Bain, Wills Named Teacher Leaders
A dedicated group of Montana educators are becoming “history missionaries” as part of the Teacher Leaders in Montana History program.
New Teacher Leader Fellows include Glasgow middle school teacher Laurie Enebo and Bainville fifth- and seventh- grade teachers April Wills and Elysia Bain.
According to Bain, “Being a Teacher Leader in the Montana history program supports me in providing access to the wonderful resources that the Montana Historical Society has with other teachers. I have also grown as an educator through continuing educational support and trainings.”
Wills, who was also named the Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year in 2021, agrees. “The opportunity to grow as an educator in the content area I am most passionate about is both rewarding and exciting,” Wills said. “Working with the Montana Historical Society as a Teacher Leader in Montana history is one of the greatest endeavors of my career. Sharing resources, ideas, and lessons with educators across the state and in my own community helps not only others grow and learn, but also allows me to expand my repertoire of tools as a teacher. The program has allowed me to develop into a leader in many faucets both educationally and outside of the classroom. I will be forever grateful that this program was created, and that I am a contributing part of it.”
Eighteen teachers with a deep passion for Montana and its history, as well as social studies in general, are offering to share their expertise beyond their own classrooms as part of the Montana Historical Society program. The group will help write lesson plans, mentor teachers in best practices in history education and share Montana and Indian education-related resources with fellow educators. They’ll do this in oneon- one sessions as well as in regional and statewide conference presentations.
“We started the Teacher Leader program in 2017. Since then, Teacher Leader fellows have presented at regional conferences, worked with their district to introduce Montana history units into the curriculum, mentored new teachers, and created lesson plans. MTHS is committed to serving every corner of the state — and working with Teacher Leaders who live as far east as Bainville and as far west as Eureka makes that possible,” Outreach and Interpretation program manager Martha Kohl said.
For more information, visit mhs.mt.gov.
