Why Superintendent Laurie Barron is building sidewalks

Dr. Laurie Barron, leader of Montana’s Evergreen School District, is building sidewalks. That’s because her district, which sits on the main highway to Glacier National Park, is only three miles wide and doesn’t qualify for state transportation funding.

Making the trip to school safer for students is just one way the small K8 district, one of the most densely populated in the state, supports families in its unincorporated but tight-knit community, says Barron, who was recently named Montana’s Superintendent of the Year.

“We’re very well known in our area for strong, wraparound, inclusive family support and learning environments,” Barron notes.

About 15% of Evergreen’s 645 students choose to attend from outside the district. About 25% of the district’s students have an IEP, and most of them learn in co-taught classrooms with their peers.

Evergreen uses grant funding to employ a community engagement liaison who helps families with literacy support and other services, such as assistance with food, clothing, gas, healthcare and other essentials. Over the last two school years, the liaison has connected about 550 families to over 1,200 services.

“We’re seeing incredible results in improving attendance and behavior for families connected to those services,” Barron notes. “When kids have food and shelter and physical and mental health care, they’re more likely to show up to school and perform well.”

The initiative even landed Barron a spot on “Good Morning America,” with the actor Matthew McConaughey, whose Greenlights Grant Initiative has supported Evergreen schools.

“I’m sitting next to Matthew McConaughey talking about the importance of schools having access to vital funding for physical and mental health care for students,” she says. “We were able to learn a lot about the grant writing process, so as a result of that, the last two years, our district has secured over $2.8 million in grant funding.”

Statewide advocacy

In turn, the district enjoys strong support from local organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club, and from families, many of whom have sent several generations to Evergreen’s schools. “We’re in our 123rd year of continuous improvement,” she says. “The children who are here, their parents went here and their grandparents went here.”

The five members who hired Barron 13 years ago still sit on the district’s school board, which has recently expanded to seven members.

“We have a strong civic community,” she adds. “I work with a great leadership team, and we have a lot of promotions within to keep stability within the district.”

That support contributes to the district’s ongoing efforts to provide inclusive learning environments for its students, particularly the youngest children. Barron worked with state officials to approve early literacy classes for four-year-olds, and the district now provides early literacy instruction during the summer and in students’ homes.

Barron is now advocating to add math instruction to early learning programs.

“We’re proud of the advocacy we’ve done to impact young learners, not just here in Evergreen, but across the state,” she notes. “We’re seeing positive differences in students who have early experiences and those who don’t.”

Biggest shifts

Barron’s career in education spans 30 years, with the first 17 spent as a teacher and principal in Coweta County, Georgia—before her family followed a dream and moved to northwest Montana.

One of the biggest shifts she has seen is the significant mental health impacts that digital devices and social media are having on students, who feel an increasing need to be validated online.

“Every single kid carrying around a minicomputer all day is very different than when I started as superintendent,” she points out. “Students access a digital world that’s not always accurate or true, and their use of social media can be harsh and hurtful.”