Blog
Latest Updates from Public School Kids
Tammi Fisher
Tammi Fisher Attorney. Former Mayor of Kalispell. Podcast host. Community advocate. Great Falls High, Class of 1994 Tammi Fisher’s story is one of Montana grit and a fierce belief in opportunity, responsibility, and the power of public schools to prepare kids for...
Freedom Week: Popular Sovereignty
This week is Celebrate Freedom Week in Montana’s public schools, a perfect time to reflect on what freedom really means here. The Declaration of Independence gave us the vision of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and the U.S. and Montana Constitutions...
Why Not Be Great?
Every week it feels like we’re being pulled further apart, but sit in a room with people from all walks of life, looking at each other instead of screens, and you’ll find common ground. We’d laugh, argue, cry, but mostly we’d be surprised by how much we share. We’ve...
Let’s Be Our Best
Every week it feels like we’re being pulled further apart, but sit in a room with people from all walks of life, looking at each other instead of screens, and you’ll find common ground. We’d laugh, argue, cry, but mostly we’d be surprised by how much we share. We’ve...
Monica Gilles-BringsYellow
Monica Gilles-BringsYellow Great Falls High Class of 2000 Monica didn’t grow up in a typical Great Falls family. Her mom was from Mazatlán, Mexico and didn’t speak English and her dad - a farmer turned journalist - did the ag report for the Great Falls Tribune. Monica...
Land Tawney – Sentinel High School
Land Tawney Conservationist Sentinel High School, 1993 Most people know Land Tawney as one of the fiercest advocates for public lands and backcountry conservation. But I first knew him as my 3rd grade pen pal. Our teachers paired students from Lewis & Clark and...
Barbara Van Cleve – Sweet Grass County High
Barbara Van Cleve Photographer and Educator Sweet Grass County High School, 1953 If freedom had a voice, it would sound like Barbara Van Cleve’s - full of laughter, wisdom, and possibility. And if it could see, it would look like the view from her home: the Absaroka,...
The 50-Mile Frenzy
In 1908, President Teddy Roosevelt issued an executive order mandating that Marine officers complete a 50-mile hike in under 20 hours. He believed fitness was essential to leadership. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy found that order and turned it into a national...
Tom Peterman, Conrad High School
Tom Peterman Retired Lutheran Pastor Conrad High School, Class of 1964 My dad grew up in Conrad, Montana - the only boy of six kids. His mom waitressed and his dad worked for Cargill. Grandpa Peterman left school after 6th grade to help on the family farm and Grandma...
Welcome to Public School Kids!
Hi, I’m Erika – a Montana public school kid, mom to two public school kids (ages 17 and 21), and the producer of Public School Kids. On this Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about what I want most for my kids and for all Montana kids. For many of us - if we’re lucky - our...