CJI ready for a new school year

From Chester-Joplin-Inverness Schools Superintendent Luke Haggerty

The school year is fast approaching and we are all excited to see the students and teachers back in the building. Our maintenance crew has been hard at work all summer ensuring that the facilities are in great shape. As the school year is right around the corner, I wanted to give a few updates on the happenings around the school as we prepare for the 2024-25 school year.

Important dates

Aug.13 - Back to School Night 3-6 p.m.

Aug. 14 - First day of school

Aug. 16 - First day of fall sports practices

Aug. 20 - CJI School Board Meeting 6:00 AM

School calendar

• The school year begins Aug. 14 this year. Additionally, we attend school on six of the first seven Fridays of the school year. The early start and school on Fridays is due to a variety of reasons which are explained below:

◦ The collective bargaining agreement between the school district and CJI Education Association (Teachers Union) was negotiated this spring, and two more instructional days were added, bringing the total amount of instructional days to 157. The reason that the number of instructional days went up by two was to ensure that students were receiving the appropriate amount of instructional hours (1080 for Grades 4-12), without taking away recess time from 4th-6th graders. 4th-6th grades were the grades that would have potentially not had enough minutes without increasing the amount of school days. Due to the longer school days, we feel it is important to give students a chance to run around and stay fresh throughout the day.  

◦ Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, which makes it necessary to have a two-week Christmas break. During the 2023-24 school year, Christmas break was 7 weekdays, whereas this year it is 10 weekdays. This led to us needing to pick up three more days throughout the year. 

◦ Like last year, we are starting school the third week of August.

◦ We understand that as an agricultural community, starting in mid-August is not ideal. As parents and guardians, it is your prerogative if you would like to keep your kids home to help with harvest. If prior arrangements are made with administration, absences will not count against students during the first week of school. 

◦ Because of adding the extra school days to ensure compliance for fourth-sixth graders, we were also able to schedule an eight-minute longer lunch for seventh-12th graders. This was a consistent suggestion on the community calendar survey.

◦ If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the school calendar, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Grammar or I. Schools work best when they are partnering with the community they serve, and we are always open to feedback.

Mental health services

• We have partnered with Montana Cares to provide all students with an app that offers a variety of mental health resources including: 

◦ 24/7 access to a crisis text line for students who are struggling with mental health.

◦ Anonymous reporting systems regarding bullying, threats, and any other incidents.

◦ Resources for students and community members who are struggling.

There will be more information presented to students and parents as we roll out this app. 

Football bleachers 

• The football bleachers are installed and look great! A huge thank you goes out to all of our sponsors who helped us get ADA accessible stands, so that all fans can enjoy watching the Hawks. 

• Sponsorship signs are being created now, and it is not too late to donate and get your sign. Please call or email me if you have any questions regarding donations to the football bleachers.

Opening a new school 

• We have worked with OPI and Hi-Line Colony to open a new elementary school at Hi-Line Colony. 

• The opening of the new school does not take funding away from any other aspects of CJI schools.

Elevator project 

• After putting the original elevator project to bid, administration and the CJI school board determined that the original drawings were not an efficient use of our bond funds. 

• The final drawings for the new drawings will be completed by the end of July, with the main difference being that it will be a two-stop elevator, instead of a three-stop as previously designed. The bid process should be complete by the end of August. 

• We anticipate this new design will be cheaper, and will also make the ramp next to the Library ADA compliant, meaning the entire high school will be in ADA compliance. 

School staffing  

• We are fully staffed at CJI schools! Our new hires include: Matt Roberts (Maintenance), Sue King (JH/HS Science), Don Forbes (Special Education) and Sarah Lambert (Paraprofessional).

• We are always looking for more substitute teachers. Please contact [email protected], or call 406-759-6302 if you are interested. Substitute applications can be found on our website: https://www.cji.k12.mt.us/

Please remember, the door is always open at CJI, so please call, email or stop by with any questions, comments or concerns you may have. We are looking forward to another great year at CJI. It's a great time to be a Hawk!