Montana Teachers Offered $500 Math and Reading Grants

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On August 20, 2024, Superintendent Arntzen announced that the Office of Public Instruction allocated $1.5 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to Montana teachers for math and reading projects in a partnership with DonorsChoose.

According to Arntzen, this partnership offers K-12 public school teachers $500 to purchase teaching and learning materials, supplies, and technology that increase math and reading skills for Montana students.

“As a teacher of 23 years, I understand the challenges our teachers face when purchasing learning materials for their classrooms,” said Arntzen. “These precious tax dollars have supported teaching and learning in over half of our Montana public schools. We are all Montana proud of all our teachers for putting our students first.”

As of September 16, 2024, Arntzen said she has funded 1,283 math projects and 1,831 reading projects for a total of $1,103,387. In total, 2,448 Montana teachers in 211 school districts have submitted approved projects.

There have been:

912 projects in grades K-2
738 projects in grades 3-5
472 projects in grades 6-8
326 projects in grades 9-12

Montana teachers can submit a math or reading project by:

Visiting the DonorsChoose Montana Teachers page
Teaching K-12 in a Montana public school
Creating a new project
Ensuring that the project’s total goal is under $500
Requesting resources to accelerate teaching and learning in math and/or reading

For updates on the number of projects funded, total funds awarded, and to view individual projects click here.

A few weeks ago, OPI released the 2023-2024 Student Assessment Scores for Math and Reading. Reading proficiency for grades 3-8 was 44.2 percent. Arntzen said school districts that are struggling with literacy education will receive the necessary funding for help with reading proficiency.