Viewpoint: Saying yes to MCPS levy request supports education

Arlene Walker-Andrews

One reward for serving on the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees is the opportunity to see firsthand what our students are learning. At each board meeting this year, students, teachers, and administrators presented on learning activities across the district.

We heard about Health Science and STEM independent research projects conducted under the guidance of teachers and in collaboration with faculty at Missoula College and UM. Through these partnerships, students can earn college credit while still in high school. The robotics team recently displayed a prototype of its latest design, now entered in competition, and members of the Future Farmers of America chapter at the MCPS Ag Center described their work, as have many other student groups.

Board members are also required by law to visit schools. As someone who attended elementary school many decades ago, I am struck by how familiar these buildings feel. Many were constructed early in the 1900s: Lowell Elementary opened in 1909, with renovations since then.

Lockers still line the hallways, and lost-and-found tables remain piled with coats and mittens waiting to be reclaimed. What has changed are names on those lockers: fewer Marys, Barbaras, Bruces, and Davids, more Olivias, Emmas, Noahs — and, yes, David is still popular. Inside these walls, teaching and learning have evolved in remarkable ways.

The learning I observe during visits is engaging, rigorous, and age-appropriate. I watched four-year-old early-literacy students identify and chant letter sounds using stuffed animals — a walrus for W, a bear for B, an elephant for E. In a kindergarten classroom, students eagerly tracked the development of unhatched chicks in an incubator.

I was impressed by seventh graders in math who were required to solve a problem using at least three approaches: visual modeling or graphing, algebraic equations, and numerical reasoning. Outside another classroom, students’ posted responses explained the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances established in the U.S. Constitution. In a fifth-grade class, students discussed story themes and analyzed how the author used grammatical structure to strengthen her message.

During these visits, I also see community volunteers reading one-on-one with students in open learning spaces. School libraries are bright, spacious, and organized by genre with color-coded systems that help young readers find books. In many classrooms, educators are implementing a framework known as “Teacher Clarity,” which encourages students to articulate what they are learning, why it matters, and how they will know when they’ve mastered it.

The sophistication of students’ responses grows with age. One student told me he would know he had mastered double-digit multiplication when he was ready to move on to division. It was not the answer I expected, but it reflected his understanding of how learning builds from one skill to the next.

We are now at the juncture when the Board asks the community to support public education. Montana uses a formula to determine the funding necessary for school districts to operate. The Legislature provides approximately 80% of that amount. Each year, local boards must then ask voters to approve an operational levy to fund the remaining 20%.

This year, districts in designated “high-cost” counties are authorized to request additional support. In Missoula County, where housing costs exceed the statewide median, levy funds can help us offer competitive compensation so that certified, classified, and other staff can afford to live here.

Strong public schools are essential to the vitality of Missoula. The learning I witness demonstrates that our students are curious, capable, and deeply engaged. Continued community investment ensures that we can sustain this momentum and provide the stable, high-quality educational environment our children deserve.