Malmstrom Air Base and Great Falls Public School rollout new initiatives in town hall meeting

Malmstrom Air Force Base and Great Falls Public Schools held a town hall meeting discussing several new education opportunities, initiatives, and answering any questions pertaining to wellbeing from audience members Thursday evening.

Heather Hoyer, GFPS assistant superintendent for grades 7-12, began the meeting discussing upcoming dates for the remainder of the school year. Noting that this is a “transitionary” period for the eighth graders soon to begin high school and high school seniors on track to graduate. Feb. 2 is class scheduling awareness at North Middle School, when high school counselors meet with eighth-graders and their parents about core classes and electives to explore different choices. These scheduling requests will be submitted in mid-February in order to begin building student schedules and staffing.

With music being a very strong elective, independent auditions will be held for advanced music classes in April, and more information will be sent home to students, Hoyer said.

Continuing, Hoyer said April 12 is ACT day for both high schools. “It's one of the really strong takeaways we had from COVID-19, when we weren’t 100% face-to-face, is we learned is we can get the ACT to just the juniors and we can have all other students do remote learning for the high schools. That really allows juniors to be in a true small setting in a quiet space and be able to only focus on the test," Hoyer said.

The pre-ACT will be available to sophomores, as well as transportation that day for students and lunch. Lisa Sapp, MAFB Liaison, discussed free tutoring available for different subjects as well as ACT prep.

Hoyer detailed the various types of classes, from benchmark classes up to AP classes, as well as dual credit opportunities and CTE internships. GFPS currently has 76 students participating in CTE internships and 44 pre-apprenticeships. Students who are interested in exploring a career and want to join the pre-apprenticeship program should discuss it with their school counselor.

For the first time ever, C.M. Russell and Great Falls High School graduation will be held at the same time, on the same day. This celebration will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29, at Four Seasons Arena at the Montana Expo Park. There is currently no set number of attendees allowed.

GFPS has been showing their appreciation by having Military Appreciation Nights for the various GFPS sporting events in town.

Director of Student Services Lance Boyd broke down the services his department focuses on and some new initiatives. Extended School Year is offered to special education students who regress during extended school breaks. This year, the program will be held five days a week for four weeks. In the past, it was three days a week for six weeks. The Extended Year Program will be held from June 7 through July 1, out of a variety of buildings with transportation provided.

Feb. 8 will be Child Find, held at Malmstrom AFB. Young children between two to five whose parents feel are struggling socially or academically, and want to know where their child is at with their abilities should reach out to the GFPS preschool to be scheduled. Boyd said this would be a good opportunity for a child or families to address those awarenesses early on.

“We’re really committed to student learning loss and closing that achievement gap from what has been lost for some students during remote learning or school closures,” Boyd said. With ESSER funds (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) they have been able to hire five licensed LC PC’s and LCSW’s that work in the elementary, middle, and high schools. They work with students who may have high anxiety or depression and give them structure and support to aid in student success.

Ruth Uecker, GFPS assistant superintendent K-6, discussed some new initiatives, including a Summer Learning Camp. Uecker said she wants to move away from the term, “summer school.” Last year, a summer program was not able to be offered due to COVID-related illnesses or absences, and teacher exhaustion. This year Summer Learning Camp will be offered the first two weeks after school is dismissed, meeting Monday through Friday. The camp will be offered at all 15 elementary schools, with limited space. It is recommended by Uecker to reach out to your child’s teacher if they are in need of this support. “It will be hands-on, highly engaging. Our teachers are super excited to do this in a different approach,” Uecker said.

Kindergarten registration is May 4 for all GFPS schools and children need to be five on or before Sept. 10. In order to keep up with the ever-changing times and provide convenience to families, especially Great Falls military families, kindergarten registration will be moving online. This new system of online kindergarten registration is hoped to be ready by spring.

Colonel Christopher Karnes mentioned a few new partnerships, including a pilot pre-K program for select Malmstrom AFB families to launch at Skyline Center in the academic year 2022. They are looking to have about 20 children participating in the program. There is also a pilot shadow/internship program launching for the 2022 academic year. It is primarily senior-focused, but available to junior and senior high school students enrolled in JROTC. A few other programs mentioned were:

• A Child Development Center intern program to launch academic year 2022. This program will be pioneered with an initial four students.

• An educator’s summit to be hosted by Malmstrom in the spring.

• Exploring and expanding ways to launch diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

• Inserting and expanding violence prevention coordinator programs at Loy Elementary School.

Purple Up Day, is scheduled for April 12, in honor of children in military families.

MAFB, GFPS, Benchmark Human Service, Alluvion Health, and Central Montana Eyecare have partnered together for a Children Developmental and Health Screening held on Feb. 8 beginning at 9 a.m. Children from birth to five years of age are welcomed. The screenings will be held at 7313 Goddard Dr., Building 1145 on Malmstrom. Appointments can be scheduled with Holly Wick at 406-836-1036.

“We are excited to partner with GFPS on these new education programs,” said Col. Anita Feugate Opperman, 341st MW commander. “Quality of education for children matters greatly to our military families. That education is not only key to military readiness, it’s an opportunity to foster the critical relationship between the base and our local community.”

Superintendent Tom Moore echoed the importance of partnerships and a continued commitment to making education a positive experience for military families.

“We look forward to developing new programs and pathways of learning with Malmstrom, such as an initial offering of pre-K for some military families next school year,” said Tom Moore, Great Falls Public Schools superintendent. “We recognize military children serve in their own unique way and offer rich and diverse experiences in our schools. We want to make sure military kids achieve their potential here and feel a sense of belonging in our schools.”

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: MAFB, GFPS partner together to introduce student-military programs