OPI's January 2023 Compass

The second testing window of the MAST program will be open from January 17-30, 2023.

The first testing window had successful state-wide participation in 5th and 7th grade Math and Reading:

• 62 schools
• 33 school districts
• 75 educators
• 4,156 students
• 5,529 tests completed

Teachers, test coordinators, principals, counselors, administrators, and superintendents participated in a feedback survey about the first testing window between November 18 and December 13, 2022.

Respondents were asked to rate their experience in preparing to administer the testlets:

• 46% said it was easy
• 14% said it was neither easy nor difficult
• 18% said it was difficult

Respondents were asked to rate their experience in administering the testlets:

• 69% said it was easy
• 10% said it was neither easy nor difficult
• 21% said it was difficult

For more information, please contact Sam Walsh, Project Manager, at Samantha.Walsh@mt.gov.

After more than 30 years Montana's School Accreditation standards are changing to prioritize student learning. On January 12-13 the Board of Public Education will continue to respond to public comment on the proposed changes to Chapter 55.

To view a five-page summary of the rule changes, please click here.

 The revised timeline for Chapter 55 is:

• January 12-13, 2023 – Adoption notice to BPE for consideration/respond to comments (cont.)
• March 9-10, 2023 – BPE authorization to publish adoption notice
• March 14, 2023 – Adoption notice to SOS for publication in MAR
• March 24, 2023 – MAR publication of adoption notice
• July 2023 – Effective date of rules

For more information, please contact Dr. Julie Murgel, Chief Operating Officer at julie.murgel@mt.gov or (406) 444-3172.

Through the federal congressional Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of June 2022, the Montana Office of Public Instruction was awarded $4.8 million in additional funding for Title IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This one-time funding is in addition to the Title IV, Part A funding already allocated to the Montana OPI and 95% of these funds will be made available to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) through a competitive subgrant application.

The Title IV Part A (T4PA) Stronger Connections Grant (SCG) focuses on improving conditions for student learning by encouraging schools to implement a comprehensive plan incorporating evidence-based activities, programs, and practices to create safer and healthier learning environments that promote positive school climates as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Section 4108.

The SCG must be used to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive programs within “high need” local educational agencies (LEAs). See eligibility criteria for “high need” designation. Grant activities may be fully or partially funded by these funds. Please note that these competitive grants will carry the same supplement, not supplant and equitable share requirements as the formula Title IV-A grants. Several factors will determine the size of the awards (with a minimum allocation of $10,000 per LEA); review of submitted applications, potential scope of the project, projected cost for implementation, available funds, and applications that demonstrate a strong commitment to providing the greatest promise for positive impact.

The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) sought public comment on the definition of a “high needs” school in November. The definition of “high needs” will be:

• LEAs with high rates of poverty (40 % or more)  AND
• One or more of the following characteristics:

• a high student-to-mental health professional ratio;
• high rates of chronic absenteeism, exclusionary discipline, referrals to the juvenile justice system, bullying/harassment, community and school violence, or substance abuse; or
• where students recently experienced a natural disaster or traumatic event.

The grant will be a two-year award for activities during the 2023-24 and SY 2024-25 school years. Funds are anticipated to be available July 2023 and will need to expended by September 30, 2025.  As with any Federal Funds, they are intended to be expended during the grant period.

The application must be completed and submitted in Egrants.  Due to the competitive nature of this grant, the deadline for applications will not be extended.

• Grant application open: Projected March 2023
• Application Deadline: Projected May 2023
• Grant Recipients Announced and Awarded: Projected July 1, 2023

For more information please contact Paige Sedahl, Program Manager, at paige.sedahl@mt.gov or (406) 422-2821.

The Montana Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3) and the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) are proud to announce Montana’s Purple Star Schools and Purple Star Champions Awardees.

Montana’s 2022 - 2023 Purple Star School Awardees are:

• Montana School for the Deaf and Blind
• Great Falls High School - Great Falls Public Schools
• Chief Joseph Elementary School - Great Falls Public Schools
• Meadow Lark Elementary School - Great Falls Public Schools
• Early Learning Family Center - Great Falls Public Schools

The 2022- 2023 Purple Star Champion Awardees are:

• Brian Holbein, Lt. Col (R) JROTC Teacher at Great Falls High School
• Michael Wonch, MSgt (R) JROTC Teacher at Great Falls High School
• Col Christopher Karns, Mission Support Group Commander, Malmstrom AFB

The Purple Star Award distinguishes Montana schools and individual champions that have displayed extraordinary commitment to supporting our military students and their families. To qualify as a Purple Star School, each school must meet specific designation criteria and be given support through the state and national Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission to continue the strong support of our military-connected students and families.  This is the third year MIC3 and OPI will be recognizing Montana’s military-friendly schools with the Purple Star School Award.  This is the second year recognizing and awarding Montana Purple Star Champions.

Community celebrations will take place during PurpleUp! Month in April.

For more information please contact Jenna McKinney, Director of Family Engagement, at jenna.mckinney@mt.gov.

Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, with approval from the Montana Board of Public Education, has opened the Montana Mathematics Standards for review. We are excited about this opportunity and we would like for the people of Montana to do this with us. Academic content standards provide a roadmap for what students should know and be able to do. Local school districts can then use these standards to guide the development of their local curricula, along with the professional learning of their educators. We want your voices to be heard as we strive to serve our Montana students and educators with the best-possible mathematics standards to guide instruction, and prepare our students well for their lives beyond the classroom.

If you haven’t already submitted an interest survey, there is still time to participate. We are especially in need of representatives from a variety of stakeholder groups from across Montana. Whether you are an educator, parent/guardian, student, business and industry employee, or a member of the greater Montana community, your perspectives are important to the integrity of this process.

We are so grateful for all of the educators who already responded to our Montana Math Standards Review Interest Survey. Please share this link with other educators and stakeholders who may be interested in participating in this process.

We will use this information to form several committees for this work. We will be forming an Advisory Committee and other committees as the work progresses. 

For updated information on the Math Standards Review, please visit the K-12 Content Standards webpage.

On December 6, 2022, US Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten released a letter on using federal funds to support STEM education strategies. The letter can be read here.

If you have questions, please contact Sonja Whitford at sonja.whitford @mt.gov

Each year, the United States Department of Education (USED) sends to each state the population and poverty estimates for all Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) participating in federal formula grant programs. This data was released on December 15, 2022, and it is available here.

The USED will use the 2021 Census data to calculate fiscal year 2023 (School Year 2023-24) allocations under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA). Each State Educational Agency (SEA) and LEA must review the data to make sure that it is accurate. The SEA and LEAs have until March 15, 2023, to challenge any data that is thought to be incorrect. The OPI does not handle the challenges, nor provide information on the process. These questions need to be sent to the SAIPE Branch at Phone: (301) 763-3193.

If an LEA sends an email, please include the following: your name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and organization affiliation. Click here for more information and guidance concerning the Census Bureau’s challenge procedures. 

Information about the data sources and the methodology used to prepare this data is available here.

The list of school districts used for the 2021 Census estimates is based on the SY 2021–2022 school district boundary survey conducted by the Census Bureau with the help of the district mapping coordinator in your State. Please note that the school districts on this list include only “regular” school districts that have geographic boundaries. The list does not include, for example, special school districts that a State recognizes as LEAs, such as charter schools or regional vocational education districts. These LEAs do not require “corrections” to the Census Bureau’s boundary survey data; rather, the ESEA and 34 C.F.R. §200.72 require an SEA to adjust the SY 2023–2024 Title I, Part A LEA allocations that ED determines to accommodate new or special LEAs not included on the Census Bureau's SY 2021–2022 list.

Please click here to see the population and poverty counts for participating districts in Montana.

For more information please contact Jack O’Connor, Federal Programs Unit Director, at joconnor2@mt.gov or (406) 444-3083.

The Upstart program is an in-home kindergarten readiness program offered to families of 4-year olds. In 2021-2022, 393 children in Montana participated and an average of 92% scored at “Kindergarten Beginning” or above, demonstrating strong school readiness outcomes, in reading.

For more information on the 2021-2022 Waterford Upstart program please click here.

Please note that there are some changes to the State and Local Responsibilities Under the Gun-Free Schools Act. The guidance document can be viewed here.

According to Section B on page 2:

What changed?

Under the NCLB, certain statutory provisions were clarified to ensure that States and LEAs comply fully with the intent of the GFSA. Clarifications to the GFSA include:

(1) That the existing one-year expulsion requirement in each State’s law include students who are determined to have possessed a firearm at school;

(2) A requirement that the chief administering officer of the LEA develop a written record of any case-by-case modifications of the one-year expulsion requirement;

(3) That the GFSA does not apply to a firearm that is lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property, or if it is for activities approved and authorized by the local educational agency (LEA), so long as the LEA adopts appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety.

Although States are not required to revise their State laws as a result of these clarifications, a State or LEA may consider implementing or revising its policies to address the revised GFSA requirements.

The Department has prepared the following questions and answers to assist States, State educational agencies (SEAs), and LEAs in implementing the GFSA requirements. Please note that most of the questions and answers have been revised as a result of the reauthorized GFSA.

For more information please contact Jamey Petersen, Coordinated School Health Director, at Jamey.Petersen@mt.gov or (406) 444-0773.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is excited to announce that we are partnering with Medify Air and Grainger to offer free HEPA air purifiers to Montana K-12 schools through June 2023. Medify Air is a top-rated air purifier manufacturer that provides high quality HEPA air purifier systems and replacement filters. Grainger is a government contractor that has an established partnership with DPHHS to offer a variety of services. DPHHS is utilizing ELC School Reopening federal funds to support this partnership with the focus of improving indoor air quality in schools.

How it Works

In the coming weeks, your school may be contacted by a Medify Air or Grainger representative.

• The school will need to complete a brief survey and fill out an order form indicating the desired number of HEPA systems needed.
  • The Medify Air or Grainger representative can help you determine the number and size of HEPA systems needed in your school.
  • Up to 5 replacement HEPA filters can be ordered for each HEPA system at the time of your initial order.
• Medify Air will ship the requested HEPA systems directly to your school and directly bill DPHHS.  
  • Educational material and set-up services may be provided by Medify Air and/or Grainger upon request. For this additional support, you will simply contact the Medify Air or Grainger representative who initially contacted your school.     
  • HEPA systems will be available on a first come first serve basis, as funding permits.

Schools do not need to apply for ELC funding to obtain HEPA systems through this Medify Air partnership.

There are no reporting requirements attached to this opportunity, though DPHHS may work with Grainger and Medify Air to ask follow-up questions regarding the use of the HEPA systems in schools.

Please send questions regarding this opportunity to DPHHS at schoolhealth@mt.gov.

K-12 schools consume about 8% of all the energy used in commercial buildings nationwide and energy consumption is the second-highest operational expense schools face. The program’s funding will result in air quality improvements for students and educators, while reducing energy costs and freeing up local funds to invest more in education.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is accepting applications for the Renew America’s Schools Grant. Concept Papers are the first step of applying and must be submitted by 5:00p.m. ET January 26, 2023 to be eligible for funding. Funds will help school districts to make upgrades that will lower facilities’ energy costs and foster healthier learning environments for students. Learn how to submit papers HERE [energy.gov].