OPI offers grants to Montana teachers for math and reading projects

Press release

HELENA — The Montana Office of Public Instruction announced it is allocating $1.5 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief — ESSER — funds to Montana teachers for math and reading projects.

OPI has partnered with DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit, to offer $500 direct grants to all K-12 public school teachers in Montana.

To qualify for a math or reading project grant, teachers must:

• Visit the DonorsChoose Montana Teachers page

• Teach K-12 in a Montana public school

• Create a new project on or after August 20, 2024.

• Ensure that your project’s total goal is under $500.

• Request resources to accelerate teaching and learning in math and/or reading.

Montana district superintendents and principals can monitor the projects and materials that are shipped to schools through the DonorsChoose District Partnership Program. This program ensures that all materials ordered align with district policy as materials become district/school property.

Between the spring of 2020 and March of 2021, Montana received over $605 million in COVID relief funds in three buckets. The final bucket, ESSER III, will close out on September 30, 2024. The ESSER dollars for these grants will be provided from the state set-aside funds.