IN THIS EDITION...IEFA Book Study Nov. 1 | Implementing PLCs Course | Dyslexia Online Course & Tech Resources | User Guides & Infinite Campus PD | Co-op Food Incentive Program | SSoM Event Updates | NEW Grant Opportunity | SSoM Partner Resources | Joke of the Week | Addt'l Resources | About SSoM

Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) for School Leaders

Interested in implementing PLCs but don’t know where to start? This introductory course provides the information and resources you need to explore and implement PLC's in your school or district. With approximately 3 hours of learning over three course modules, you’ll be able to build background knowledge and gain the resources you need to get started, in bite-sized chunks. The three modules included are:

This course could be taken on your own to support you with launching and leading professional learning communities, or you may wish to contact us to discuss professional learning support options to accompany this course: Melissa Tovaas, SSoM Director of Education Services, mtovaas@mt-schools.org

Designed by consultant and literacy specialist, Genevieve Thomas (Spark Educational Consulting), in partnership with School Services of Montana, this asynchronous, online course engages you in learning experiences that support deepening your understanding of dyslexia, including how the reading process breaks down for individuals with dyslexia. Through videos, resource exploration, reading, and reflection, you will learn research-based best practices for supporting students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities, aligned with the Science of Reading, including instructional strategies, screening and assessment, accommodations, adaptive technology, and more!

Discounts available for SSoM Member School employees. Questions? Please contact Melissa Tovaas, SSoM Director of Education Services, at mtovaas@mt-schools.org.

Visit the International Dyslexia Association's collection of fact sheets about dyslexia, which include topics ranging from implementing accommodations to advocating for students with dyslexia!

There are more tools available than ever for teachers and students to address learning difficulties like dyslexia. I'll be providing tools and tips throughout October. Please email me if you have additional recommendations!

Text-to-Speech (and vice versa): Chromebooks have this ability built into the accessibility tools, and there are plenty of Google Chrome extensions (I like Selection Reader) that enable students to hear what is on the page or speak their ideas into text. 

Listen and Read: Amazon's Immersion Reader and Learning Ally's VOICEtext allow students to read alone or along with peers while listening to accompanying audio. 

The Livescribe Smartpens have been a gamechanger for students and adults alike. They record handwriting and convert to text, with spellcheck; one version will play back notes as audio. 

Brought to you by the University of Edinburgh's CALL Scotland: Communication, Access, Literacy, & Learning Scotland, click here for an e-flyer FULL of Chromebook apps and extensions for learners with Dyslexia, and Reading/Writing difficulties.

Sabrina Holland-Kump, SSoM Director of Technology Education, sholland@mt-schools.org

2ND ANNUAL VIRTUAL NATIONAL TRAINING WEEK November 15 - 19, 2021

For refreshers, questions, and assistance please contact SSoM Tech Minion ASAP:

Because of the support of Montana school districts who participate in our Cooperative Food Purchasing Program, this statewide program has continued to grow and increase our collective purchasing power for FIVE STRAIGHT YEARS. Our brand new Referral Incentive Program (RIP) makes participation even sweeter. Here's how it works:

We encourage you to share the amazing savings our program has to offer with your colleagues across the state, and please let Jennifer Brekke, our Purchasing Manager, know so you get your RIP discount!

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CLICK HERE FOR PROGRAM DETAILS, or contact SSoM Purchasing Manager:

July 25 - 27, 2022 on Montana State University - Bozeman; limited on-campus housing available!

Please email Melissa Tovaas, SSoM Director of Education Services, with your requests for areas of focus you would like to see at the 2022 conference. We hope you will join us!

...will open for submission beginning at noon on Tuesday, Nov 2, 2021. This year the MT Legislature has provided a total of $100,000 for the Office of Public Instruction to subgrant to Montana’s K-12 school districts. Districts can apply for grants of $1,000 to $10,000 to conduct school safety professional development during the 2021-22 school year. Grants for allowable activities will be funded in the order in which they are received until funds are exhausted, with priority given to those who have not received the funds in the past two years. Training funded through this grant in previous years has included youth suicide awareness and prevention, hazard and emergency planning, professional development in district violence protocols, bullying prevention, and illegal substance use trends.

QUESTIONS? Contact Tammy Lysons at OPI: tamara.lysons@mt.gov, (406) 431-2309

FREE! AIR QUALITY FLAG PROGRAM

The Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has a new FREE program to raise awareness about poor air quality in Montana. With the EPA Flag Program, an adopting school checks the Air Quality Index (AQI) each day and raises a flag the same color as the index to communicate the local air quality conditions.

The Flag Program creates public awareness of air quality conditions. Wildfires and winter inversion layers create unhealthy air that can pose health threats including decreased lung function and worsening or respiratory illness such as asthma. Children are more susceptible to poor air quality due to their respiratory systems not being fully developed.

A pediatrician will provide on-site training, deliver the flags, flagpole, and education materials for FREE. If your town is lacking an air quality monitor, we will assist in obtaining one at no extra cost.

INTERESTED in getting involved in the EPA Flag program? Contact Project Manager, Mac Nolde, at mac.nolde@montanahphc.org or (406) 763-1006.

Are you curious about starting a middle school or high school Science Olympiad team at your school? Join the MSU Science Math Resource Center on Thursday, Nov 4 at 4pm for an online presentation for new coaches. SMRC will share the nuts and bolts of Science Olympiad and why this statewide STEM competition is a great opportunity for your school.

Additionally, an open “office hours” will be hosted for new and returning coaches on Tuesday, Nov 9 at 4pm.

Registration is required for both; a link will be sent prior to the sessions. Register at www.montana.edu/smrc/mtso and click on NEWS, or email mtscioly@montana.edu with questions.

Now is the time to invest in high-quality curricula that will accelerate literacy learning, attend to students' social and emotional needs, and build inclusive, equitable communities for all learners.

Bill Stockton, Arlee High School science teacher, has been selected as the 2022 Montana Teacher of the Year. Mr. Stockton will go on to represent Montana in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

FREE IMPLEMENTING SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING IN MONTANA SCHOOLS

Developing social and emotional skills builds a foundation for everyone’s success. As schools continue to respond and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits of social emotional learning (SEL) are increasingly advantageous in supporting schools in their efforts to:

This community of practice series will guide schools through the process of reviewing, adopting, and implementing SEL. This series is for school leaders who are taking steps to explore SEL implementation and/or strengthening their current SEL programs. Click here for details, dates, & registration.

All 5 CSPDs offer FREE VIRTUAL PD for their respective regions. Click for details:

Region I (Eastern MT) | Region II | Region III | Region IV | Region V (Western MT)

For more information please visit their website or email info@wlimt.org

'Tuesdays at 2pm' Newsletter 10/19/2021

~celebrating world cultures and the multilingual past, present, and future of Montana; FREE to the public; 7pm in the Weaver Room at the Emerson Cultural Center, Bozeman MT

SSoM is a non-profit education service agency committed to unlocking the full potential of every child in each and every school we serve across the state. We accomplish this by providing a wide variety of professional learning activities and business services designed to meet the specific needs of Montana’s excellent educators and administrators. Interested in supporting our work? Click here to make a donation, and be sure to read all about our organization on our website.

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