Missoula Schools Excellence

"Goal No. 1 is that all students will graduate," Apostle said. "That is a huge goal. A constancy of purpose will ensure this happens."

Missoula County Public Schools has been working with community leaders from a wide variety of local organizations to develop a lasting campaign to encourage students to stay in school through graduation.

"Everyone’s invited, because everyone’s involved," said Apostle. "I want people to realize that the problem of keeping kids in school isn’t just a school thing. It’s an issue for everybody."

"The main feature of our program has always been the in-depth nature of it," said Megan McNamer, the program’s administrative director. "The students build this trusting relationship with the writer. It allows them to think and write more creatively, but beyond that, they just perform better in school."

We look forward to seeing a more focused plan of action on Jan. 19, when Apostle and others will present the initiative to the public at the University of Montana.

And we look forward to seeing the Missoula community follow that plan through to completion.

“This is something that will be undertaken by the entire community, because it’s about the whole community. Keeping kids in school isn’t just the responsibility of schools and teachers and parents. It’s about the larger community, and that’s why we’re reaching out.” Alex Apostle

Our goals also provide direction and encouragement to all members of the educational community to collaborate and engage themselves in the teaching and learning process, and through this effort substantiate an educational environment which inspires and embraces a philosophy and practice of continuous improvement.