Advanced Placement

The Advanced Placement program provides guidance for Montana schools in developing Advanced Placement courses and preparing students to successfully pass the Advanced Placement exams.

The Office of Pubic Instruction has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to waive the AP and International Baccalaureate program test fees for low income students.

Advanced Placement Information

• AP Exam Fee Reduction Instructions
• Online Distance Learning Providers must register with the Office of Public Instruction
• Advanced Placement Course Audit Letter to School District Officials and Frequently Asked Questions
• Checklist for Evaluating Online Courses
• AP Teachers - take a look at College Board's online resource for professionals.  Go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com and register to be a user (it is easy). You can get information about courses, exams, and even get on a subject-specific listserve. It also brings you the latest changes and other AP news.

Title III Part A English Acquisition & Enhancement
Bilingual/World Languages/Language Acquisition

The purpose of the program is to help ensure that LEP students become proficient in English and attain state standards.

Related Links
Title III 2009-10 Final Allocations
Listing of 2009-2010 Title III Grant Sites
Title III Purpose and required and allowable activities
Title III Consortium Information
Criteria for LEP Identification

Program Guidelines

• Trigger – If the appropriation exceeds $650 million, authorizes formula awards to States based on the State’s share of limited English proficient and recent immigrant students. States, in turn, make subgrants to local educational agencies. If a State does not apply, the Secretary makes competitive awards directly to “specially qualified agencies” (school districts).
• Discretionary Programs – If the appropriation is less than $650 million, continues to authorize three discretionary grant programs for instructional services, three support services programs, four professional development programs, and Immigrant Education formula grants. These programs are similar to those in the previous law.
• State Plans – Requires States to submit State plans establishing standards and benchmarks for LEP students aligned with State standards.
• Continuations – Provides for continuation grants to current instructional service and professional development grantees for the original period of their grant. Consequently, diverts an estimated $209 million from the formula in 2002 and declining amounts thereafter.
• National Leadership Activities – Authorizes National Leadership Activities: National Professional Development Project, National Clearinghouse, and evaluation activities. Under the National Professional Development Project, the Secretary makes 5-year competitive grants to institutions of higher education for professional development activities that will improve classroom instruction for limited English proficient students.
• Small-State Minimum – Guarantees all States at least $500,000 under the formula program.

Accountability

• States must establish annual achievement objectives for limited English proficient students that are related to gains in English proficiency and meeting challenging State academic standards and that are aligned with Title I achievement standards.
• States must assure that subgrantees will comply with the Title I requirement to annually assess in English children who have been in the United States for 3 or more consecutive years. States must hold subgrantees accountable for making adequate yearly progress as described in Title I and meeting all annual achievement objectives.

Allocations

• Federal to State – The Secretary determines formula allocations based on the State’s share of limited English proficient students (80 percent) and recent immigrant students (20 percent). In 2002 and 2003, the Secretary calculates State shares using 2000 Census data. Thereafter, the Secretary may use either American Community Survey data from the Department of Commerce or data submitted by the States.
• State to Local – States allocate funds to school districts based on share of the limited English proficient student population except that States can reserve up to 15 percent for school districts that have experienced significant increases in the percentage or number of immigrant students or that have limited or no experience in serving immigrant students.

Set-Asides

• One-half of one percent or $5 million (whichever is higher) for schools operated predominantly for Native American students; one-half of one percent for the outlying areas; 6.5 percent for National Leadership Activities; and such sums as necessary for continuation awards.

Common Core State Standards

The Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) released the Common Core State Standards publicly on Monday, September 21, 2009.  The CCSSO and NGA are looking for public comment on the standards in this release.  You can read the recently released standards by clicking on Math Standards #2 or Reading Standards #2.  You can provide feedback to CCSSO and NGA before October 21, 2009 by clicking this link, CCSSI Feedback Survey. The OPI has provided comments to the first release of these standards and they can be found below.

The National Common Core State Standards Initiative is jointly led by the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association. Governor Brian Schweitzer and Superintendent Denise Juneau joined 48 other states in agreeing to participate in the development of the common core standards in mathematics and reading/language arts. This agreement does not require adoption of the draft standards. Adoption by states is voluntary. The two states not participating in the development of the National Common Core State Standards Initiative are Alaska and Texas.

The draft college and career ready expectations were released in July 2009. In December 2009, the draft standards for grades K-12 will be released.

Office of Public Instruction contact is Assistant Superintendent Nancy Coopersmith, ncoopersmith@mt.gov.

Montana Content Standards

• Montana Standard Based Education Presentation - September 15, 2009
• Q and A from the Montana Standards-Based Education Adobe Connect Presentation
• Montana Content Standards: Integration of Indian Education for All Presentation - January 13, 2010
• View and subscribe to the Content Standards Informer
• Montana Standard-based Framework Poster (3' x 2.5' sized poster)

Content Area	Revision Cycle	Standards, Benchmarks and Performance Descriptors	Essential Learning Expectations	Performance Rubrics	OPI Contact
Arts	Proposed 2010-2011				TBD
Career and Technology Education	Proposed 2009-2010				TJ Eyer Division Administrator Career, Technical and Adult Education
Communication Arts	Adopted January 2010		Anticipated Completion 2010	Anticipated Completion 2010	Kris Goyins Communication Arts Curriculum Specialist
Health Enhancement	Proposed 2011-2012				Cathy Kendall Division Administrator Health Enhancement and Safety Education
Information Literacy/Library Media	Adopted August 2008		PDF OR Excel	Anticipated Completion 2010	Colet Bartow Library Media Curriculum Specialist
Mathematics	Adopted September 2009		Anticipated Completion 2010	Anticipated Completion 2010	Jean Howard Mathematics Curriculum Specialist
School Counseling	Proposed 2011-2012				TBD Curriculum Specialist
Science	Adopted November 2006		PDF  OR Excel	Anticipated Completion 2009	Katie Burke Science Curriculum Specialist
Social Studies	Proposed 2011-2012				TBD Curriculum Specialist
Technology	Adopted August 2008		PDF OR Excel	Anticipated Completion 2010	Michael Hall Technology Specialist
Traffic Education					David Huff Driver Education/Traffic Education Specialist
Workplace Competencies	Proposed 2009-2010				TJ Eyer Division Administrator Career, Technical and Adult Education
World Languages	Proposed 2011-2012				TBD

Subscribe to the Content Standards Mail List

2010 Content Standards Informers
January Content Standards Informer

2009 Content Standards Informers
December Content Standards Informer
November Content Standards Informer

The Department of Education Services

The Department provides leadership and supervision to the divisions listed below:

Gifted and Talented Program

Information for educators and parents of gifted and talented students.

Educators

• Gifted Education Programming Criterion
• Guidelines for Developing an Academic Acceleration Policy
• Montana Gifted Program Planning Guide
• Resource List of Gifted Student Identification Instruments
• Response to Intervention and Gifted and Talented
• Teacher Licensure - Area of Permissive Special Competency for K-12 Gifted Education

Parents

• Resource List of Gifted Student Identification Instruments

Providing Educational Programs - Resources and State G/T Grants

• Gifted and Talented Year-End Report
• Gifted and Talent Grant Writing Assistance: Goals, Objectives, Indicators, Strategies and Activities Defined
• A Look at the Gifted and Talented Grant Application in E-Grants: Overview and Instructions
• Annual Budget and Program Modification Request for Federal and State Programs Fill-in Form
• Montana Association of Gifted and Talented Education, Inc. (AGATE)

Health Enhancement

This program is designed to strengthen the capacity of local school districts to plan, design, implement, and evaluate health and physical education (health enhancement programs). It also assists in the review and development of teacher preparation standards for Montana's units of higher education, and the review of accreditation standards at the K-12 local district level.

Curricula, Activities, and Toolkits

• K-12 Montana Model Lesson Plans
• Healthy Body Image
• Bullying Prevention Toolkit

Health Enhancement Resources

• Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool
• Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool
• Sexuality Education in Health Enhancement
• Relationships in Health Education

Health Enhancement Standards

• Montana Health Enhancement Standards
• Montana and National Standards
• Principal's Guide to Health Enhancement Standards
• Student Assessment in Health Enhancement
• Health Enhancement Standards Posters
• National Health Education Standards

HIV/AIDS/STD Education