Montana Rural Teacher Project - April 2022 newsletter

April 2022

This newsletter contains news and information of interest about

Montana Rural Teacher Project. Thanks for staying informed.

The First of Many!

Congratulations to Kolleen Gustad! She is currently a Teacher Resident in MRTP Cohort 2 and will graduate with the MAT degree this spring. Kolleen is the first member of her cohort to accept a teaching position: this fall she’ll be teaching English at Baker High School. Kolleen says she is incredibly excited for this opportunity to be a part of the Baker community. She is eager to work with and learn from the dedicated educators in her new district. Go Spartans!

Grow Your Own

Northeast Montana’s Sheridan County News recently highlighted Ronni Anderson, one of our MRTP Teacher Residents. Ronni is in the elementary cohort and currently completing her student teaching experience in Plentywood, MT.

In the article Ronni describes the intense workload of the MAT program - earning a Masters Degree in 16 months while participating in a series of school-based field experiences. However, as a participant in the MRTP she is provided a stipend that helps to alleviate some financial costs and support her career change into education.

Fun fact: Ronni is a Plentywood high school graduate and current resident! Her story inspires and reminds us why the MRTP was created.

See the full article here.

Connection, Community, and Celebration

MRTP mentors are gathering in July for a two-day retreat at the Montana Learning Center on Canyon Ferry Lake. Two cohorts of mentors will attend: those who have been working with MRTP Cohort #1 throughout their first year of teaching, and those who are preparing to work with Cohort #2 when they begin teaching next fall.

The retreat includes sessions for networking and “mentoring of mentors” across the two cohorts. Experienced mentors will share their reflections on the past school year and collaborate with newcomers to set mentoring goals for next year. Time is reserved for celebrating successes as well as troubleshooting various scenarios and issues.

Our MRTP mentors go to great lengths to support program graduates from a distance during their first two years of teaching. The July retreat will be their first opportunity to meet in person, and they’re looking forward to:

Connection between experienced and newly prepared MRTP mentors
Community activities for relationship building and to support future planning
Celebration and social emotional recharging with sunshine and great scenery

We want to thank the Montana Learning Center for making space within its jam-packed summer youth program for this retreat. As an extra bonus, MRTP mentors may also get to participate in stargazing through the incredible astronomy program offered by MLC