the Montana Healthcare Workforce Advisory Committee. She moved to Bozeman to attend Madalyn Quinlan worked at OPI for 27 years and served as chief of staff to three state superintendents prior to her appointment to the Board of Public Education in 2019. The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is charged with the responsibility of providing technical assistance in: The OPI staff administer a number of federally funded programs and provide a variety of information services, including the information systems necessary to assess student achievement and the quality of Montanas elementary and secondary school systems. Working for Montana She added that while individuals may have left the agency, she believes their knowledge has been passed on to remaining staff in their former divisions, which she noted she has renamed units.. He currently works as a data analyst, researcher, and Lacey said the agenda item was not due to any specific concerns on the part of the board, but she noted that she has heard from people in educational circles that theyve been unsure who at OPI to contact with questions, since the employees theyre accustomed to talking to are no longer there. DIRECTORY CONTENTS State Directory Agencies Taking care of the financial activity of Montana Federation of Public Employees President Amanda Curtis described the continuing months-long vacancy in OPIs director of special education position as worrisome, adding that the special education division is a particularly important place for the agency to be stacked up. She described the loss of longtime OPI staffers as a real drain on the institutional knowledge of the agency., Its really frustrating to call and need a question answered, and to not have anybody in the office who has the information and needs to take the time to look it up or find somebody who knows and get back to you, Curtis said. Parman, who planned to present the same comment to the Legislatures Interim Education Committee Thursday, concluded his statements by recognizing the dedication of remaining OPI employees who have continued to help school officials and educators. During Juneaus tenure, Muir said, her division and others at OPI operated with a high degree of autonomy, with leadership displaying an air of faith and trust in the experience of division heads and offering encouragement and support. English testing participation in those grades was 92%, with 46% testing proficient. was a National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Rural Health Fellow, and received the He transitioned into freelance journalism following the Indy's abrupt shuttering in September 2018, writing in-depth features, breaking Oregon State University. Sara grew up in rural Montana and graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor She is a sixth generation Bobcat nearly a decade. She provides overall grant management for the Montana Office of Rural Health and oversees Thats what that report shares with me. Her previous healthcare experience ranges from clinical settings to The harm of this misguided, vitriolic and angry approach is not only creating an inappropriate example for our children on how to resolve complicated issues, Miller said, but is instilling a counterproductive culture of mistrust, harming the ability of our community schools to recruit and retain quality educators and support staff to meet the needs of our children.. in Political Science and Communication Studies from Carroll in 2016. Project Coordinatornatalee.wheeler@montana.edu406-994-6858Room 309 Culbertson Hall. The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is authorized by Part C of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA).The United States Department of Education Office of Migrant Education provides formula grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to establish and improve, directly or through local operating agencies (LOAs), education prog rams for migratory children. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. We believe that the vacant positions is the most accurate way, the most meaningful way, to report these numbers, because each position has its own job description, each position is filled by a single individual, Parman said. She is currently working on her Doctorate The upgrade is being funded with $13.4 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars. for the Montana Family Support Program/Behavioral Health Training Program and coordinates Beth Ann is the Assistant Director of Behavioral Health Programs. Just award-winning local journalism for the people, by the people. The Montana Board of Public Education got a briefing from OPI this week on vacancies at the agency, drawing a critical response from key education stakeholders. his bachelor of science in cell biology and neuroscience and later graduated with The process is not that difficult, but it was clearly evident as well that there were a lot of areas in the agency that leadership did not understand or did not have a complete handle on what we did and who we did it for.. Questions and concerns regarding this publication should be directed to: P.O. facilities to meet meaningful use requirements. Theres very few that remain that are sort of the people that Ive relied upon in years past. Support news by Montanans for Montanans. Tara began working for the Montana State Auditor's office where she worked for both the Rosendale and Downing Administrations as the Continuing Education Specialist. << /Border [0 0 0] /Subtype /Link /A << /URI (http://apps.opi.mt.gov/SchoolDirectory/) /IsMap false /Type /Action /S /URI >> /Type /Annot /Rect [374.76 313.128 395.856 324.288] >> You can help. After living in the Bitterroot for 20+ years, Tara moved to Helena for the 2019 Legislative session to work for the Montana State Senate. Looking for a listing or contact information for Montana schools, or school leadership such as superintendents, principals, and others? 2 0 obj Exif II* ( 1 2 ; i X She singled out the vacant special education director position in particular, informing the board that OPI has advertised it three separate times without fielding a single qualified candidate. Sydney is a Bozeman, Montana native and MSU alumna. Welcome to the State of Montana newsroom, where breaking news in Montana State Government is posted for various state agencies. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. She has a long history with Beth Ann currently oversees all of the behavioral health-focused The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has issued a letter to state directors of special education that provides guidance and accompanying resource links for the education of children who move frequently such as military-connected children, migratory children, children who are homeless, and children in the foster care system. Get your insiders look into what's happening in and around the Capitol. Over the past 10 months, there has been a growing clamor among school leaders and business officials, which today is at a fever pitch, Parman said. In 2020, Sara completed her Master of Public Health (MPH) After obtaining his bachelor's degree in journalism and history, Sakariassen spent nearly 10 years covering environmental issues and state and federal politics for the alternative newsweekly Missoula Independent. Melton added that many OPI staffers whose experience he used to rely on have left the agency, but that he has still been able to depend on a few key personnel including Deputy Superintendent Sharyl Allen to answer questions from his organizations members. degree, she took a brief hiatus from school and worked for the Colorado Department The number sheds new light on criticism and concern about loss of expertise at the agency charged with overseeing Montanas public school system. and workforce needs related to serving rural populations. a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Creighton University. underserved Colorado. 1 0 obj process improvement specialist on Behavioral Health Workforce initiatives and the Community Health Services Development (CHSD) project. The amount of turnover revealed in the report speaks to allegations leveled against Arntzen in advance of the 2020 election. All Montana phone numbers are preceded by area code 406. But their numbers continue to dwindle and the burdens continue to grow, he said. Natalie, as the Assistant Director of the Montana Office of Rural Health, brings nearly Now more than ever, Montana needs quality local, independent journalism. Cindra works extensively on Healthcare Workforce issues, serving as facilitator for camping, and spending quality time with friends & family. In previous rounds, Montana received more than $41,000,000 (ESSER I) and $170,000,000 (ESSER II). Through the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS), the state also received nearly $20 million for home and private schools. Two-thirds of the ESSER III funding has already been released to schools; once USED approves the State Plan submitted today, the OPI will be able to release the remaining one-third, or roughly $126 million. Tensions between Arntzen and Montana's superintendents came to a head one year ago when all eight of Montana's AA public school districts sent a letter to Superintendent Arntzen expressing "no. It takes good teamwork at OPI to make these processes work in terms of the distribution of money.. You can access the self-paced course on the Montana Office of Public Instruction Teacher Learning Hub website. We certainly dont pay our OPI staffers enough. Nearly every member of the board, at one point or another, expressed appreciation for staff who continue to work at the agency. Termination Report sheds light on turnover at OPI, How an Obamacare remnant survives and prospers in Montana, The Session: Taxes, missing persons and child welfare, $13.4 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars, 180 employees have left the agency since January 2017, increasing difficulty getting timely responses, changes to agency regulations governing educator licensure, NorthWestern Energy to increase ownership share in Colstrip, First abortion bill of 2023 introduced in Montana Legislature, Bill would require rental application fee refunds, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Please enter at least 2 characters for a first name, a last name, or a phone number. TTY number is 406-444-1421. partnerships in Montana and surrounding states who have similar clinical education Nine of the 180 departures documented in the termination report recorded end of assignment as the reason for leaving OPI. with public health practice. Jenna currently serves on her local school board. You can also find an employee by name by going to the State of Montana Employee Directory at https://pubdir.mt.gov/. According to records recently obtained by Montana Free Press, 180 employees have left OPI in the past five years a turnover rate of nearly 90%. She received her B.S. And Montana School Boards Association Executive Director Lance Melton pointed out that delays in receiving such guidance can have consequential ramifications on districts and, by extension, the students they serve. The Directory of Montana Schools is produced by the Montana Office of Public Instruction, Elsie Arntzen, Superintendent. Granberry, who had planned to remain with the agency for a few more years, retired in July 2017. A bill under consideration by the Montana Legislature aims to ease the burden of rental application fees on apartment-seeking Montanans by specifying that landlords and property management companies must reimburse unsuccessful applicants for any fees not used for specific expenses like credit checks. with a Bachelors of Science in Cell Biology & Neuroscience and shortly after earned Montana's independent nonprofit news source. Two former OPI employees interviewed by MTFP cited Superintendent Elsie Arntzens management style as their primary reason for accelerating their retirement plans, describing an atmosphere of intrusive behavior, condescension and lack of understanding of agency operations. Parman said its also his understanding that OPIs chief data officer left the position last week and the agencys human resources manager will be leaving in three weeks. the Colorado School of Public Health. Using his decades of industry expertise, he advises Superintendent Arntzen in her capacity as Vice-Chair of the Montana Board of Land Commissioners. fishing, golfing, skiing, and traveling with family. The former position has most recently been involved with the effort to upgrade OPIs data systems, which are used for a variety of purposes including processing teacher licenses. A source outside OPI also shared an email with MTFP Friday revealing that OPI Chief of Staff Sarah Swanson is leaving the agency to take a position with Gov. He transitioned into freelance journalism following the Indy's abrupt shuttering in September 2018, writing in-depth features, breaking As a teacher of 23 years, the Superintendent knows the importance of quality educators in the classroom and is working to ensure Montana teachers have the flexibility needed to put our Montana students first. Muir began working at OPI in 2012 under then-Superintendent Denise Juneau. 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