September 8, 2022 Edition
IN THIS EDITION.. New SSoM Member District | Self-Paced Dyslexia Course | Infinite Campus Fall User Group Meetings & FRAM Processes | SSoM Co-op Food Program Highlights | SSoM Program & Resource Updates | SSoM Partner Resources featuring MSU-SMRC & Collaborative Classroom | Joke of the Week | Additional Resources | About SSoM
- SSoM Welcomes New Member District -
BAINVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL

We are excited to announce the newest member district to School Services of Montana! Bainville School is now our eastern-most member district. located less than 8 miles from the MT/ND border. The 2022-2023 school year kicks off the 101st year of graduating classes at Bainville School with approximately 160 students - a third of whom are from North Dakota.

All of us at SSoM are looking forward to serving Bainville School in the 22-23 school year and beyond. Click their logo to visit their new website, see what they're up to on Facebook, and have a day full of #BulldogPride!
SSoM Self-Paced, Online Course
Understanding & Supporting Students with
Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities
Course Open Through JUNE 30, 2023
Are you supporting students with dyslexia or other reading disabilities this year? Check out our asynchronous, virtual course, designed by literacy expert and consultant, Genevieve Thomas, Spark Educational Consulting, and brought to you by SSoM. This course is constructed to help deepen your knowledge about dyslexia as it relates to Montana’s Dyslexia Screening and Intervention Act, the science of reading, and research-based literacy assessment and instructional practices in a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Click the button below to learn more about the content included in the course modules.
Earn 11 OPI Renewal Units
SSoM Members Receive a $20 Discount
SWMSS IC Combo Logo
For the love of all things
INFINITE CAMPUS
Fall User Group Meetings
FRAM Eligibility Carryover Process
SAVE THE DATE: MONTANA FALL USER GROUP MEETINGS NOV. 1 - 4
Nov. 1 TBD (Flathead Area) | Nov. 2 - Butte | Nov. 3 - Lewistown | Nov. 4 -Sidney
FRAM 2022-2023 ELIGIBILITY CARRYOVER PROCESS
Click HERE to download the document with links; log into Campus Community to view.
  • PLEASE NOTE: This process will result in the creation of new eligibilities in the 2021-22 SY which carries over 30 days into the 2022-23 school year so students will continue to receive free or reduced meal benefits while applications for this year are submitted and processed. Parents / guardians will still need to submit applications by your district's established processes for the 2022-23 school year.
For the fastest, most accurate support, please EMAIL your Infinite Campus Support Team:
Mary Anne Skinner, Director of Infinite Campus Support Services | maskinner@mt-schools.org
Tamara Blanchard, Infinite Campus Support Specialist | tblanchard@mt-schools.org

- ATTENTION ALL FOOD SERVICE MANAGERS -
SSoM NEW CO-OP FOOD PROGRAM OPEN TO ALL MONTANA SCHOOLS
Do you want access to the BEST pricing available to Montana schools for your district's school nutrition program? Want a flexible program you can tailor to meet YOUR needs? THE SSoM FOOD PROGRAM OFFERS THAT TO ALL MONTANA SCHOOLS! Check this out...

  • There is NO COST to Montana schools to sign up for the SSoM co-op food program. Zero membership fees are required to participate : )
  • You don't have to be a SSoM member district, though membership does have its perks *wink!*
  • Order WHAT you want, WHEN you want, and receive orders as often as WEEKLY!
  • Prices through this program are the lowest prices available to K-12 schools in Montana!
  • Program details can be found here: https://www.mt-schools.org/2022-2023-order.html
  • Program FAQ & SSoM Organization Facts: https://conta.cc/3PojKuK
  • Download the SSoM Program Opt-In Form here.

Our goal is to provide your district with a purchasing program that meets the diverse needs of your school's nutrition program so you can focus on what's really important - feeding and educating your students. So what are you waiting for??? SIGN UP TODAY : )
For program questions, or to opt into this program, please contact:
Jennifer Brekke, Purchasing Manager | jbrekke@mt-schools.org | (406) 580-7547


SCHOOL SERVICES OF MT
PROGRAMS & RESOURCES
KEYS TO SUCCESS: OPI, INFINITE CAMPUS, & FRAM

KNOW YOUR AIM REPORTING DEADLINES

CAMPUS POS 2.0 - REPORTING, CONFIGURATION, & TROUBLESHOOTING

FRAM & INFINITE CAMPUS
YES we can do online FRAM applications with Infinite Campus! Email us for more information. In the meantime, here are some helpful resources to get started with processing paper applications:
  • FRAM Setup - Study Guide: Before using the FRAM module, it is important that districts configure and/or review FRAM preferences and tool rights.
  • FRAM Online Applications - Study Guide: The Online Applications tool allows district FRAM Processors to process online Meal Benefits Applications submitted to the district via the Portal.
  • FRAM Eligibility - Study Guide: The Eligibility tool shows a student's eligibility for receiving free or reduced-price benefits.
HIGHLIGHTS from the 2022 CURRICULUM DESIGN SUMMER INSTITUTE
This summer, with the support of MSU’s Education Department and administrators from schools who are members of MECC (SSoM’s curriculum consortium), SSoM hosted and facilitated (2) two day institutes supporting over 55 educators from nearly 20 districts with curriculum design and alignment, promoting proficiency-based education in Montana. Here’s what teachers that participated had to say:

  • “I’ve completed a Year At-A-Glance. Loved this! Thank you for treating us as professionals! This was amazing and I will be back!”
  • “It was nice to collaborate without the stress and distraction of the school year.”
  • “I feel that I already understood the basic tenets of proficiency-based education, but this workshop helped me better understand the steps I could take to change my practice.”
  • “This really helped me with designing a curriculum that I've struggled with in the past.”
  • “Learning about how to assess my prioritized standards will help me be more efficient as a teacher.”

Our goal is to continue the institute every summer to provide teachers with a space to plan, collaborate, and gain support in making shifts toward proficiency-based teaching and learning. For more information, or if you’d like to be involved in planning discussions for next summer, please contact:

Melissa Tovaas, Director of Education Services | mtovaas@mt-schools.org

COMING SOON! MECC Curriculum Consortium 22-23 SY Focus Areas, Support, & Events
SAVE THE DATE: 5th Annual Montana STEM Summer Institute
Jul. 31 - Aug. 2, 2023 | Bozeman, MT
YOUR MEDICAID MOMENT September 2022 Edition
Have you read the latest Medicaid Service Portal Newsletter? This month features:

  • Medicaid Billing Service Logs, Guidelines, & Instructions
  • Creating or Updating Your Caseload
  • Adding Goals to a Student Account
  • Student Evaluations
  • Service Portal Tips & Manuals for: Personal Care; Direct Care Therapy

For more information about how the SSoM Medicaid Billing Program could benefit your school, contact:
Lisa Waterman, Medicaid Billing Program Specialist | lwaterman@mt-schools.org
NEW: TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE - SCIENCE EDITION
At some point in their lives, nearly everybody has wanted to dig a hole down to the center of the Earth. The only problem is, nobody ever has actually dug a hole down that far. This video discusses how deep down could we actually dig with modern-day technology.
SSoM PARTNER RESOURCES & EVENTS
MSU SCIENCE MATH RESOURCE CENTER (SMRC)
NEWSLETTER & FALL STEM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THIS JUST IN! SMRC now offers Brainstorms!, a monthly e-newsletter where they share cool opportunities for Montana STEM educators of all grade levels, subjects and settings, including upcoming professional development workshops through MSU and our partners; grant applications and STEM resources; STEM events and contests for students; and more. 

Whether you teach science, technology, engineering, mathematics or something else related, this newsletter is for you. Subscribe to Brainstorms! at https://bit.ly/smrc-news, and please encourage a colleague to subscribe. This includes your school administrators and school counselors, too! 
MSU Research in Action Online Workshop Series
This FREE online workshop for teachers aims to connect K-12 classrooms with MSU researchers so teachers can bring not only cutting-edge research concepts but also researchers' personal STEM stories into the classroom. OPI renewal units available!
First Virtual Workshop: Thurs, 9/22, 4 - 5pm
Featuring: MSU Biochemist Emily Dieter
Best for: High School Teachers
Attendance: Capped at 30
Local Data, Local Phenomena: 3-Workshop Series in Bozeman
SMRC is hosting a Saturday workshop series in Bozeman this fall with the theme of water, soil, and air. Our goal is to present lesson ideas, tools, and resources about local phenomena using local data. In addition to the resources, you will receive materials to gather data related to the workshops.

COST: $100
REGISTRATION: TBD in September
BACK-TO-SCHOOL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR TEACHING & LEARNING

As the year begins, professional learning is top of mind - but what practices and support structures create the ideal conditions for teacher learning?

BLOG POST

WEBINARS
  • Sept 21, 2022 2 - 3pm MST: What Literacy Leaders Need to Know and Do to Support Teachers in Shifting to Science of Reading-Based Instruction
  • Oct. 25, 2022 2 - 3pm MST: Where the Science of Learning Meets the Science of Reading: Unpacking the Evidence

ON-DEMAND
Teaching Reimagined: Leveraging the Emotions of Cognition, by Collaborative Classroom board member Zaretta Hammond, the 2022 National Conference keynote. Click here for Zaretta Hammond's bio.

For more information about what Collaborative Classroom can do for your district, contact:
Melissa Tovaas, Collaborative Classroom Liaison, mtovaas@mt-schools.org
JOKE OF THE WEEK
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
MT OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

OPI Education Compass - September 2022 Ed.
Remember, ESSER I. dollars must be expended by 9/30/22!
FREE OPI FALL 2022 IEFA WEBINAR SERIES
IEFA Background Knowledge Building - Indian Boarding Schools: From History to Healing
Wednesdays from 4-5:30pm: 9/14, 9/21, 10/12, 10/26, 11/2, 11/16
Earn up to 12 OPI Renewal Units; details & registration

An in-depth exploration of the Boarding School era, it's history, and implications, with the intent to build background knowledge and provide a context for both the inter-generational trauma and the resiliency of many tribal individuals in both the United States and Canada.
MONTANA PBS EDUCATOR E-NEWSLETTER
September 1, 2022 | Issue 67, featuring:
  • PBS Media Literacy Certification Online Cohort: become PBS Media Literacy Certified
  • Learn at Home, Too: resources available to every Pre-K through 12th grade student and teacher who needs educational resources for learning at home
  • NEW! on PBS LearningMedia: back to school resources
  • Back from the Brink: Montana's Wildlife Legacy Collection
  • US History Collection

Nikki Vradenburg, Ed.D | MT PBS Director of Education | nikki@montanapbs.org
WORLD LANGUAGE INITIATIVE - MONTANA (WLIMT)

  • After school & In-person for Youth: SPANISH, GERMAN, & FRENCH
  • SPANISH: Adult Beginning, Intermediate I. & II., and Advanced - Zoom
  • ARABIC: Adult - Zoom
  • FRENCH: Adult - in person at the Emerson Center, Bozeman

Registration opened Monday, September 5
All 5 Montana CSPDs offer FREE VIRTUAL PD in their regions. Click for details:
ABOUT SCHOOL SERVICES of MONTANA
SSoM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit education service agency committed to unlocking the full potential of every child in each and every school we serve across the state. We accomplish this by providing a wide variety of professional learning activities and business services designed to meet the specific needs of Montana’s excellent educators and administrators. Interested in supporting our work? Click here to make a donation, and be sure to read all about our organization on our website.