C Size-A-Like Discussion Questions - 2024 Montana Principals Conference

Discussion Leaders

• AA/A Schools - Facilitated by Peter Hamilton, Gordon Klasna, Kim Marzolf
• B/Independent Elementary Schools - Facilitated by Jason Slater and Mike Moodry
• C Schools - Facilitated by Rhiannon Beery and Sheri Heavrin

Questions/Input to be Considered by the Group

1. Describe your successes and challenges so far this school year.

        Challenges

• Staff shortages: subs, bus drivers

1. Staff meeting scheduling when every driver is a school employee
2. How are activity drivers handled when they are also hourly employees?
3. Exploring alternate forms of transportation: passenger vans, suburbans

Successes

• Engaged teachers & MTSS implementation
• School-to-work program resources used: Uscience?, Accelerate Montana, counselors assisting with implementation
• UM Griz Basketball Team came to do a Family Literacy Night in Alberton

1. Local colleges have to meet hour outreach requirements - encouraged to connect with them; swag donations, etc

• Belt Career Week - asked all teachers to bring in 2 guest speakers related to their department

1. In response to Student My Voice Survey feedback - Why is this course relevant? How is this important?
2. Several alumni were guest speakers

• Two residency students at Vaughn

2. How are districts changing their policies to address open enrollment?

• Forsyth - won’t see many changes as they already accept students from neighboring more rural schools for activity opportunities
• Valier - interesting situation with proximity to Heart Butte
• Strategic Plan language is important
• Regional supts in the Mission Valley are setting a common deadline for open enrollment
• It’s a clerical nightmare for Class C schools - clerk training is huge. This legislation created a problem for Class C schools that wasn’t there before.
• Forms - Who is responsible for determining primary residence? (Paying taxes on property although it's known that is not the place of residence.)
• Valier/Sheridan near elementary districts (colony schools) - parents worried about costs
• Multi-district agreements will have to be reworked
• How will transportation agreements be impacted?
• HB 214 - make it illegal to operate a physical school outside of attendance area

1. Pad McCracken - MT Legislative Fiscal Division is a resource

3. How are you preparing for the new accreditation process?

• Revamping Strategic Plan from scratch
• Creating Portrait of a Graduate
• Financial Literacy - using:

1. Adult Living (FCS), Business/Tech

4. How are you addressing recruitment and retention of qualified teachers and staff?

• Growing Your Own - emergency licensure, provisional
• Reimbursing teachers for degree (bachelor’s, master’s, PhD)
• Housing is a big hurdle - lack of availability in communities

1. Forsyth teacher lived in a hotel for 1 ½ years
2. Some teachers living in Idaho and working in West Yellowstone

1. 1 hour+ commute
2. Passed bonds but now building costs surpass bond amount

3. Keeping lists of community members that have houses, apartments, rooms available for rent
4. Flathead is doing student-built houses
5. Consider attaching teacher housing to the school when doing building projects

• Starting teachers on Year 3 of salary schedule
• New Teacher Incentives from last legislative session - Is this real, usable?

1. Governor was trying to get feedback on this from Belt last May - no one knows how to access this money

• 4-Day School Weeks

1. Belt considering four day week to retain teachers because teachers nearing retirement are saying they’d be more inclined to stay a few more years with a shortened week schedule
2. Meals - making sure kids have meals on Fridays

1. Backpack Programs
2. 5th Day Programs

3. Philipsburg saw increase in teaching applicants and improved attendance for high school students due to away game scheduling on Fridays and Saturdays
4. Teachers on 4-day weeks are generally not expressing loss in instructional time as a concern
5. Some new curriculums are starting to show 4 day plans with an optional 5th day

5. OPI feedback:  (reporting, support from OPI, MAST testing)

6. Other topics discussed by members: