State Superintendent Message
Throughout my tenure as your Montana State Superintendent, I have consistently discussed and evaluated the need to recruit and retain quality teachers in our Montana public schools. Unprecedented pressures and intensified mandates have severely impacted the teacher role. As a former teacher, I empathize with the 16,305 licensed and paraprofessional educators in our Montana schools. Flexibility is demanded to recruit, retain, and support Montana teachers. All solutions for hiring, growing, and maintaining the highest quality educators must be on the table as we put Montana students first.
Please read: Innovation and Flexibility is Critical to Montana Teacher Licensing
Public Comment for Flexibilities to Recruit Quality Teachers
Superintendent Elsie Arntzen has introduced recommendations to the Board of Public Education (BOPE). Parents, community leaders, and teachers are asked to participate in commenting on hiring flexibilities to ensure quality teachers lead our community classrooms. Current Montana teacher shortages demand this change to remove barriers in obtaining teacher licenses and hiring qualifications. Streamlining the process will attract teachers with multiple pathways and skills.
The proposed changes to increase recruitment of teachers:
- Equalizing alternative teacher preparation pathways
- Earning multiple endorsements to expand credentials
- Increased access for expired licensees to reenter the classroom
- Flexibility of initial license competencies through a test, portfolio, or verified GPA
- Acceptance of lifetime licenses
- Increase Career Technical educators by accepting diverse degrees, allowing associate degrees, and work experience equivalencies
- Allowing school counselors to pursue administrative licenses
- Providing license reciprocity from other states for military spouses and dependents
- Recognizing licenses for nationally board-certified teachers
Read more comprehensive changes to ARM Chapter 57.
For more information, please contact Dr. Julie Murgel at julie.murgel@mt.gov or (406) 444-3172.
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Residency Program – Full-year In-classroom Experience for Student Teachers
The Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen has created the Montana Teacher Residency Demonstration Project. This first-of-its-kind undergraduate program in Montana will help recruit, prepare, support, and retain K-12 teachers. This innovative new teacher preparation will provide a stipend for a full year in-classroom experience, possible district-provided housing, and teacher leader coaching to ensure student success.
The Montana Teacher Residency Demonstration Project is a full-year program that prepares education undergraduate majors to be effective teachers. The resident teacher, through classroom coaching by an effective teacher-leader, with support from the university and community, is a model for success for retaining quality teachers. The Montana Teacher Residency Demonstration Project begins in the fall of 2022 with a minimum of 8 demonstration schools, 16 resident teachers, and 16 teacher-leaders.
The program will begin with a two-week summer institute, followed by a year of residency under a teacher-leader in a school setting. The resident will participate in Office of Public Instruction (OPI) sponsored summits during the year while successfully completing undergraduate coursework toward their bachelor’s degree from the Montana University System. Residents receive a stipend during the residency year, partial tuition support, along with district-provided housing. Resident teachers will commit to teaching in a Montana high-needs school district for a minimum of two years.
For more information, please contact Deputy Sharyl Allen at Sharyl.allen@mt.gov or (406) 444-5658.
Executive Leadership & Teacher Leader Academy
The Montana Executive Leadership Academy and Teacher Leader Academies are offered by the OPI using ESSER-ARP funding designated for leadership development by the Montana Legislature in 2021. The Executive Leadership Academy began in October 2021 and the March 3-4, 2022 work with Dr. City will be the 6th session of the leadership committee For more information.
Please contact Tristen Loveridge for more information, 406-444-5643.
Maintenance of Equity
Montana state's public school funding formula distributed to approximately 400 public school districts was accepted after months of negotiations with the US Department of Education (USED). The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021, enacted on March 11, 2021, contained a new federal mandate as a requirement for receiving Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) COVID-19 funds. This new federal calculation depends on an annual student enrollment that conflicted with Montana's complex school funding formula, which strives for the equitable distribution of state funding to public school districts as required by Article X of the Montana Constitution.
The Montana state funding formula is unique as it is driven by prior year student enrollment and a 3-year average. The formula has specific components that safeguard Montana's very rural schools and allow for student enrollment changes.
Funding Components:
- Per-ANB Entitlement
- Special Education Allowable Cost Payment
- Data for Achievement
- Indian Education for All
- Quality Educator
- At-Risk Student
- American Indian Achievement Gap
- Basic Entitlement
"This is a big win for Montana," exclaimed Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. "Montana's Constitution and our state's school funding formula protects our state's rural nature from federal mandates and overreach. Our persistence paid off, and I am grateful that Montana's uniqueness is recognized and respected.”
Through negotiations, a new FAQ was released that allowed for a reasonable level of tolerance for very small school districts. This permitted Montana the ability to have small schools funded fairly, based on a variation of tolerance, over the federal formula. The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) drafted and worked with the USED to create a two-tiered variance from the federal formula for small schools, which was subsequently accepted by the USED on February 1, 2022.
For more information please contact Paul Taylor at ptaylor2@mt.gov or (406) 444-1257
CSCT, Student Mental Health - Number of Schools on MOU and Process Update
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As of February 23, 2022, 48 school districts have signed onto the CSCT MOU, our website is updated every Monday with a current list of districts. DPHHS and OPI worked with districts that had Board meetings past the February 11th deadline and accepted MOUs through the 15th. If the participating district submitted the match payment in addition to the signed MOU by the 15th OPI and DPHHS released submitted January claims for reimbursement.
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The legislature moved the administration of Medicaid-Medicare and CHIP services, in schools, to the Office of Public Instruction (OPI). Services have included but are not limited to School-Based Outpatient Therapy services, CSCT, and Medicaid-Medicare appeals by schools on audits. In addition, the OPI has pursued grants to support mental health services in schools, such as the SAMSHA grant. The SAMSHA wraparound grant services end March 31, 2022. SAMSHA currently provides referrals to:
- mental health services
- navigation of resources
- coordination of services
- development of professional and natural supports
- one-on-one family and youth mental health planning
- motivational interviewing to engage youth and families in setting goals
- training for principles of wraparound services delivery community-wide
- Suicide intervention training for students, schools, and communities
- Trauma-Informed Care/Restorative Practices and Relational Circle training for schools and stakeholders
- development of system-wide mental health supports
- community-wide crisis response team development and family and youth engagement in the mental healthcare decision-making systems.
More of our Montana Schools are looking to expand School-Based outpatient therapy (SBOT) services. Districts report that this is a simpler model for them than CSCT and does not require an intergovernmental transfer (IGT) of funds to serve children and families. CSCT has gone through changes, and with the new IGT model, 43 districts have an IGT-MOU in place. This represents 87% of the districts with CSCT services at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. During the first claims cycle that required districts to provide the state match, 29 districts submitted a district match to meet the necessary Center for Medicaid-Medicare services state-mandated match to receive federal funds for claims.
The OPI is pleased to announce the employment of Crystal Hickman as our School Mental Health Support Services Coordinator. One of the first significant goals she will coordinate is developing a field team to work on school-based mental health solutions for our students. The first session of this team is on March 16, 2022.
The next monthly meeting with districts offering CSCT services is Monday, February 28, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. Support also continues to be provided to districts individually.
For more information, please contact Deputy Sharyl Allen at Sharyl.allen@mt.gov or (406) 444-5658.
Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Leads a Montana School Quality Task Force – Chapter 55
Negotiated Rulemaking is a formal proceeding following Montana law that embraces the recommendations from the School Quality Task Force and the Superintendent. These recommendations and a taxpayer economic impact will flow to the Board of Public Education. After the Board's review and approval with multiple opportunities for public comment, the Montana legislature is requested to fund the proposed amendments.
Negotiated Rule Making Committee Members:
- Alex Ator Roberts K-12 Schools District Superintendent
- Stephan Schrebis Glendive Public Schools District Superintendent
- Craig Mueller Havre Public Schools District Superintendent
- Lisa Petersen Westby K-12 Schools Teacher
- Ruth Uecker Great Falls Public Schools Assistant Superintendent K-6
- Michele Paine Flathead High School Principal
- Melanie Blount-Cole Frazer Public Schools District Superintendent
- Adrea Lawrence University of Montana Dean of College of Education
- Chris Olszewski Billings Public Schools Curriculum Director
- Christina Wekkin Alberton Public Schools Teacher
- Kitty Logan Swan School School District Trustee
- Kelly Dey Sidney Public Schools School District Trustee
- Curtis Smeby Havre Public Schools School District Trustee
- Krystal M. Zenter Bridger Parents
- Susan Lake Ronan Taxpayer
- Tara Hubing Circle Schools K-12 Teacher
- Corey Barron Lodge Grass Schools Tribal Representative-Principal
- Sue Corrigan Municipal Director Municipal Director
- Rhonda Long Fergus County County School Superintendent
- Renee’ Schoening MT Schl. Counselor Assoc. Executive Director
Ex-Officio Member:
- McCall Flynn Board of Public Education Executive Director
For more information, please contact Dr. Julie Murgel at julie.murgel@mt.gov or (406) 444-3172.
School Accreditation (Ch55) Survey
The OPI in partnership with our School Quality Taskforce developed this School Accreditation Survey. The OPI formed the taskforce to make initial recommendations for ARM Chapter 55 Accreditation Standards revisions to the Superintendent of public instruction and the negotiated rule committee. More information about the work of the school quality taskforce and the negotiated rule committee can be found here.
The taskforce asks all members of our education community (Families, students, faculty, staff, trustees, community members, and others) to complete the survey to provide multiple perspective on a how school performance, staffing, policies, or programs items satisfy minimum quality requirements established by the state.
Your data will be confidential and only used to inform the task force on recommendations or revisions for accreditation rules. Thank you!
For more information contact Tristen Loveridge, Project Manager, at Tristen.belnap@mt.gov or 406-444-5643
A link to the survey can be found HERE.
The OPI 2022 Virtual Teacher Job Fair
The Montana headlines mirror national headlines. Big Sky Country is still the Last Best Place to live and raise a family. From Feb 26th to March 1st Teacher Candidates are recruited from those seeking employment in Montana! The MT Educator Fair is advertised nationally and internationally!
To register, click here.
For more information, please contact Deputy Sharyl Allen at 406- 444-5658.
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Land Board Update
The numbers on revenue to the Common School Trust account. As of the end of the calendar year (two quarters) - distributed $17.8 million to Common Schools. Informatively, the drought has impacted the revenues, especially in the agriculture arena. There is revenue coming in from the lawsuit involving riverbed rentals. Payments for the past five years have been going into escrow. Timber markets are up again with forest products.
For more information, please contact Patrick Beddow at patrick.beddow@mt.gov or 406-855-8838.
Federally Mandated School Report Cards
The federally required ESSA School Report Cards will be coming out in March. The information will be embargoed one week prior to the release date.
Class 7 Language Revitalization Workshop
CDL, MT Drive
The Office of Public Instruction has been proactive in looking to expand an existing program into a Class B CDL training program facility, including a 3rd party testing site. This proposed expansion will provide school districts with an avenue for accelerated training for all current bus drivers who already hold their CDL learner's permits. Below is a link for more information about the new FMCSA regulations.
If you have questions please contact Dwight Nelson, the Montana DRIVE Supervisor, at dwight.nelson@mt.gov or 406-444-4396.
Service Academy Days
Montana’s Congressional Delegation are hosting the 2022 Academy Days in Great Falls at the MANG (Montana Air National Guard) building on March 19th, 2022, from 11 am until 1 pm. Representatives from all the academies (Air Force, Naval, Army, Merchant Marines, and Coast Guard) will be there, as well as ROTC and Montana National Guard. Representatives from each of Montana’s Congressional Delegation offices will be in attendance to provide information about the application process. For more information about the March 19th event, please contact Sharon Parks-Banda, Service Academy Coordinator at the Office of U.S. Senator Steve Daines (406) 595-2007 or Sharon_Parks-Banda@daines.senate.gov.
Montana’s Congressional Delegation are hosting the 2022 Academy Days in Missoula on Saturday, April 23 at 10:30 am until 12:30pm. The academy days will be held at the Schreiber Gymnasium at the University of Montana. Representatives from all the academies (Air Force, Naval, Army, Merchant Marines, and Coast Guard) will be there, as well as ROTC and Montana National Guard. Representatives from each of Montana’s Congressional Delegation offices will be in attendance to provide information about the application process. For more information about the April 23 event, please contact Smith Works, Service Academy Coordinator for Senator Jon Tester at smith-works@tester.senate.gov.
Montana’s Congressional Delegation are hosting the 2022 Academy Days in Billings on Saturday, April 30 from 9 am until 11 am. The Academy Day will be held at the American Legion located at 1540 Broadwater Avenue. Representatives from all the academies (Air Force, Naval, Army, Merchant Marines, and Coast Guard) will be there, as well as ROTC and Montana National Guard. Representatives from each of Montana’s Congressional Delegation offices will be in attendance to provide information about the application process. For more information about the April 30th event, please contact Kelly Cotton, Service Academy Coordinator for U.S. Congressman Matt Rosendale at (406) 502-1435 or Kelly.Cotton@mail.house.gov.
Town Pump Foundation Commits to “Keep Kids Reading” with Summer Reading Grants for Libraries
The Town Pump Charitable Foundation has announced a generous program to support Montana public libraries with Summer Reading Programs. Starting in March, any Montana public library will be able to apply for a grant from the Town Pump Foundation to receive $1,000 to support any of their summer reading efforts for 2022.
Artists in Schools and Communities Applications Open
The Montana Arts Council's Artists in Schools and Communities (AISC) grant programs provide funds that support a wide range of arts learning experiences for participants of all ages and abilities. To that end, AISC Residencies is currently accepting applications. The AISC Residencies grant application deadline is Wednesday, March 2, at 5 pm MST. For full details, visit our Guidelines page. AISC Residencies are a great chance for working artists to connect with learners of all ages while advancing the arts in local settings.
Message to the Moon
The OPI is partnering with NASA and Montana State University, to send messages to the moon. Students may submit their message and it will be sent to the moon on an unmanned mission to test out a new type of space computer. Messages must be submitted by March 11, 2022. For more information, please visit https://www.montana.edu/blameres/moon.html or contact Dr. Brock LaMeres at lameres@montana.edu.
Click the links below to see updates from OPI's units.
Accreditation & Educator Preparation
Achievement in Montana (AIM)
Assessment
Career, Technical and Adult Education
Coordinated School Health
Educator Licensure
Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS)
Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)
Gifted & Talented
Indian Education for All (IEFA)
Montana Autism Education Project
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
School Finance
School Nutrition
Special Education
Standards, Instruction & Professional Learning
Title & Federal Programs
Traffic Education
Transformational Learning & Advanced Opportunities
Tribal Relations & Resiliency
Questions? Contact:
Brian.O'Leary, Communications Director
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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