Montana Character Education Grant Mission and Goals

Character Education Grant Mission and Goals

The mission of the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI)'s Honor, Respect and Responsibility (HR2) Project is to improve American Indian student academic achievement in Montana through the effective use of a character education school reform model.

Goal 1: To create respectful family, school and community environments that: enable all students to develop the bi-cultural qualities of character required to attain academic success, and acquire the skills required to be successful students and productive members of their community.

Goal 2: Implement character education focused on bi-cultural competencies to: improve school climate, increase student academic achievement, and increase school satisfaction of students (including students with disabilities), parents, school personnel and community.

The 2005-2009 HR2 grantees will be implementing and evaluating the Montana Character Education Model in ten high need districts throughout the state to improve teaching and student learning.  This character education model was developed by the five 2001-2004 Character Education grantees to address the needs of American Indian students with a system model and curriculum that:

1. are bi-culturally relevant,
2. address the requirements of MCA 20-1-501: Indian Education for All Montanans,
3. can be integrated in classroom instructions,
4. are aligned to state standards, and
5. can be integrated into school reform efforts.

The OPI has contracted with an external evaluator responsible for documenting integration and program effectiveness.

The OPI HR2 Character Education project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Partnership in Character Education Program through ESEA Title V, Part D, Subpart 3 – State Grants for Elementary and Secondary Act as amended by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.