Mid-November Update
AGED ADMIN
December
5 – Chapter Report – Montana FFA Reporter, ffaau...@gmail.com
8-12 – ACTE Vision / NAAE National Convention – Nashville
9 – Big Timber Invitational CDE Showdown – Big Timber
Winter Break – Good time to do American Degrees with college students
Perkins Reserve Grant FY26 Application
LEAs who have been in good standing with their local application funds for two years prior to the current application year. This includes adhering to grant application and reporting deadlines, submitting accurate data reports, appropriate fiscal supporting documents, adherence to all Perkins V and Civil Rights monitoring.
Districts are only eligible for a total of $5,000 in awards, must have completed the Perkins Grant Application for Fiscal year 26 and receive an allocation of less than $15,000.
Vision for Perkins Reserve Funding:
• Foster innovation through the identification and promotion of promising and proven career and technical education programs, practices, and strategies, which may include programs, practices, and strategies that prepare individuals for nontraditional fields; or
• To create career awareness, recruit students to a CTE Secondary Program of Study or promote the development, implementation, and adoption of programs of study or career pathways aligned with state-identified high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations or industries in the middle grades.
Schools could use the funds to help:
• establish foundational elements for work-based learning
• improve transitions from middle grades into secondary CTE programs of study.
• establish innovative delivery methods for career exploration
• expose students to employability skills earlier
Advancing Agriculture Grant
The application process for Advancing Ag-Ed for the 2025-27 cycle is open. You can utilize the NPQS system or the MPQS assessment tool on MAgNet under grants. $2000 per Full Time Teacher (FTE) and $7500 for new programs.
Apply Here (Also has grant information for Advanced Opportunities, Rural Reserve and links for State Vo-Ed Allocation and Perkins)
Brief CASE - Billings
The application is open and we only have room for 6 more teachers. This is a free workshop that will start on Sunday around 12:30 and end on Monday afternoon. It will be held at the Billings Career Center.
Free College Credits
I hope you are doing well! I’d really appreciate your help spreading the word about this FREE course for Montana teachers to your OPI educator networks. I’ve included many ways to share:
- The attached flyer
- Here’s a direct link to the course: CSCI 582 Computer Science in the Classroom: Joy and Beauty of Data [montana.edu] (2 cr)
- You'll also find it listed on our Summer 2026 [montana.edu] page under Campus Courses (June 22-26)
- And here’s a longer text description for inclusions in newsletters:
CSCI 582: Computer Science in the Classroom: Joy and Beauty of Data
Montana State University (MSU) will offer a FREE Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) course for Montana teachers, “Computer Science in the Classroom: Joy and Beauty of Data,” in a hybrid online/in-person format through MSU-Bozeman this summer. The course will begin on June 15, 2026 and end on July 10th, 2026. June 15-19th will be online and asynchronous with reading assignments. June 22 - 26th will be in person on the MSU - Bozeman campus with on-campus housing that is free for Montana teachers. June 29th - July 10th will be online and asynchronous reading and homework assignments.
The 2-credit course is intended for 7-12th grade teachers who want to learn how to incorporate computational thinking concepts into their classrooms. In addition, teachers who take the course will be introduced to the broad area of data science and will extend their knowledge of the Python programming language. High school teachers who complete the course can potentially teach the following two dual enrollment courses: CSCI 107, The Joy and Beauty of Computing and CSCI 127, The Joy and Beauty of Data.
The Joy and Beauty of Data, CSCI 582, will be taught by Hunter Lloyd, Professor in the Gianforte School of Computing, Montana State University.
Montana teachers can receive a tuition waiver and free housing for the in-person portion of this class. For more information and how to apply, please contact the MSSE Program at ms...@montana.edu.
If you have any questions you can contact ms...@montana.edu or me at: Keri....@montana.edu
Thanks for your help!
Cheers,
Keri
FFA Updates
Advisor Learning Opportunity
If you missed it, Caterpillar hosted a Career Workshop during the National
FFA Convention & Expo. They have created resources for you and your
classroom. Please travel to the CDE/LDE webpage [ffa.org]. Under Ag Tech & Mech >
Preparation > Exploring Careers in PST to review the materials.
Tribal Agricultural Fellowship (TAF) Offers WLC
Scholarships
TAF is partnering with FFA to sponsor Native American high school students
to attend the Washington Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., during week
5 (July 6-11). If you have a student who is 15 years or older by the beginning
of WLC and of Native descent, encourage them to apply
[forms.monday.com]. The application deadline is Monday, Jan.
12.
Grow Food for the Future with the Plant the Moon Challenge!
How do we grow crops on the Moon? NASA needs future agricultural innovators
like you to help find out! Through the Plant the Moon Challenge [plantthemoon.com], FFA
students design hands-on experiments using lunar soil simulant to test what
helps plants grow in the harsh conditions of space. FFA chapters can now for
the Spring 2026 season, and this year brings something new: A special
recognition for the top FFA team participating in the challenge. One FFA
team will be recognized nationally for top excellence in ag-science research!
Registration closes Jan. 18, 2026.
microTank Competition: A New Endorsed
Activity
The microTank
Competition [rayn.ag] is a national entrepreneurship challenge where FFA
members design and pitch their own microgreen business. Members learn how to
identify market opportunities, build a business model canvas, develop branding
and create a professional 10-slide pitch deck—no growing required. Teams move
through real-world business stages, from idea to pitch, and present to industry
judges for a chance to win mentorship from a CEO, tour a manufacturing
facility, and return the following year as a guest judge. Signup ends Nov. 24.
National Agriculture Challenge To Be Held This
February - Friday, Feb. 20, 2026
Experience the excitement of the National Agriculture Challenge, [westernfarmshow.com] where
students in agriculture put their skills to the test. Hosted during the Western
Farm Show in Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 20, 2026, this dynamic competition brings
together FFA members from across the nation to demonstrate their expertise in
areas such as ag mechanics, machinery operation and industry knowledge.
Register [westernfarmshow.com] today!
NAAE Updates: For Every Age and Every Stage
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Teacher Resources:
1) theAET Help Reminder that you need to have all of your records up to date by Feb 10th for the Economic Impact Report due to OPI to be a chapter in good standing.
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Austin Standley
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