It’s beginning to feel a lot like winter! Cooler temperatures are in the forecast through Wednesday.

If your student needs a warm coat and other winter gear, please know that these items are available thanks to our many generous community partners. Just let your school secretary, principal or counselor know.

We have a lot of news to cover this week!

For starters, we’re returning to Helena for the next leg of our Alumni Discovery Journey. This month’s featured graduate is Kyle Beto, Capital High Class of 2007.

As a kid, Kyle knew he wanted a good-paying career close to home. “I came from a very blue-collar, hardworking family that, if you worked hard, you could do the things you wanted to do, and they instilled that into me very, very early,” Beto said.

He found the career of his dreams here in Helena thanks to the skills he began building as a sophomore in Jim Weber’s welding class at Capital High.

Kyle talked with us about the tenacity and teamwork skills he developed through his experiences at Helena Public Schools. He now uses those skills every day in his career as an NC (Numerical Code) Programmer/Machinist at The Boeing Company.

Click here to find Kyle’s story, as well as our previous featured alumni – HHS Principal Brian Kessler and Dr. Katie Connors.

Today Helena Public Schools students can choose from 12 unique Career and Technical Education pathways from welding and fabrication, to healthcare, to business management or marketing. Students can begin earning college credit toward a two-year or four-year degree in high school, resulting in significant tuition savings.

Earlier this week, our Board of Trustees received an update on Career & Technical Education results for the 2023-24 school year. Highlights included:

• Six of 10 Helena Public Schools CTE students who graduated in 2024 went on to a college or trade school.

• 34 percent of our district’s 2024 CTE student graduates went on to a career right out of high school.

• 92 percent of our CTE students for the 2023-24 school year attained Dual Enrollment, meaning they earned college credit while still in high school, compared with 33 percent statewide.

• 92 percent of our CTE students for the 2023-24 school year attained work-based learning credits, compared with 25 percent statewide.

Students also gain exposure to career opportunities through field trips and classroom experiences.

PAL Charter School earns high marks at EconoQuest

Students at the Project for Alternative Learning (PAL) Charter School recently embraced a career learning opportunity at the annual EconoQuest Conference on the campus of Montana State University-Bozeman.

EconoQuest is an international economic literacy program with bipartisan support that enables students to explore real-world economics and career opportunities. Students are challenged to investigate and evaluate a Montana industry through four lenses: competitive advantage, opportunity cost, international trade and supply chain. The students use their findings to propose international trade opportunities, presenting their proposals in poster presentations at the conference.

PAL Teacher Ryan Cooney took two teams of students to Bozeman to compete in EconoQuest’s Solar Energy and Outdoor Recreation competitions. The PAL Solar Energy Team placed in the top four (expanded to the top 6 because of ties) in competition with more than 50 teams from across Montana.

Congratulations to our PAL EconoQuest competitors and thank you, Mr. Cooney, for making this learning and career exploration experience possible. PAL EconoQuest team members are as follows:

Solar Energy: Bridger Mason, Reinah Knapp and Shelby Larsen
Outdoor Recreation: Jack Knutson, Mason Robbins, Angel Kurz

Trades building beautified at Capital High

I also want to highlight a team effort by our Capital High photography, automotive, library media tech and learning lab students and their teachers. Each of these programs has two things in common: They’re focused on career skills and they’re located in the metal-sided trades building on the CHS campus. Tired of the building’s drab, beige exterior, they decided to add some “curb appeal.”

The team transformed the building’s department entrances, painting art and motivational messages on the doors. Library students topped it off by designing and installing vinyl signage for the awnings. Thanks to all who helped transform this blank building front into a showcase of student creativity and career skills.

District hosts statewide “Science of Reading” conference
In district business, Helena Public Schools hosted lawmakers and school curriculum specialists from across the state Wednesday for a “Montana Science of Reading Showcase” conference.

“Science of Reading” is a collection of research across multiple fields of study on how children best learn to read. It is based on five pillars:

Phonemic Awareness – The ability to identify and play with individual sounds in spoken words.

Phonics – How letters or groups of letters link to form sound relationships and spelling patterns.

Fluency – The ability to read accurately with speed and expression.

Vocabulary – Knowing what words mean and how to say and use them correctly.

Comprehension – The ability to understand what you’re reading.

The conference included an evening lecture for educators and curriculum specialists by Dr. Lynne Kulich, an expert on the latest research on how children learn to read and the cognitive processes behind literacy.

Lawmakers had the opportunity to tour classrooms and observe educators in action as they taught components of the pillars, which are already integrated into structured literacy programs in our district and others across the state. The conference was an opportunity to support informed decisions as the 2025 Legislature potentially considers literacy-related bills.

District launches first-ever “Montana Menu Day” Thursday

Looking ahead to next week, Helena Public Schools will hold our first-ever “Montana Menu Day” on Thursday. Every school will offer this special menu with bison, lentils and homemade rolls made with ingredients from across our great state. We will also offer a variety of regular meals for those who aren’t up for trying new things. A big thanks to our District Food Services Director Robert Worthy for helping us celebrate Montana’s bounty as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday.

Finally, as we observe National Native American Heritage Month, I want to honor and recognize our Native American students, staff and family members for their unique and diverse contributions to each of our schools. We celebrated Montana’s eight recognized tribes with special events throughout the week, culminating with a pow wow at Helena High School today attended by students from Bryant Elementary.

I hope you enjoy these moments from this morning’s pow wow and yesterday’s visit to Helena High School by Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray.

A huge thank you to all who made this week’s many Native American heritage experiences possible, including Helena High Indian Ed Tutor Terri Johnson, Capital High Indian Ed Tutor Joe Pichardo and Elementary Indian Ed Tutor Jenny Wade.

Next week Ms. Johnson and Mr. Pichardo will take a group of more than 30 high school students to the Vaughn area for a traditional Native American bison harvest.

Native American students as well as students from culinary, photography and AP environmental science classes will participate in field-harvesting the animal.

“The idea is to bring every part of that bison home – the hide, the meat, the bones,” said Ms. Johnson. “We’re going to try to spread the education throughout our community as much as possible.”

We wish them a successful trip and look forward to sharing highlights of this special day.

Enjoy this wintry weekend!