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The OPI is providing this newsletter every month for an update on current events and ongoing education-related issues in Montana. The next Navigator will be sent to you in
November 2024
For previous editions of the Navigator click here.
Table of Contents
Superintendent's Message
 Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, along with Power School students, teachers, administrators, and representatives celebrated the 2025 Montana Teacher of the Year, Dawn Sievers. Dawn teaches 7-12 grade Spanish and Art and 7 grade English at Power Schools. Mrs. Sievers obtained her Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Spanish and Art Teaching from the University of Great Falls and attended the Montana Writing Program at the University of Montana. She will go on to represent Montana in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
 Congratulations to the Special Education School Improvement Team: John Gorton, Mercee Cislo, Alicia Herman, Desiree Johnson, Katie Mattingley, and Chris McCrea for receiving the 2024 Governor's Award!
Highlights for Schools
Important Data Collection Dates
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October 7 is fall ANB Collection Day. This is key data collection to determine school funding counts based on Annual Number of Belonging, and schools must confirm data such as student demographic data, verify enrollment data, identify student enrollment in programs such as Indian Language Immersion, early literacy, education savings account, and out-of-district students.
Find the calendar of all data collection dates here.
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Montana Teachers Choose
Superintendent Arntzen allocated $1.5 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to Montana teachers for math and reading projects. This is through a partnership with DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit, to offer $500 direct grants to all K-12 public school teachers in Montana.
Montana district superintendents and principals can monitor the projects and materials that are shipped to schools through the DonorsChoose District Partnership Program. This program ensures that all materials ordered align with district policy as materials become district/school property.
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For more information, contact Brian O'Leary, Communications Director. |
Serenity in the Storm to Support Student Mental Health
Superintendent Arntzen has partnered with Jason DeShaw and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT) to sponsor another school tour to 10 Montana high schools this fall. The Serenity in the Storm tour, which first took place in 2018, will focus on reducing mental health stigmas, increasing student willingness to seek help for mental health issues, and increasing student willingness to work in a mental health field. Serenity in the Storm is a story of hope, set to the soundtrack of DeShaw’s life. BCBSMT awarded a Blue ImpactSM grant to the nonprofit mental health organization, Realize Hope, to help fund this tour. It is one of nine grants awarded in 2024 through the Blue Impact program.
The Serenity in the Storm high school tour dates, locations, and start times are:
- October 15 at Fort Benton Elementary School, 11:00 AM
- October 16 at Wolf Point High School, 11:00 AM
- October 22 at Cut Bank High School, 1:52 PM
- October 23 at Shelby High School, 2:00 PM
- October 24 at Chinook High School, 12:45 PM
- November 5 at Red Lodge Senior High School, 10:30 AM
- November 21 at Billings West High School, 1:45 PM
- December 9 at Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School, 2:30 PM
- December 11 at Plentywood High School, 3:00 PM
- December 12 at Scobey High School, 2:30 PM
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Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) Program
Montana Receives 2024 Competitive Grant for State Assessments:
Montana is one of ten states that has been awarded the 2024 Competitive Grant for State Assessments (CGSA). Montana received $3,999,974 to implement the Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) Science assessment for students in grades 6-8. The 2024 CGSA will fund a new four-year initiative titled: Scaling MAST Assessment to Middle School Science.
The expanded MAST Science program will achieve the following goals by 2028:
- Meet federal peer review requirements to replace existing grade 8 summative science assessments
- Align local curricula to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and create intentional cross-grade alignment of curriculum scope and sequence
- Streamline local assessment by providing educators, administrative leaders, students, and families meaningful, timely, and actionable data in one cohesive assessment system
- Ensure NGSS-aligned through-year assessment (TYA) resources are publicly available and widely shared nationwide
- Provide comprehensive professional learning for all Montana elementary and middle school ELA, math, and science educators on assessment literacy and data-informed instruction
To meet these goals, this project includes four major strategies:
- Produce a science TYA with extensive stakeholder engagement, iterative piloting, and authentic integration of Indian Education for All, culminating in a statewide field test for all 35,000 eligible students at Montana’s 217 middle schools
- Develop professional learning experiences to help educators use the science TYA to support standards alignment and differentiate instruction
- Expand the existing testlet scheduler tool to include science and design score reports that reflect disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts from the NGSS
- To support effective administration and widespread acceptance, integrate science into existing TYA communication vehicles.
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Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER)
Superintendent Arntzen partnered with Montana’s 400 school districts to ensure that the third round of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were successfully obligated by the September 30, 2024 deadline. Between the springs of 2020 and 2021, the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) received over $605 million of COVID relief funds. The federal government awarded ESSER funds, in three parts, as a response to prevent, prepare, and respond to the impacts of COVID. Of the $605 million, there was $11.9 million distributed to the Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS). The remaining $593.5 million was appropriated by the legislature via HB 630 and HB 632 during the 2021 legislative session:
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Throughout the state, districts used ESSER funds to:
- Support instructional staff through bonuses, stipends, and hiring of additional teachers to address learning loss
- Air and water quality projects such as HVAC systems and new lead-free water pipes
- Support for student well-being
- Teaching and learning materials such as technology and curriculum
- Creating outdoor learning spaces
The state set aside funds were spent in four categories:
- Education Leadership in Montana – OPI partnered with providers to conduct learning summits and leadership development for teachers and expanded educational opportunities for students
- Administration of the ESSER Grant
- State Loss of Instructional Time – OPI partnered with providers to implement student learning, tribal engagement, mental health, grant monitoring, and student data programs as well as teacher courses and learning platforms
- Database Modernization – OPI partnered with providers for project and process management services, teacher accreditation system, student data analytics platform (Power School), and a single sign on portal
Montana Teacher Residency Program District Participation Form
The Montana Teacher Residency Program is a year-long student teaching opportunity for Montana education students who are seeking teacher licensure. The Residents will be in the district for a full school year and must follow their enrolled college or university's requirements in addition to the requirements set by the Teacher Residency Program.
If a district is interested in hosting a Resident for the 2025-2026 school year please fill out this form. Official contracts for the 2025-2026 Teacher Residency Program will be distributed in the summer of 2025.
If you have any questions about the Teacher Residency Program, please contact Kirsten Minnick, Teacher Residency Coordinator, at krirsten.minnick@umwestern.edu, or (406) 683-7327.
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Native American Heritage Day
 September 27 was American Indian Heritage Day. In 1997, the Montana Legislature designated the fourth Friday in September as American Indian Heritage Day and stated that “all districts shall conduct appropriate exercises during the school day,” §20-1-306, MCA. In 2009, the Montana Legislature designated the last Friday in September as American Indian Heritage Day “to commemorate this state's American Indians and their valued heritage and culture…reflect on American Indian culture and heritage; and celebrate American Indians and their culture and heritage in all lawful ways,” §1-1-228, MCA.
Please watch:
Visit OPI's Indian Education for All webpage for many great classroom resources.
Montana's 2024 National Blue Ribbon School Awardees
 Congratulations to Chief Joseph Elementary and Russell Elementary Schools for being named Montana’s 2024 National Blue Ribbon School awardees. The principal of Chief Joseph Elementary School in Great Falls is Andrea Thares and the principal of Russell Elementary School in Missoula is Peter Halloran.
Chief Joseph Elementary and Russell Elementary were designated as Blue Ribbon Schools based on overall academic excellence and efforts to achieve high levels of student success. Students from both schools received high proficiency ranks in both math and reading statewide assessment scores during the 2022-2023 school year (two school years ago):
- Reading proficiency:
- Chief Joseph Elementary School: 49.3%
- Russell Elementary: 59.1%
- Montana’s overall: 45%
- Math proficiency:
- Chief Joseph Elementary School: 49.3%
- Russell Elementary: 51.4%
- Montana’s overall: 37.5%
Legislative Updates
Legislative Implementation
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HB 549 - Public Charter Schools Act
By Rep. Fred Anderson
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The BPE has applications available for the 2025-2026 SY, due by November 1, 2024. The BPE will approve applications in January 2025, and by March 2025, the BPE will enter contracts with each approved public charter. Find a timeline here. After that, new public charters will follow the public-school charter opening process.
OPI provides guidance documents, webinars, and discussions for charter schools, all of which are available online. OPI is preparing the Request to Open a New Public Charter School or District form for schools with approved applications for the 2025-2026 school year.
Previously, the Board of Public Education approved 19 Public Charter Schools applications in January, 2024. Two of these schools are planning to open in the fall of 2025: Bozeman Charter School and Boulder Jefferson Academy.
These Seventeen Public Charter Schools will open for the 2024-2025 school year:
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HB 811 - Trustee Repository
By Rep Marta Bertoglio
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This legislation, codified as Title 20, Chapter 3, Part 3 (MCA), required the OPI to create a repository, available through its website, making trustee contact information readily available for each school district of the state. This repository is located on OPI's main webpage under the link Trustee Repository.
Trustees and clerks need to update their information for the repository. OPI staff will be communicating with clerks and trustees to ensure the repository is updated.
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SB 213 - Revise laws related to school safety teams
By Rep Edie McClafferty
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HB 338- Revising Indian Education for All
By Rep Jonathan Windy Boy
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With the continuing discussion on school safety, it is important to review the steps the legislature took to improve school safety. This legislation requires annual review of school safety or emergency operations plans by school district trustees, clarifying the ability to use school safety funds for community-wide programs and training, and requiring county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety teams to adopt written agreements for operations.
Emergencies hit schools at the most inopportune times and can take many forms. Montana schools can find resources for mental health and emergency planning on OPI's website.
This bill included several new reporting requirements, and provided a reduction of future funding for school districts that fail to report expenditures of all IEFA revenue. Upon reviewing the Trustees Financial Summary Reports, 62 districts showed discrepancies in their reports for Indian Education expenditures.
These schools were notified on October 3, 2024 of their ability to make an amendment to the Trustee Report by December 10, 2024 to rectify any discrepancies.
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For more information about the above implementation, please contact, Assistant Superintendent Christy Mock- Stutz. |
Other Policy Updates
Education Research & Data
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For more information on education data and research at OPI click HERE. Three recent reports can be reviewed below:
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MSU Presentation on ESSER: PowerPoint presentation of research by Dr. Carly Urban and Dr. Christiana Stoddard from Montana State University on the ways Montana districts have utilized ESSER funds
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Teacher & Administrator Salary Analysis: OPI report about 2023 educator salaries and differences in educator salaries between 2022 and 2023. Report finds that there was significant salary growth for most teachers, however teachers earning less than $35,660 earned significantly less.
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Four-Day School Week Study: Groundbreaking research by partners at the University of Montana regarding the impact and effectiveness of four-day schools.
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HB 393 - Students with Special Needs Equal Opportunity Act
By Rep Sue Vinton
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For more information or if you have any questions please contact OPI Research Analyst and Liaison, Robin Clausen. |
HB 393 established a students with special needs education savings account (ESA). Qualified students, those identified as a "child with a disability" under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C 1400, may be eligible for reimbursement of allowable education expenses.
Fourteen contracts have been completed by parents and signed by Superintendent Arntzen. These parents have now begun submitting receipts to OPI for reimbursement. There are two application windows, May 1, 2024 – June 1, 2024, and parents will have another opportunity from November 2024 to December 2024.
In August schools were notified of the students in the district that will be participating in the ESA program.
In September, parents received their first reimbursements for eligible expenses. Eight families submitted and received reimbursements in September for a total of $3,971.68.
Education Interim Committee & Education Interim Budget Committee Meetings
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You can find more information about the ESA program HERE. For questions, please contact Whitney Williams, Education Savings Account Specialist. |
On September 16, 17, and 18 the Education Interim Committee & Education Interim Budget Committee held committee meetings. You can find recordings of the meetings here:
OPI presented the below reports:
September 17:
September 18:
- COVID-19 Funding Update
- World Language Proficiency Accreditation Standards
- Teacher Licensure System Update
- HB 367 - OPI Database Modernization
- Update on Implementation of Education-Related Legislation
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2025 Session Legislation
The 2025 Session is quickly approaching, and legislators without a general election challenger or holdover senators are already working hard to introduced legislation.
As of October 4, 2024, 445 pieces of legislation are in the process of being drafted or being held as placeholders.
As legislators or candidates, please know that OPI is here to provide information on education as you consider as education related legislation.
Please contact Katie Bloodgood, Legislative Liaison, if you need any assistance: katie.bloodgood@mt.gov
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Calendar
The Gavel provides updates on the implementation of new laws, in-depth research, links to interesting topics, and timely items about the Legislature.
Legislative Calendar Updates
10/7 - Legislative Consumer Committee - Room 152
10/10 - Senate Select Committee on Elections - Room 137
10/10 - Financial Modernization and Risk Analysis Study MARA- Room 317
10/11 - Financial Modernization and Risk Analysis Study MARA- Room 317
10/18 - Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Task Force Meeting, DOJ - Room 152
10/23 - Transition Review Committee (HB 29)- Room 102
10/23 - Broadband IIJA Communications Advisory Commission- Room 152
10/23 - Legislative Council - Mid-Range Space Improvement Subcommittee - Room 137
10/24 - State Administration and Veterans Affairs Committee - Room 137
Land Board Updates
During the October Land Board meeting the board is expected to consider: three Timber Sales, two of which will provide revenue to the common Schools account; a number of easements related to fiber optic and electric facilities; and, a approval for the sale of a parcel of land under the Land Banking program
Upcoming Meetings:
- 10/21 - Supreme Court Chambers, Mazurek Justice Building, Helena, MT - VIEW
- 11/18 - Supreme Court Chambers, Mazurek Justice Building, Helena, MT - VIEW
- 12/16 - Supreme Court Chambers, Mazurek Justice Building, Helena, MT - VIEW
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OPI Press Releases
Superintendent Arntzen Celebrates Successful ESSER Closeout
Superintendent Arntzen Opens Teacher Incentive Program Applications Through December 1
Superintendent Arntzen and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana Partner with Jason DeShaw to Support Student Mental Health
Superintendent Arntzen Announces 2025 Montana Teacher of the Year
Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Celebrates American Indian Heritage Day
Superintendent Arntzen Celebrates Montana’s 2024 National Blue Ribbon School Awardees
Superintendent Arntzen Opens the Variances to Standard Application for School Boards
Superintendent Arntzen to Urge Board of Public Education to Lower Teacher Licensing Fees
Superintendent Arntzen Reminds Montana Schools to Register for the 2024 Youth Days
Superintendent Arntzen Offers Update of $500 Math and Reading Grants for Montana Teachers
Superintendent Arntzen Celebrates National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week
Superintendent Arntzen Releases 2023-2024 Student Assessment Scores for Math and Reading
Superintendent Arntzen Announces $50 Million Literacy Grant for Montana
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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