Education

The University of Montana’s presidential finalist Jeremiah Shinn is in Missoula this week. Shinn participated in a public forum on campus Monday afternoon. The value of a liberal arts education was raised repeatedly.

Trout are prized and ubiquitous residents of Montana’s waterways. They’re less commonly found in the classroom – unless you know where to look. In the Bitterroot Valley, some students are getting a hands-on lesson in what it takes to raise rainbow trout.

More than 200 of the brightest young minds from across the state filled a gymnasium at UM this week for the 71st annual Montana Science Fair. Students showcased their work – from magnetic levitation, to drone laser tag – and competed for a chance to enter the national science fair.

A new nationwide report on academic testing supports an observation of many Montana teachers and parents: students are taking too many exams.

A school aide in Helena this week was charged with multiple counts of sexually abusing a student.

A first-of-its-kind statewide health insurance trust for school employees got the green light from state regulators last week. Administrators are hopeful it could help control one of education’s most expensive line items.

School safety experts say many Montana schools lack the planning and technology needed to adequately respond to threats from natural disasters to shooters.

The deadline to apply for the state’s new "homestead" property tax exemption is midnight on March 19. Missoula County is hosting public open houses on its new draft floodplain map over the next few weeks. A Montana judge Wednesday gave the go-ahead to plaintiffs challenging state laws that restricted how schools teach sex education.

Montana is falling far short of best practices when it comes to paying for school maintenance. That’s according to a new nationwide report on school facilities. The message from Montana’s school maintenance directors to lawmakers is straightforward: “We need help.”

Montana is one of a shrinking number of states that doesn’t have a law regulating student cell phone use in school. Research increasingly suggests the devices play a role in rising rates of anxiety, depression and distractedness in kids. Some schools are taking matters into their own hands — and taking input from students along the way. Montana PBS reporter Hannah Kearse joined MTPR’s Austin Amestoy to discuss the trend.