Trish Schreiber
As an educational therapist specializing in special education, Trish Schreiber found that students excel when they have individualized learning plans.
"Every student I worked with in private practice needed something different than what was being offered," Schreiber told the Pathfinder. "Whether it was a traditional school or private school it really didn't matter. My work also involved helping families find the right placement for their students."
Trish Schreiber, a resident of Helmville and an independent educational therapist, was appointed to Governor Gianforte's Community Choice School Commission in August 2023.
The Commission will be authorizing and overseeing charter schools developed under House Bill 562. Schreiber, who helped develop the bill, hopes to see new education options for Montanans, which was one of the last states without charter schools.
After moving to Helmville in 2017 with plans for her and her husband to retire, hike and take pack trips with their mules, Schreiber found herself volunteering at the Helmville School and getting involved in different educational projects.
Through volunteering over the past five years she realized that there was no charter school system in Montana.
"I was shocked that Montana was one of four states with no charter school system," Schreiber said. "This is a very basic public education offering. And so I decided to do something about it."
Schreiber said from her experience in education it was apparent that charter schools didn't destroy local schools, as many people are fearful of. She said people are grateful for charter schools because they want options.
Schreiber anticipated that bigger districts in Montana will be the first to see Community Choice schools.
"We may see some innovative micro-schools in smaller communities and on the reservations," Schreiber said.
Choice schools are funded both by the state funds that follow students where they attend school and fundraising by the community choice school. Students of all backgrounds and abilities are included in community choice schools.
Choice schools would be subject to the same federal laws as K-12 public schools, but governed at the state level by their own set of curricular, licensing and academic reporting regulations.
Schreiber said the topic has been brought up in almost every legislative session since 1999 in Montana. Schreiber said she spoke with parents, educators and legislators across Montana.
Seeing herself as a self-directed learner, Schreiber said she dug into the legislative archives, watched videos of the hearings, read meeting transcripts and listened to arguments on all sides.
"I could see the legislation getting better and better each year but never quite enough to get it through," Schreiber said. "After making some phone calls a group of people came together and they were all for developing legislation for charter schools in Montana."
For the last two years Schreiber worked on the Community Choice School Act, or House Bill 562, seeking support across the state with parents, communities and legislators.
"We know as parents that every child is different, and having more options and choice in education is a good thing," Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a Montana Free Press article. "The goal in education has to be to help every child reach their full potential."
In May, both the Community Choice Schools Act, and a separate bill called the Public Schools Charter Act were signed by Gianforte. HB 562 allows independent school boards to form for Montana students to attend community choice schools. HB 549 allows for school boards to develop charter/community schools within their districts.
HB 562, Schreiber's bill, has an injunction that has stopped full implementation, but Choice School groups can still start development.
"I worked really, really hard on drafting legislation for charter schools in Montana," Schreiber said. "If we actually get to offer this to the people of Montana, which I hope we'll do, I'll be volunteering my time doing that."
Reader Comments(0)