The Learning Hub

Early Learning

The Early Learning Series*

• January 14, 2026, 4:00-5:00 (Teams Link)
  Phonics (1 PDU)
• January 28, 2026, 4:00-5:00 (Teams Link)
  Community of Practice- Action discussion on Phonics (2 PDUs)

*These events are designed for the learner to attend both sessions

Montana Early Learning

Visit our Google Site to find resources and links for professional learning opportunities. The site is growing every day and we are excited to share it with you!

Early Literacy Targeted Interventions- Annual Report- September 2025

View the annual (‘24-’25) report as presented to the Education Interim Committee.

Early Learning Home-Based Program 

At this time, all available Waterford licenses have been claimed for the 2025-26 school year. We will, however, be compiling a waitlist if licenses become available.  If a currently assigned license is not being actively utilized, it will be turned off and reallocated to another eligible student on the waitlist. Please note that students who are not utilizing their licenses by January 2nd will have their access removed so that another eligible student may benefit from the program.

Call for ELTI Program Highlight Videos

Memorandum – Let us highlight your Early Targeted Intervention programs.

Professional Development Opportunities

Check out these links for upcoming events and courses:
The Learning HUB
Early Math Counts!
Cox Campus

Waterford

Click here for more information on Waterford, Montana OPI’s partner in Home-based Early Learning. For more information, contact Becky Eberhardt, School Relations Director, at BeckyEberhardt@waterford.org  or (701)261-8888.

Contact Information

Visit the Early Literacy website, call or email us anytime.

Jackie Ronning, Early Learning Specialist
(406) 438-0522 
jackie.ronning@mt.gov 

Kimberly Evans, Early Learning Research Analyst
(406) 594-7053 
kimberly.evans@mt.gov

Professional Development News

Professional Development Requests

Fill out the PD Request Form to request specialized professional development from the Standards, Instruction, and Professional Learning Team at OPI (expected time: 10-12 minutes). This request form serves as an opportunity for school districts to communicate their needs for additional professional development opportunities in the area of K-12 Education. 

Once a request is submitted, OPI's Standards, Instruction, and Professional Learning Team will review the request and consider the next steps. Follow-up communication will be had directly with the party submitting this form unless otherwise indicated. If this request is being made less than thirty days from the requested professional development day, please understand that there is a small chance our specialists will be available.

 OPI Learning Opportunities Portal

The OPI Learning Opportunities Portal was designed to create a one-stop hub for professional development opportunities available to educators across Montana. This platform brings together workshops, training sessions, and events from the OPI as well as a variety of other professional learning providers from around the state.

Since its launch, the portal has become an invaluable resource for connecting educators with the development opportunities they need. We invite administrators, school staff, and external providers to share their upcoming events on the portal, helping to consolidate all available resources in one easy-to-access location. We also encourage you to share this information with your educators, ensuring they have the opportunity to explore and take advantage of the many professional learning events available to them.

Explore the portal here: OPI Learning Opportunities Portal

Content Area Updates

The Last Best Learning Podcast

The mission of the Last Best Learning Podcast is to deliver digestible and relevant professional learning that honors educators’ capacity in an increasingly busy world.

Our state’s educators empower minds, elevate futures, and inspire self-discovery - and we walk beside them.

We invite you to join us in this innovative approach to professional development, tailored to address the unique challenges faced by educators in Montana's ever-changing educational landscape. At the end of each month, the podcast will be uploaded to the K-12 Content Standards webpage as well as the Podcast YouTube channel. 

Check out our most recent episodes: 

• November - Ep. 16 - IEFA - You Don’t Have to Be an Expert, But You Do Have to Begin
• October - Ep. 15 - MAST in Motion: Lessons from Implementation in Montana, with Rachel Barkell from Anaconda Public School District
• September - Ep. 14 - Looking Forward: 5th Graders Report, with Tracy Babcock's Class

Coming Soon

December - Ep. 17 - Combatting Conflict, with special returning guest John Sommers-Flanagan, Director of the Phyllis J. Washington Center for the Advancement of Positive Education 

Math

Announcement: The Office of Public Instruction is hosting a math webinar series from August-April!

Register for the Montana Math Monthly Implementation webinar now! 

We hope to see you at our next session, January 15th, at 4pm

You may register at any point in the series, so if you missed previous sessions, don’t worry! Recordings are available. 

• Session #1: August 21st - Why the Change? Understanding the Math Standards
  
• Session #2: September 18th - Exploring the Changes & Structure: Navigating the Standards
  
• Session #3: October 16th - Math Practices: What They Are & Why They Matter
  
• Session #4: November 20th -  From Fluency to Flexibility: Understanding Mathematical Proficiency 
• Coming soon: Session #5 December 18 - Aligning Your Curriculum: Where Do We Stand? 

1 PDU is available for each live session engagement.

Math Website

New Resources have been added to the math standards revision website including: 

• Kindergarten Expanded Guidance 
• PK-12 Guidance Document
• One-pagers to support district communications with stakeholder groups
• Tools to support alignment work 
• Recommended pathways, course alignment, financial literacy guidance, and more!

Math Minute

December’s volume of the MT Math Minute is live and ready to view! Each month, our Math Coordinator compiles relevant features, classroom resources, IEFA implementation ideas, and sometimes, teacher spotlights! This month's edition features resources for integrating mathematics learning concepts with the context of winter sports, new math standards resources, professional learning opportunities, and helpful classroom resources. Future editions will include district and school spotlights when available. Districts, schools, or teachers interested in being featured in future Math Minute editions can fill out this form. 

Want to receive these in your mailbox each month? Subscribe now!

Instructional Strategy Spotlight! Looking for a new classroom instructional strategy to get students excited about math and engaging in discourse? Check out this quick, 5-minute video on Which One Doesn’t Belong?

STEM

Research Experience for Teachers

Elementary teachers: Apply for a six-week paid research experience at MSU this summer. Montana State University will host a six-week Research Experience for Teachers (RET) for elementary teachers in Summer 2026. The experience includes a stipend plus housing and travel expenses.  In the energy-themed program, teachers gain hands-on experience in state-of-the-art engineering research labs and will visit energy facilities such as hydroelectric dam as well as nearby American Indian cultural sites. We will explore Indigenous perspectives in engineering, with a focus on integrating STEM with Montana's Indian Education For All curriculum. The application deadline is Feb. 6, 2026.

Visit www.montana.edu/ret for more information and a link to the application. No STEM degree or prior experience is required, and all Montana elementary teachers and pre-service teachers are encouraged to apply.

Community of Science Teacher Leaders

The Montana Office of Public Instruction's Science Instructional Coordinator invites K–8 science/STEM educators to join the Community of Science Teacher Leaders. This statewide community will collaborate to strengthen 3D science/STEM instruction, proficiency-based learning and assessment (MAST), and meaningful IEFA integration. Participants will engage every month in virtual meetings.  The first meeting is scheduled for January 27, 2026.

The purpose of the Community of Science Teacher Leaders is for Montana students to receive meaningful and rigorous STEM/science instruction that allows them to develop critical thinking skills that will assist them in their personal lives and in their careers, as well as lay a foundation of understanding of science content.  

Members may assist in MAST item review, statewide professional development, (e.g. conferences, the Teacher Learning hub, etc.).  Members may also create and referee lessons/units for the science repository, collect student feedback, and eventually connect them to the standards in the Satchel Website.

Montana Earth Science Pictures

This website has moved from the old website formontana.net to the new site Earthscienceguy.com.

The site is intended to provide real-world examples of topics that Montana students learn about in their Earth Science Classes. Teachers can print out the MESPOW Worksheet and then assign one or two pictures each week, depending on the topics being covered in class that week.  

Find out about more opportunities on OPI’s science website!

Keep updated on: Science Professional Development Grant or Paid Teacher Opportunities  Challenges and Competitions  Student and Classroom Opportunities  Montana STEM Community Find many other resources and opportunities on the Montana OPI Science Page.

ELA

Upcoming Hub Course: Preparing Students for the MAST Performance Task

Be on the lookout for a new course on the Learning Hub: Preparing Students for the MAST Performance Task. This course is designed for 3-8 teachers and will guide participants through a review of the rubrics and ELA content standards relevant to the writing assessment, writing strategies to use all year long with your students, and instructional resources and approaches to practice the Performance Task–including exemplars, prompts, and more. 

*New* Monthly Instructional Strategy Spotlight

December’s video focuses on question types and test-taking strategies for ELA multiple choice questions. Watch the short video here. 

NCTE Call for Proposals

NCTE is accepting proposals for the 2026 NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia, PA, on November 19-22. Applications are due January 27, 9:00 am ET. Learn more and apply here.

OPI ELA Updates

Check out the Montana OPI ELA page to learn about additional professional learning opportunities, instructional resources, standards revisions, and more!

• ELA Announcements
• Professional Learning Opportunities
• Standards and Standards Revision Updates

Art

CMR HS Art Day

Charles M Russell High School is excited to host MAI on March 6th and 7th. We are changing it up a little with all the sectionals being taught on Saturday morning. We are looking for people to teach two, 2-hour sectionals and we anticipate we can pay $50/hour. This is the tentative schedule:

Friday
4:00 - 5:30 registration and hang student art work.
5:30 - 6:30 Dinner (taco bar) Welcome
6:30- 7:30  Critique groups
7:30- 9:30  Sculpture group collaboration (Burning Man Theme)
9:30 - 11:00 Sculpture parade and dance

Saturday
7:00 - 8:00 Breakfast
8:00-10:00 Sectional 1 
10:00-12:00 Sectional 2

Pack up lunch on own. Downtown Great Falls has a multitude of beautiful murals and two excellent museums for students to explore. $50.00 registration fee and limited to the first 150 registrants. If you would like to share your skills with these amazing students please fill out this form.

History/Social Studies

Holiday Resources

The Montana Historical Society has more resources to commemorate holidays and recognize Freedom Week. Thanks to Melissa Hibbard for pulling together resources for the birthdays of Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington!

Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (Third Monday of January)

In 2020, the National Education Association pulled together a list of lesson plans, activity ideas, and other resources for teaching MLK Day.

Here are some that Melissa Hibbard identified: 

• Digital Inquiry Group Lessons related to MLK
• Anti-Vietnam War Movement
• March on Washington
• Facing History & Ourselves Resources related to MLK
• Library of Congress–Civil Rights in America: A Resource Guide
• PBS Learning Media MLK Jr. Day Classroom Resources
• Resources form Civil Rights Teaching (you’ll have to create a free account)
• The Limits of Master Narratives in History Textbooks
• 10 Things you should know about Selma before you see the film
• Teaching Eyes on the Prize
• Teaching King beyond “I Have a Dream”

Lincoln's Birthday (February 12)

Digital Inquiry Group Lessons related to Lincoln (create a free account to log in)

• Verifying Historical Claims on TikTok
• Frederick Douglass & Abraham Lincoln
• All Lincoln resources from PBS Learning Media
• Library of Congress-Abraham Lincoln: A Resource Guide
• Facing History & Ourselves:
• Speech by President Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address Audio
• Speech by President Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address Reading
• Three Reasons you should celebrate the 14th Amendment
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum Educator Resources

Washington's Birthday (February 22)

• Educational Resources from George Washington's Mount Vernon
• Digital Inquiry Group Lessons & Historical Thinking Assessments related to Washington:
• Washington Crosses the Delaware
• American Revolution Structured Academic Controversy (SAC)
• All Washington resources from PBS Learning Media 
• Library of Congress- George Washington: A Resource Guide
• Facing History & Ourselves:
• George Washington on Religious Inclusion
• Religion, Loyalty, and Belonging Read statements by George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte about religious freedom and the membership of Jews in eighteenth-century France and the United States.

Arbor Day (last Friday in April)

Here’s a great article/story by Ellen Baumler on school children planting trees on Mount Helena in Helena 1899 and again in 2012. Helena school children planted trees on Mount Helena again in 2023. 

Pioneer Day (November 1)

For middle and high school students, I'd also recommend Chapters 6 and 7 of Montana: Stories of the Land, Montana's Gold and Silver Boom, and Two Worlds Collide, the resources listed in those chapters' For Educators page, and the chapters Learning from Historical Document activities.

For both elementary and upper-level students, consider sharing the slideshow "What Would You Bring: Emigrant Families on Montana’s Gold-Rush Frontier.”  You can find the slideshow script in the Montana: A History of Our Home Teachers Guide, Unit 3 (it's Part 3, Lesson 1.)   

Standard Revisions Updates

ELA Standards

Adoption of Montana’s new English Language Arts and Literacy Standards by the Board of Public Education is pending, based on a legislative review of the ELA standards' Economic Impact Statement. The anticipated implementation date is July 2027. This new implementation date was selected to allow school districts more time between implementation of math and ELA standards. 

Check out the Montana ELA & Literacy Standards Revision Overview one-pager for an overview of the revisions, or see the 2027 Proposed MT ELA Standards and Coding. 

More information can be found on the OPI’s ELA Standards Revisions Webpage.

Math Standards

Montana’s updated standards have an implementation date of July 2026! 

Q: What does this mean?

A: All instruction in Montana schools is expected to be aligned with the state curriculum standards beginning July 2026. 

Q: Will my textbook cover all the standards? 

A: Your textbook likely covers the majority of the curriculum standards; however, educators should review the revised standards and conduct a curriculum audit to assess for gaps. For example, an existing gap that every educator will notice is the lack of IEFA alignment in “off the rack” textbooks. Montana’s standards have required mathematics instruction to embed contexts relevant to Indigenous Peoples of Montana for over 15 years, a need that textbooks rarely meet. 

Q: Can I just keep teaching what I have always taught? The standards haven’t changed that much, have they?

A: Continuing practices without reviewing the revised standards could lead to a misalignment with state assessments, limited time in the classroom to cover all content, or gaps in instruction. Additionally, state law mandates that teaching and learning adhere to state curriculum standards. Therefore, educators are strongly encouraged to conduct an audit. 

Q: What resources are available to help me with this change?

A: OPI offers tons of resources on our Math Revisions Website. Additionally, OPI is offering two professional learning webinars that occur monthly. You can watch recordings of past webinars, or register for future sessions on the website, or by clicking on the links provided later in this compass. 

Additional guidance is being developed as we speak. To stay informed, visit the mathematics revision webpage. All published guidance documents will be visible on this page as they become available. 

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