Billings).
Additionally, speakers and special guests included Governor Greg Gianforte, Supt. of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, and National FFA Secretary Grant Norfleet from Missouri.
Montana FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. For more information, please contact the Montana FFA Association for upcoming events and ways to get involved.
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Career Development Event Results are High placing individual, followed by the high team.
Agricultural Issues Team: Baker
Agricultural Sales CDE: Individual: Sophie Banzet – Kalispell Team: Kalispell
Agronomy CDE: Individual: Amanda Willis – Shields Valley Team: Shields Valley
Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems CDE (mechanics):
Individual: Zane Downey - Whitehall Team: Kalispell
Creed Speaking CDE: Individual: Dani Wester - Kalispell
Jr. Creed Speaking CDE: Individual: Chelsie Stone - Geraldine
Extemporaneous Speaking CDE: Individual: Trey Kinamon - Conrad
Farm Business Management CDE: Individual: Bradley Fields – Kalispell
Team: Kalispell
Floriculture Individual: Hasaylnn Schairer - Corvallis Team: Missoula
Food Science Individual: Keagan Merrit - Missoula Team: Missoula
Conduct of Meetings CDE: Team: Miles City
Forestry Individual: AJ Sharkey - Missoula Team: Kalispell
Horse Evaluation Individual: Madelena Preston - Fairfield Team: Lima
Marketing Plan Team: Corvallis
Meats Individual: Weston Sondeno – Big Timber Team: Big Timber
Poultry Individual: Kodi Barnes- Hobson Team: Hobson
Vet Science Individual: Kinzey Clark - Missoula Team: Missoula
Livestock Judging CDE: Individual: Nathan Long - Fergus Team: Big Timber
Environmental and Natural Resources Individual: Joel Warneke - Winifred
Team: Missoula
Employment Skills Individual: Kathryn O’Donnell - Shepherd
Parliamentary Procedure CDE: Team: Kalispell
Prepared Public Speaking CDE: Individual: Kennedy Lyson - Baker
Additionally, speakers and special guests included Governor Greg Gianforte, Supt. of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, and National FFA Secretary Grant Norfleet from Missouri.
Montana FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. For more information, please contact the Montana FFA Association for upcoming events and ways to get involved.
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Agriscience Fair:
Winners in each area:
- Riley Jones – Miles City, Animal Systems
- Corbin Kirkland and Gia Bumgarner – Corvallis, Plant Systems
- Lauren Weidow and Mckenzie Weis – Corvallis, Social Systems
- Addisyn Jensen and Aubree Gerber – Kalispell, Environmental/Natural Resource Systems
- Colter Anderson – Simms, Power, Structure and Technical Systems
- Miley Weston and Alaina Willhite – Missoula, Food Science Systems
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Overall Winner – Riley Jones – Miles City
State Talent Winner – Goddy Bandola – Judith Gap
The Office of Public Instruction has developed this webpage to support local school districts concerning financial literacy instruction for K-12 schools.
Changes to allocation occur due to population (30% of allocation) and poverty (70% of allocation) data for children ages 5-17 in the school district. The number of districts requesting allocations and overall allocation for secondary programs in the state. This year we have more schools requesting a preliminary allocation and the secondary allocation was reduced $13,000 from the previous year.
Final allocations will be completed after all schools have completed their final expenditure reports for fiscal year 2024 due by August 10, 2024. Any carryover funds along with any funds from incomplete applications will be pooled and reallocated in the fall.
FY 2025 Preliminary Allocations By School Document
April 25- Deadline for May 10 Payment of Cash Request Submission
Early May – Carl Perkins Fiscal Year 25 Application opens in E-grants
May 10- OPI pays Cash Requests received by April 25
May 13- End of Year CTE Data Collection Opens
May 25- Deadline for June 10 Payment of Cash Request Submission
June 1- Last day for Amendments for Fiscal Year 2024 Perkins Grant ends June 30
June 10- “First June Payment” OPI pays Cash Requests received by May 25
June 20- Deadline for June 23 Payment of Cash Request Submission
June 23- “Second June Grant Payment” OPI pays cash requests received (5/26-6/20)
Next payment is August 10th
June 21- CTE End of year Data Collection is DUE
June 30- Last day to obligate funds for Fiscal Year 2024 Carl Perkins grant
June 30- Carl Perkins Fiscal year 2025 Grant is DUE
July 1- State Fiscal year begins and Spending for Carl Perkins FY 25 begins
July 10- No grant payments in July
July 25- Deadline for August 10 Payment of Cash Request Submission
July 31- Last day to liquidate obligations for Carl Perkins FY24 Grant that ended 7/30
August 10- Final Expenditure Report for Carl Perkins FY 24 Grant is DUE
August 10- OPI pays Cash Requests received by July 25
When districts fail to meet the Final Expenditure Deadline of August 10- they are holding all districts up from receiving final budget allocations that allow them to submit their final budget amendment. The CTAE Unit wants to provide districts with the final allocations from carryover by the end of September this cannot be completed when we must spend time tracking down reports.
2023-24 CTE-Perkins Office Hours
Every Wednesday 7:00am-4:00pm
Our Office hours are a great place to jump on and ask any question regarding the Perkins process or application. Our Specialists are there to help with one-on-one instruction!
For questions, please contact:
OPI CTE Unit General Questions
Shannon Boswell, Career Technical and Adult Education Director
Eric Tilleman, Agriculture Education Specialist
Jamie Corley, Health Sciences Education Specialist
Kaitlin Trutzel, Industrial Technology Specialist
Eric Swenson, Business Education Specialist
Gayla Randel, Family & Consumer Sciences Education Specialist
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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