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The Superintendent of Public Instruction's State of Education Address was conducted Wednesday February 16.
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Watch the 2011 Montana Legislative Process Live!
The Superintendent of Public Instruction's State of Education Address was conducted Wednesday February 16.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
This month I launched the Bully Free Montana webpage on the Office of Public Instruction’s website.
I know school districts are working hard to address the issues of bullying and cyber-bullying to make sure that Montana schools are safe learning environments for our students.
As you all know, there is still work to be done. The results of the 2011 Montana Youth Risk Behavior survey show that nearly 40% of junior high students and 25% of high school students report being bullied, and 18% of junior high and high school students report being cyber-bullied. We also recently completed My Voice surveys of 14,500 Montana students in grades 6-12 about school climate. Forty-one percent of those students said bullying is a problem in their school. My office receives calls at least weekly from parents who want to know what they can do to help their child who is being bullied.
Montana school administrators, teachers, and staff have an enormous job to do to educate our young people, and schools face tough challenges every day. That’s why I want to make sure schools, parents and students have the information they need to address and prevent bullying and cyber-bullying and create positive school environments.
Resources on the Bully Free Montana website include: model policies and procedures for schools, sample investigation and reporting forms, actions students can take if they are being bullied or cyber-bullied, tips for parents to help them recognize bullying and ways schools can assess the effectiveness of their bullying prevention and intervention efforts. Go to http://opi.mt.gov/bullyfree to check out the resources.
The OPI will continue to update the materials on the page, and we would like to hear from you about prevention and intervention strategies that are working well in your school so we can share them with others in the state.
If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions please email me at opisupt@mt.gov.
Thanks for all the work you do,
Research shows that students who don’t read during the summer break run the risk of losing some of their reading comprehension skills and have a much harder time of catching up when school starts again in the fall. This is called the “summer slide.” Over the years, the achievement gap widens between students who read during the summer break and those who don’t.
To help prevent the summer slide, Superintendent Juneau is launching the Summer 6 Reading Challenge. Students can register online to take the challenge, read six books over the course of the summer and be eligible to win prizes.
Go to http://opi.mt.gov/read6books to find summer reading tips and downloadable posters for students, parents, educators and libraries.
We also know access to books can be the biggest obstacle for some students. To help address this challenge, Goodwill Industries will provide student discounts over the course of the summer. The YWCA of Missoula’s Secret Seconds stores will offer children’s books half price the months of June and July. Your local book store or thrift store might be willing to join the Summer Six Reading challenge as well!
Are you interested in supporting the Summer Six Reading Challenge or looking for ideas to spread the word in your community? Contact Colet Bartow at 444-3583 or cbartow@mt.gov.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 15-May-2012 15:20:29 MDT
"The Montana Office of Public Instruction provides vision, advocacy, support and leadership for schools and communities to ensure that all students meet today's challenges and tomorrow's opportunities."
The Montana Office of Public Instruction, Denise Juneau, Superintendent • P.O. Box 202501 Helena, Montana 59620-2501 • In-State Toll-Free 1.888.231.9393, Local (406) 444.3095
The Office of Public Instruction is committed to equal opportunity and non-discriminatory access to all our programs and services. For information or to file a complaint, contact OPI Title IX/EEO Coordinator at (406) 444.3161 or tantonick@mt.gov
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