Montana Schools Get a Boost With $4 Million Teaching Grant

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Montana Department of Labor and Industry recently announced $4 million in federal funding for teacher apprenticeships, especially for the state’s more rural schools.

DLI Director Sarah Swanson provides details.

Montana Received a $4 Million Grant for Teacher Apprenticeship Programs

“We received incredible news last week,” began Swanson. “Montana is finally funded to be able to launch our first registered apprenticeship program for teachers in Montana. We think this is going to be a groundbreaking way to address Montana's teacher shortage by training local talent in local schools and local classrooms in a way that allows the teacher to be debt-free when they're done.”

Swanson said Apprentice Teachers can 'Earn while they Learn'

Swanson said the advantage of apprenticeships is that teachers can ‘earn while they learn’.

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“They earn while they learn in a pathway into teaching that's aimed at strengthening our rural and our frontier schools right alongside our larger communities, so that for those districts that are struggling to recruit and retain educators, we have a pathway now for them to teach licensed educators right in their classrooms,” she said.

Swanson said the state received a $4 million grant to fund the program.

Swanson said the Funding Came from the U.S. Department of Labor

“We were able to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor,” she said. “It's a program called ‘SAFE’, state apprenticeship expansion funding. It was a competitive process that we applied for along with all the other states, and thankfully, Montana was one of nine states that received this competitive award. We received $4 million, which is going to help us scale apprenticeship in the education field.”

Swanson said the funding program will be available this fall.

The State will Issue a Request for Proposal for the Apprenticeship Program

“Between October and December of this year, we will go out to a full RFP (Request for Proposal) so a competitive bid, where higher education institutions, those folks that have Educator Prep college programs, will submit competitive bids to the department to be the curriculum provider for this program,” she said. “As soon as we award that bid, in early 2026, we will open applications both for school districts, because every apprenticeship requires a willing employer, which is where our school districts come in. Then we'll open the applications for interested apprentices, and we'll match them up with those school districts in their community, and we'll get to work. The first cohort is expected to start in the summer and again in the fall of 2026.”

Swanson said the funding will be especially helpful for Montana’s rural schools, where recruiting new teachers is the most difficult.