With a new year comes change

SANDERS COUNTY- With elementary through high school classes set to begin in less than one week, teachers, school administrators and other staff are getting ready for the influx of students about to descend upon learning institutions across Sanders County. The inevitable end of summer means the beginning of another year of mathematics, science and homework for students fresh off the euphoria of summer break.

While some schools are merely bracing for the wave of students, preparing for classes, school lunch programs and readying a syllabus, some schools are in the process of implementing sweeping reforms to the way students will be assessed during the school year. In Noxon, school administrators are initiating a new testing system that will better gauge student’s progress throughout the year.

According to Noxon School Superintendent Josh Patterson, the Measures of Academic Progress system or MAP will allow educators to better understand how students are learning. MAP will also provide teachers with a valuable tool to address concepts and principles that prove difficult for students to grasp. MAP testing will coincide with traditional ACT and SAT testing models.

“It will allow us to identify which kids are understanding concepts and which ones aren’t,” said Patterson. “It will provide us actual numbers that we can follow over time and address issues as they arise.”

Students will be tested three times a year, once at the beginning of school, again halfway through the academic year and finally in the spring. MAP breaks down student achievement by subject such as mathematics, english and science allowing educators to more accurately analyze how students are performing in individual fields of study as opposed to the older model that merely provided an overall test score.

According to the MAP website, the testing platform was “created by educators for educators and provides detailed actionable data about where each child is on their unique learning path.”

In Hot Springs, educators are celebrating the reception of a new federal grant that will allow the high school to aid students even after they graduate. The grant will provide funds for an “after-school” type program similar to ones geared toward elementary students. This after-school program will help students prepare for the future outside the hallowed halls of Hot Springs High School.

According to Superintendent Kevin Meredith, the money will help establish a program that will promote college and career readiness. The program will coincide with another effort to help students visit college campuses around the state.

“We are trying to prepare them for what’s next after high school,” said Meredith. “We will try to utilize Fridays to take interested students on college visits.”

Hot Springs High School will also continue to provide transportation for students taking advanced classes at the Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell through the “Running Start” program. Running Start allows eligible juniors and seniors the opportunity to start a higher-level education by earning college credits while still enrolled in high school. The first six credits are offered at no cost for eligible students with subsequent credits coming at a significant reduction in fees.

Meredith added that the high school was one of only 30 schools in the state to receive another type of grant that will allow construction to begin on a new art building for the campus. Officials at Hot Springs High School expect to break ground on the new facility in September or October.

As far as the Thompson Falls School District, Superintendent Jason Slater said several changes in leadership have taken place.

“With change comes opportunity to reflect and improve upon. Good things are happening and there are a lot of positives,” said Slater.

Slater stated he was sad to see some good people leave the district but at the same time he was excited about the people coming in.

“With them comes some fresh ideas, new ideas, and that’s huge,” said Slater.

Not only is the Thompson Falls School District experiencing personnel changes but Slater said education across the board is experiencing change. Slater stated this year the state of Montana will be moving its focus to Smarter Balance tests and away from CRTs. Another big change in effect is moving towards the Common Core curriculum.

“Whether that’s a national agenda or not, Montana is big into local control and they want to make sure our education system fits Sanders County and our people. It’s what’s best with kids and gearing them for 21st century learning,” said Slater.

He explained that one of the biggest challenges every year is deciding relevance in a changing time.

“I’m a Gen X product and today’s kids, they are growing up in a different world. We need to make sure we’re familiar with that and preparing them for that world,” said Slater.

The Plains School District has been busy preparing the grounds for a building addition that will combine their school’s campus into one solid unit. Currently fifth and sixth graders take up class in the Wildhorse Elementary School - a building that will not be needed next year.

“We’re doing everything now so we don’t have to do it during school time and disrupt the kids,” said Superintendent Thom Chisholm.

The district has rerouted their three-phase power lines coming out of the elementary, middle school and the main high school building. On Tuesday plans to switch copper and fiberlines for the telephones were to be undertaken. Geotechnical services have been completed and tested to ensure the solidity of the ground and whether or not it is able to support the building.

“Everything turned out great,” said Chisholm. “We’ve been so busy prepping on the school (addition) that we haven’t done a lot of the little extras like we normally do. We haven’t looked at any policy changes or anything like that,” said Chisholm.

According to Chisholm, this time next year, the district’s goal is to be moved into the new building - combining the campus into one.