Montana is big, particularly to a newcomer.
Carl Stevens, VISTA volunteer, describes how Montana's America Reads program has met the challenges posed by vast geography:
"I had always heard of the Big Sky Country, and this year I discovered it's real. My first day in Montana, driving from Three Forks to Helena, I topped a rise and saw the road stretch out before me, bifurcating the autumn-amber wheat fields and grazing ranges that sweep up to the Big Belt Range on the east and the Elkhorns on the west. The road flows into a dark patch that turned out to be Townsend, 17 miles distant, in sight all the way.
"Montana is the fourth-largest state in the United States. From corner to corner, say, Alzada to Yaak, Montana stretches well over 800 miles. Yet for all that space, there are fewer than 900,000 people. Montana has 56 counties and 492 elementary schools, about a third of which have fewer than 25 kids enrolled. Petroleum County has a total of 46 kids in its one elementary school.
"That is our challenge in Montana: to provide tutor training statewide to our sparsely populated counties while making the most efficient use of our scarce resources. Since it was apparent from the very beginning that the outreach task was beyond the capabilities of any one group, the Montana America Reads Tutoring Partnership was formed, consisting of the Governor's Office of Community Service, Office of Public Instruction (OPI), The Montana Campus Compact, and the Corporation for National Service-Montana State Office.
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Photo by Donnie Sexton, Travel Montana |
"Representatives from these groups met, considered, and rejected a number of outreach plans. Finally, a two-pronged approach was chosen. The Montana Campus Compact, working through the universities, focused on the larger cities where the university campuses are located. This has provided an efficient means of getting large numbers of college students trained and out working as tutors in the in-town schools. It also accommodates the reality that many college students don't have cars; many of our 'urban' tutors either walk or bicycle to their assignments.
"The challenge then facing the Office of Public Instruction was how to develop an outreach program for communities outside of Montana's few large cities. First, we identified those communities where local leaders and avid reading proponents would take the lead. We called on every contact we had, and our key outreach people eventually included school personnel, librarians, college professors, members of the Montana State Reading Council, and Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) members.
"Next, we assigned specific outreach counties to each local program, based on natural commuting or shopping patterns. This required that I take a crash course in Montana geography. I started by studying the map, but I soon discovered that maps don't tell the whole story. I had to actually get out and see the country. For example, the town of Swan Lake is in Lake County, but I could find no easy way to get from Swan Lake to Arlee, where the Lake County training was to be conducted. I stopped for help, map in hand, and began my inquiry with, 'As the crow flies...' I got no further. The old-timer cut me off with a cackle. 'Trouble is,' he said, 'you ain't riding crows.' He pointed out to me that Swan Lake is 95 miles by road from Arlee, separated by the Mission Range. So I reassigned Swan Lake to Kalispell, in Flathead County, a mere 38 miles away. Eventually, we came up with workable outreach territories for each local program, ranging from two counties in one territory to 11 counties in another.
"The real heart of our training program is its multi-stage, train-the-trainer approach. While training tutors is certainly a key element or our work, long-term sustainability requires trainers to be available in each territory to prepare future volunteer tutors. So the training of trainers has become our primary objective. One plan that was considered and rejected was to invite 100 potential trainers to attend one of several large training functions. But we soon realized this plan was cost-prohibitive and gave no assurance that additional outreach would be carried on locally.
"Initially, we conducted four training sessions in Billings, Great Falls, Havre, and Missoula, targeted at the outreach leaders we had selected. Both tutor training and trainer training were offered. Since then, local training has really taken off, and we now have trained tutors and trainers in 35 counties. In late March, we reconvened local leaders for a Best Practices Conference, where we shared ideas and developed programs to enhance sustainability in future years.
"The Montana America Reads Partnership is working. People are eager to volunteer; in fact, several schools have more volunteers than they can handle. What a problem! Sustainability remains to be seen, but we are disseminating training materials and, more importantly, training expertise all over Montana. We believe this is the best way to advance the aims of America Reads in 'The Last Best Place.'"
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