The English Language Arts and Literacy Standards Are In Revision!
The Standards Revision Task Force completed their Orientation workshop and a 3-hour Research Deep Dive workshop to understand and unpack the research provided by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest. Over June 10-12, the collaboration and callibration meeting took place, the writing and review task force teams met in July, and finally, over October 7-8, the reconciliation team met to revise the standards. Negotiated Rulemaking is set to begin with an orientation on December 18. To review the research, learn more about the task force, and stay up-to-date with all standards revisions, visit the
Montana Content Standards Revisions 2022-2026 page.
OPI's Montana High School Forum 2024
Montana's High School Forum is taking place on November 19 at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Great Falls, MT. Carrie Cole, literacy expert and educational consultant with Side-by-Side education, will be giving the keynote speech and presenting multiple sessions on the Science of Reading applicable to secondary ELA educators. Additional workshop presenters and sessions can be found on the website. Attendees can earn up to 6 OPI Continuing Education Units.
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention
The
NCTE Annual Convention, taking place November 21-24, 2024, in Boston, MA, is the leading annual convention for ELA and literacy educators. Learn from experts on a wide range of relevant topics within ELA education, covering grades Kindergarten to postsecondary.
Celebrate the National Writing Project's 50th Anniversary
Originating in 1974, the
National Writing Project (NWP) is celebrating 50 years of innovation and professional development. NCTE and NWP hold a shared commitment to the expertise of teachers and want to know how NWP has benefited you on your professional journey. We invite you to share your reflections on NWP, share teacher personal and professional breakthroughs, and explore teaching ideas from the archives.
First Lady of Montana and Dolly Parton Announce Statewide Expansion of Imagination Library
Partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will provide free books to Montana children from birth to age five in every Montana zip code
Advancing her initiatives as Montana’s first lady, Susan Gianforte announced the statewide launch of the Imagination Library of Montana in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The non-profit program boosts early childhood literacy by providing free high-quality, age-appropriate books to Montana children.
“Literacy is critical for our kids and their development. When parents read to their kids or when a child reads, it engages them, it fires their imagination, and sparks their curiosity,” First Lady Susan Gianforte said. “I’m proud of the partnership we’ve developed with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and local organizations throughout Montana. Working together, we’ll make sure all our youngest kids have access to reading resources so they can dream, grow, and reach their full potential.”
Dolly Parton said, “I’m so excited to be launching my Imagination Library statewide in Montana! I want to send my very special thanks to First Lady Susan Gianforte for her partnership in making this amazing gift available to children and families across the state.”
Through the partnership, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will provide a free book each month to any Montana child, ages 0 to 5 years old, who is registered with the organization. A child may be registered at imaginationlibrary.com.
The partnership will assist programs already in place while also expanding programs statewide to every zip code in all of Montana’s 56 counties.
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted over 200 million free books in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. This is achieved through funding shared by The Dollywood Foundation and Local Program Partners. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More.
The program has been widely researched, and results demonstrate its positive impact on early childhood development and literacy skills. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
For more information, or to register a child, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.