Department of Education Monday Minutes

Here are your Monday Minutes for September 28 - October 2, 2020. 

From the Department Head

Dear Faculty, Students, and Staff,

We are nearly halfway through the semester and we have much to celebrate! I encourage you to take part in MSU’s Homecoming Week activities. Keep the Bobcat spirit alive from your corner of the globe during Montana State University’s Stay-HOMEcoming. Throughout the week, each day, you will have the opportunity to share themed photos and stories on the Facebook page @msu.alumni.foundation or on Instagram using #MSUHouseCats. Play along, and you may even win a few prizes!

Take good care,

 Ann Dutton Ewbank's signature 

Dr. Ann Ewbank

News and Announcements

  • If you haven’t completed the Montana University System Indian Education for All training, please do so. The department expectation is that 100% of our employees successfully complete this training. Having all employees trained indicates that we “walk the talk” when implementing IEFA. Thank you in advance for completing this important training! 
  • Any member of the MSU community concerned about another's well-being can submit a CARE Referral which is a simple, non-emergency way to help connect a person with help they may need. 
  • TheEarly Alert system should be used when students fall behind, do not regularly check D2L, or are incommunicado. Please utilize the Document a Conversation and Student Consultation forms when issues arise. This is our internal tracking mechanism and the forms go no further and are “shredded” upon graduation. The Student Support Team can assist with crucial conversations coaching and/or as a neutral third party for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

  • Congratulations to Becky Hammack who is collaborating as pedagogy expert and evaluator on two grants: USDA-NIFA, A retrospective approach to guide agricultural literacy in the 21st century (Carl Igo, PI, MSU Department of Agriculture and Technology Education, and NASA, STEM Pathways for Native Americans: Bridging Native Knowledge of Earth and Sky with Traditional STEM Programing through the Native Earth Native Sky Program; PI: (Kat Gardner-Vandy, PI, Aviation and Space Education, Oklahoma State University). Thank you for sharing your expertise in these interdisciplinary collaborations! 
  • Our department’s success is determined by our collective accomplishments. Share your own accomplishments with pride! Or if you hear of a colleague or student’s accomplishment, please share. Please send accomplishments and kudos to ann.ewbank@montana.edu.

Professional Development & Engagement Opportunities

  • On Thursday, October 1st, from 12:15-1:30, the Center for Bilingual and Multicultural Education will hold a discussion on cultural identity, diversity, and inclusion as highlighted in Ken Liu’s short story titled Paper Menagerie.  Please see the attached flyer for future CBME offerings.

  • Please register for the 2020 MSU Faculty Symposium: Inclusive Excellence in Equity-Minded Education, 10/6, 9:30am-2:00 pm. Dr. Christine Stanton and Deb Blanchard (PhD in Education candidate) are presenters! 

  • Public Comment Needed on ESSA Waiver: The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) seeks public comment on a waiver to the United States Department of Education that will allow the OPI to waive the definition of out-of-school time found in ESSA Section 4201(b)(1)(A) for the 2020-2021 school year. This will provide local programs with more flexibility to meet community needs related to COVID-19 by allowing for the use of 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) funds to support programming when schools are currently operating. Virtual public comment meetings are on October 5 and October 16.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources

  • Sundown today marks the end of Yom Kippur, the most holy of holidays in the Jewish Faith. Learn about the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah- Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur- Day of Atonement) from this interfaith resource and the contributions of the Jewish people in Montana at the Jewish Museum in the American West. Finally, check out the documentary The Rabbi Goes West, to learn more about Judaism in Montana today. 

  • The EHHD Diversity Task Force invites you to a book study facilitated by Dr. Kris Olsen and PhD candidate Hailey Hancock. If you would like to participate, please get the book and email Kayte Kaminski. 

From the facilitators: “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it - and then dismantle it.” Please join us in a book study on Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist. We will meet via WebEx on Wednesdays from 12:00 - 1:00 (you can join for whatever portion is possible). We acknowledge our positionality as white scholars and will lean on Dr. Kendi’s expertise as an antiracist scholar to chart a path forward. Our initial meeting will focus on introductions, collectively set norms for our time together and an opening discussion on the Introduction and Chapters 1-3. Dr. Kendi is releasing a reflective journal, “Be Antiracist”, to accompany the book - it is being released October 6th. This is not required, but we may include some of the exercises or questions to guide our study. All meetings will be held in Kris’ Olsen’s WebEx Room. We look forward to learning with you!

October 7th: Introductions, Norms, Introduction & Chapters 1 - 3 (pp. 3 - 43)

October 14th: Chapters 4 - 7 (pp. 44 - 91)

October 21st: Chapters 8 - 11 (pp.  92 - 150)

October 28th: Chapters 12 - 15 (pp. 151 - 200)

Nov 4th: Chapters 16-18 (pp.  201 - 238) 

  • Do you have a resource to share? Please email Ann Ewbank.

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