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Along with our partners at the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, we will plan regional meetings to prepare for the FY 27 Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment for the 2026-2027 Perkins Grant cycle.
The tentative dates and locations are:
- Northcentral Region- Great Falls, MT September 10, 2025
- Northwest Region- Pablo, MT September 15, 2025
- Southwest Region- Butte, MT September 18, 2025
- Southcentral Region- Billings, MT September 22, 2025
- Eastern Region- Glendive , MT September 23, 2025
We will provide more information as dates, locations, and start times are secured. Registration Links have been sent out to AR's of the grant.
Regional Meeting Resources - To be completed before meetings
If you have any questions or need assistance, our team of specialists is available to support you. Map Key can be found here.
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The 2025-26 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Scholarship application period is now open to Montana Juniors and Seniors who meet the full 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 7-14, 2026. Attending the entire Washington Week public service and leadership program and the college scholarship are one, inseparable award!
Applicants must be:
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- High School Juniors or Seniors
- Elected or appointed officers representing a constituency in student government, other school-based organizations, or community service organizations for the entirety of the 2025-2026 academic year.
- Reside in the state where they attend school to qualify.
The Montana application is available right now on the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) Student Scholarships & Student Exchange webpage, and complete application packets must be submitted electronically by 11:59 pm, October 6, 2025.
Questions? Contact Kristen Bokovoy, USSYP Coordinator, at Kristen.Bokovoy2@mt.gov or 406-444-2417.
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The 2025-2026 State Officer Team gathered in Helena on July 26–27 for their summer planning and leadership training. The team is energized and enthusiastic about the year ahead. They have set the Fall Leadership Summit for October 5–6, with the theme “Lead Loud.” |
Looking ahead, the State Leadership Conference will take place in Billings, March 8–10, 2026, under the theme “Raise the Bar.”
This year's state officer team is led by President: Alyssa Stephens, Sentinel High School; Vice President: Shoei Davis, Fergus High School; Secretary: Lily Bingaman, Conrad High School; Membership Director: Domonic Calderon, Columbus High School; Public Relations Director: Kolbi Ross, Glasgow High School and Communications Director: Elijah Barnett, Lincoln High School.
The Home Baking Association is proud to announce Cathe Felz, Culinary Arts teacher at Three Forks Middle School and High School in Montana, as the recipient of the 2025 Educator Award. Cathe’s outstanding lesson plan, Exploring the Delicious World of Sourdough, exemplifies the power of baking education to connect students with science, history, culture, and community—all through the joy of making something from scratch.
In her winning lesson, Cathe’s students cultivated their own sourdough starters, learning to identify the wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria responsible for the fermentation process. Microscopes in the kitchen allowed students to observe microbial activity firsthand, turning culinary class into a working science lab. Alongside this scientific exploration, students traced the historical journey of sourdough from ancient Egypt to the California Gold Rush, revealing how bread has sustained communities and shaped cultures for thousands of years. Their learning culminated in a school-wide Sourdough Showcase and Tasting, followed by community service visits to the local Senior Citizen Center where students prepared and served homemade bread as part of a grant-funded service project.
To learn more, please read more here.
In addition to medals, Montana students earned 29 Skill Point Certificates, awarded to competitors who meet or exceed national industry-defined standards in their contest areas. These certificates are a recognized symbol of technical excellence and are endorsed by leading companies.
The Office of Public Instruction’s Career, Technical, & Adult Education unit invites all new Montana Career & Technical Education (CTE) professionals to participate in a FREE hybrid professional learning experience. Who benefits from the New CTE Professionals Hybrid Workshop?
- New to the CTE classroom or with five years or less of experience in Montana.
- Local administrators, counselors, and CTE or WBL coordinators
- Individuals who have participated in the past are also invited to participate again.
What are the benefits of attending the workshops?
- Discover leadership and professional growth opportunities
- The fundamentals of Career & Technical Education, federal and state funding programs, professional organizations, curriculum resources, program standards and guidelines,
- Marketing and advising Career & Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs),
- Advanced learning opportunities for CTE students through dual enrollment and work-based learning.
Registration here!
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You're Invited!
On behalf of the Montana Association for Career and Technical Education, I am pleased to invite you to the 2025 Montana ACTE Fall Institute, taking place October 16–17, 2025, at the Best Western GranTree Inn in Bozeman, Montana.
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This year’s institute offers a dynamic professional development experience featuring renowned keynote speaker Jeff Butler, an expert in workplace dynamics and generational leadership.
Attendees will have the opportunity to:
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Network with CTE professionals from across the state
- Attend breakout division sessions tailored to their fields
- Learn about the new Career Cluster Framework
- Celebrate at the 2025 Montana ACTE Awards Banquet
- Connect informally during the Networking Social
Join us in Bozeman for two days of inspiration, collaboration, and celebration of career and technical education in Montana! See you in Bozeman!
Warm regards, Landon Stubbs President, Montana ACTE
Register Here!
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Event Timing: October 15-17
Event Address: GranTree Bozeman, MT
This scholarship will cover your early bird registrations but not your Montana ACTE Membership. By applying for this scholarship, you are ensuring that you are also registered and attending the OPI New Professionals Workshop Series (all four sessions).
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Scholarship application must be submitted by the end of the day (11:59 pm MST) on September 8, 2025. Verification of your OPI New Professionals Registration has been completed. Montana ACTE membership is not required; however, it is strongly recommended.
Please note that Perkins funding as well as State CTE funding can be used to support Professional memberships, conference registrations and travel expenses.
Apply Here!
 Exciting Opportunity for schools/students in 6th-12th grade
The challenge includes information sessions for your department or organization upon request, free educational resources to foster classroom learning and an exciting student virtual field trip in the fall.
Sixty winning teams will also receive $1500 to build their experiment, a spot to test it on a NASA-sponsored flight, and technical support from our awesome NASA TechRise advisors.
The challenge is a great way to get hands-on with a NASA project this school year, and we encourage teams of all skill levels to apply. Updated challenge resources (including videos, slide decks, and educator pacing guides) can all be found on the challenge website HERE [futureengineers.org] when the challenge opens.
Prior NASA TechRise Flights and a Winner From Your State:
You can also learn more about last year’s NASA TechRise Student Challenge HERE, [nasa.gov] hear from educators about their experience with the challenge HERE, [youtu.be] and view the NASA TechRise portfolio page and a short video of Ophir Middle School from Montana showcasing their winning experiment from the 2023-24 NASA TechRise Student Challenge https://futureengineers.box.com/s/t4us6xrxvzaxligpa3rlmt06tx6hcc75 [futureengineers.box.com]
Share this exciting opportunity with your community:
1. Share the Challenge: Share the NASA TechRise Student Challenge Website HERE [futureengineers.org] with your community of educators to have them pre-register for challenge updates and view the challenge flyer.
2. Request a NASA TechRise Student Challenge Information Session:
Complete the form HERE [docs.google.com] to request a NASA TechRise Student Challenge information session for Montana Office of Public Instruction. This session will provide your colleagues with everything they need to know to help get your community involved in the NASA TechRise Student Challenge.
3. Let Us Know How We Can Help: Email us at techrise@futureengineers.org to request additional information or resources to share the challenge with your community.
Selected as one of eight states to participate in the Early Adopter Cohort OPI will be working with OCHE and other partners to review our Career Clusters and Montana Career Pathways. Click the image to find out more.
The CTE Specialists have been assigned regionally to schools. The regions are Eastern, Northcentral, Northwest, Southcentral, and Southwest. These assignments will be used to review the 2025- 2026 Perkins Grant application and any remaining 2024-2025 amendments.
If you have any questions or need assistance, our team of specialists is available to support you. Map Key can be found here.
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Below you can find information related to CTE Funding, Montana Career Pathways, Carl Perkins Grant and Data, State CTE Data, Work Based Learning and related topics. If you would like all of this information in one document you can reference that here. |
The information is also split into three different resources for more specific guidance. The linked documents are broken into three different categories; CTE Funding Guidance, CTE Montana Career Pathways, Montana Work Based Learning.
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 Education Specialist
Ethan Igo, 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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