#1 The English Language Arts and Literacy Standards are Officially Open!
Exciting news! Superintendent Arntzen secured approval from the Montana Board of Public Education to open the ELA standards for review and revision in September 2023. We are now officially in the Research and Review stage of our standards revision process! Check out our information session at MFPE (virtual and in-person sessions available) to understand the standards revision process better and to learn how you can be involved!
Our standards are incredible guideposts for our teachers and learners across Montana and we want to make sure that they continue to reflect the best practices and most current research to support student learning! We look forward to working with all interested stakeholders over the coming months and years to develop our standards as an ELA community.
Our goal over the next few months is to build awareness of this exciting opportunity so that we have the best representation from across our wonderful state on each of the task forces that will work with the review and revision process. Please share this information widely with your networks.
Coming Soon: ELA Standards Review Task Force Application
For more information, please contact the Montana English Language Arts and Literacy Coordinator Stephanie Swigart at
stephanie.swigart@mt.gov
#2 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.