Department of Education Monday Minutes

Here are your Monday Minutes for February 22-26, 2021. 

From the Department Head 

Dear Students and Colleagues,

Public Schools Week is February 22-26. Let’s celebrate the great things happening each day in Montana’s public schools and the opportunities that our school district partners provide in order to prepare our amazing future educators and school/district leaders.  Please consider using the resources available in the Public Schools Week Social Media Toolkit and share your stories.  Additional resources can be found at Learning First.

We also celebrate Kindness in Graduate Education Week. Our hats are off to graduate students who teach and assist with research in our department, as well as those earning a degree and working in education settings.

Public Schools Week. Child walking to school. "The expert in anything was once a beginner." Helen Hayes. Kindness in graduate eduction week. Joined hands. February 15 to 24, 2021.

Take good care,

 Ann Dutton Ewbank's signature 

Dr. Ann Ewbank

News and Announcements

  • Our next department meeting is March 2, 12:15-1:30 in Ann’s WebEx room.We will continue our departmental strategic planning efforts by examining the current EHHD strategic plan.
  • Spring 2021 Curriculum & Instruction program meetings are March 9, March 30, and April 13 (12:15-1:30) in Nick’s WebEx room.
  • Please save the date for our Teacher Education Program Induction and Student Teacher Sendoff on April 5, 5:30-6:30pm.
  • The Department of Education is pleased to announce the reinstatement of two graduate programs: Education Specialist (EdS) in Curriculum & Instruction and Adult & Higher Education. The EdS is a post-Master’s degree culminating in a professional project. Learn more about EdS degrees here. We are working to establish catalog and web pages for these programs as well as the application process.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Opportunities

  • Please join us on March 2nd at 6pm MST for the next webinar in the Library Media Certificate webinar series. Dr. Kayte Kaminski, Assistant Dean/Director of Student Success in the College of Education, Health, and Human Development will present “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice.” Join this session for a discussion on identity, privilege, power, bias, and equity, and how all of these can play a role in your relationships with others and your career. Register here to attend and/or receive a recording link after the webinar.

Professional Development & Engagement Opportunities

Jason Reynolds. Library of Congress, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

  • On February 25, 2-3pm, the Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds will discuss his ambassadorship, including his recent “GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story” virtual tour, with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Through his platform Reynolds has directed his focus as ambassador by empowering students to embrace and share their own personal stories.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

  • Congratulations to Dr. Hailey Hancock (PhD in Education, 2020) for being named a runner-up for the American Educational Research Association’s Rural Education SIG Dissertation Award in Rural Education. Titled A Multisite Case Study of State Policy and Teacher Perceptions of Recruitment and Retention in Rural School Districts Impacted by the Critical Quality Educator Shortage, Dr. Hancock was supported by Dr. Christine RogersStanton (chair), Dr. Jayne Downey, Dr. Nick Lux, and Dr. Sarah Schmitt-Wilson.
  • Congratulations to EdS in Education Leadership student Andrea Abeyta and her granddaughter Keeli King (Eastern Shoshone) who won the Viewer’s Choice award in the 2021 Virtual Hoop Dance Competition (youth category) sponsored by the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. You can watch Keeli’s dance here.

Sierra Fisher-Dykman
Major: Elementary Education, Special Education
Hometown: Bozeman, MT
Mentor: Dr. Jody Bartz

Jade Williamson
Major: Secondary Education, Social Studies Broadfield
Hometown: Kaiserslautern, Germany
Mentor: Ms. Tina Cusker

  • Congratulations to the Science Math Resource Center and Mary Anne Hansen of the MSU Renne Library, who have been selected by the National Informal Science Education Network (NISENet) and the Museum of Science in Boston to receive the Citizen Science, Civics and Resilient Communities (CSCRC) stipend. This award, which is funded by NOAA, will be used to support citizen science initiatives at tribal college libraries in Montana via the Tribal College Librarians Institute, which is led by Mary Anne. The project will provide materials, equipment and training to three or more Montana tribal college librarians so they can launch a citizen science project in their community. 
  • 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. 

Monday Minutes footer