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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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LEAs who have been in good standing with their local application funds for two years prior to the current application year. This includes adhering to grant application and reporting deadlines, submitting accurate data reports, appropriate fiscal supporting documents, adherence to all Perkins V and Civil Rights monitoring.
Districts are only eligible for a total of $5,000 in awards, must have completed the Perkins Grant Application for Fiscal year 26 and receive an allocation of less than $15,000.
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Vision for Perkins Reserve Funding:
- Foster innovation through the identification and promotion of promising and proven career and technical education programs, practices, and strategies, which may include programs, practices, and strategies that prepare individuals for nontraditional fields; or
- To create career awareness, recruit students to a CTE Secondary Program of Study or promote the development, implementation, and adoption of programs of study or career pathways aligned with state-identified high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations or industries in the middle grades.
Schools could use the funds to help:
- establish foundational elements for work-based learning
- improve transitions from middle grades into secondary CTE programs of study.
- establish innovative delivery methods for career exploration
- expose students to employability skills earlier
Resources
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FLS will be held October 5-6 at Fairmont Hot Springs. Our state officer team has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that this FLS is educational, exciting and fun.
This year's activities will promote the theme "Lead Loud" with our three LEAD workshops for students to attend with our state officers. But as we go throughout the BPA year as we celebrate the 60th year of BPA, we also hope our members will Raise the Bar. We are encouraging our members and chapters to:
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- Help us grow. Help find other students in Montana that you know would absolutely love BPA and help convince them the values of joining BPA.
- Stay engaged. Engage your community and organization members by committing yourself to the community service projects linked to BPA.
- Stay professional. Whether you practice a firm handshake or get a sharp new outfit, the spirit of professionalism lives inside all BPA members.
We look forward to a year of our Montana BPA members....Leading Loud and Raising the Bar for Montana BPA.
Written by Alyssa Stephens, BPA Montana President from Missoula Sentinel High School
Highlands College of Montana Tech will host Trades and Technology Day for high school juniors and seniors on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Trades and Technology Day allows students to participate in hands-on activities in their field of interest.
 Students will build a wall in the Construction Technology Lab and participate in a tire changing competition with the Automotive Technology Department. In the Pre-Apprentice Line Yard, students will climb utility poles, learn to tie knots, put on heavy climbing gear, and ride in the bucket truck. Students will also learn how to take x-rays in the Radiology Technology Department and also how to save lives with CPR and First Aid. Students will dive into surveying and concrete work with the Civil Engineering Technology Department and will get a realistic look into what it’s like to work in a mine with the Mining Technology program.
 “Get ready for an exhilarating day packed with exploration and hands-on experiences as we dive into the world of trades and technology,” Director of Dual Enrollment and Grant Funding at Highlands College Bernie Phelps said. “Whether you’re a curious beginner or looking to enhance your skills, this event is designed to ignite your passion and expand your horizons. Students will have the opportunity to network with industry leaders, who will share their experiences. Students can ask questions, and explore potential career pathways or further learning opportunities.”
 More and more students are choosing vocational education post high school. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, enrollment at U.S. community colleges with a vocational focus grew 16% in Fall of 2023, a significant increase from the previous year’s 3% increase. Highlands College offers programs that prepare students for in-demand, high-paying careers. They include:
Highlands College graduates enjoy excellent placement rates following graduation.
 Trades and Technology Day will run from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at 25 Basin Creek Road in Butte. Lunch will be provided. This popular event has hosted as many as 300 students. Space is limited, and schools or individuals who would like to come are asked to register early at this link. [iam.mtech.edu] A chaperone is required to attend. Schools are asked to limit groups to 20 students or less if possible. Registration will close on September 26, 2025.
For more information, contact Bernie Phelps at bphelps@mtech.edu or (406) 496-4565.
- 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.
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!
 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
Open, 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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