Describes the Early Career Support Program (STEP) which uses the Montana Educational Telecommunication Network (METNET) to connect early career teachers in Montana with mentors. Contains 20 references. (DDR)

Traces decline of one-room schools from 24,000 in 1959 to about 840 today. Reports findings from 1984 survey of 643 surviving one-room schools in Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, California, and Wyoming. Includes data on enrollments, teacher qualifications and responsibilities, student achievement, and school facilities/equipment. (NEC)

In the 1940s, the Montana Study focused on engaging the University of Montana in outreach efforts in small towns, developing mechanisms to stabilize the family and small communities and improve the quality of small-town life. Its most popular activity was the creation of over a dozen community study groups aimed at community cultural renewal. (SV)

This report describes the initial efforts and current status of implementing supplemental educational services (SES) in the Northwest Region states, identifies information gaps and areas of further inquiry, and delineates concerns and challenges for the state education agencies. It is an exploratory effort to identify issues for deeper examination…

A teacher study group was formed at Garfield Elementary School (Billings, Montana) to provide opportunities for professional development. Garfield Elementary has a student population of over 400 students, approximately 50 of whom qualify for special education services. The majority of children come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and…

This study assessed the music background and music achievement of 178 13-year-old rural students in southwestern Montana. The population for this study consisted of all 13-year-olds attending designated elementary schools in a six-county area in southwestern Montana. 1-, 2-, and 3-teacher K-8 schools were referred to as "rural" while…

The material in this K-8 curriculum guide is designed to provide classroom professionals in rural Montana schools with some guidance as to when to introduce and develop concepts in each subject area. It is intended to be a guide, not a rule book or complete course of study. For each subject area and for each grade level, topics are coded as I…

Highlights a rural Montana family's experience with limited availability of special-education personnel and services for their severely disabled son. Suggests ways to improve rural special education services, including a flexible planning process, partnerships with university programs, use of information technology, and support networks. (KS)

After the Montana Board of Public Education enacted new accreditation standards in 1989, the original Montana rural school curriculum guide no longer reflected state standards. A new rural curriculum guide was developed by drawing on pertinent sections of the Montana School Accreditation Standards and Procedures Manual, and by including model…

Includes "Perspective on Rural Education" (Miller); "You Want Them to Learn What?" (Jones); "Rural Education" (Baker, Burns); "Metnet" (Frick); "Rural Education and Training in Egypt" (Swan, Aly); "Mentors, Youth at Risk, and Rural Education Programs" (Wingenbach); "Designing…

Project Sunrise, a home based parent training model, was designed to serve preschool handicapped children living in rural areas of Montana. Literature was reviewed on when to begin educational intervention, the results of early intervention, the types of intervention most effective, the positive effects of parent education, and the benefits of…

To deliver training and continuing education for education personnel in a large rural state, Montana has decentralized its Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) by forming five regional councils. The Montana Center on Disabilities developed a statewide training program for using paraeducators as liaisons to communities to enhance…

This report synthesizes the experience-based ideas that emerged from small group interaction at the 16th annual Montana Rural Education Conference, which focused on the pros and cons of school district consolidation. Conferees first heard from panelists and speakers expressing a spectrum of positive and negative positions on the consolidation…

This document contains a wide assortment of papers and promotional materials concerning the Big Sky Telegraph, a Montana-based telecommunications network serving rural economic development organizations. Funded by the US West Foundation and Western Montana College, Big Sky was created to stimulate grassroots innovation in rural education,…

This paper discusses techniques and strategies to improve the effectiveness of distance education delivered via interactive video telecommunication. Advantages and disadvantages of three types of interactive video--telephone linkage, end-to-end fiber optic digital transmission, and satellite broadcasts--are briefly discussed. Prebroadcast…