Ronan High School teacher Heather Gray was named Montana Career and Technical Educator for 2024 at the Montana Educator Conference in October. 

Gray said she was surprised and very honored by the award voted on by her peers. She'll represent Montana at the regional conference for Career and Technical Educators in Las Vegas next April.

"I like to see kids getting excited or 'clicking' about what they want to do after high school," she said. 

That's the idea of CTE, she explained. 

"We're giving kids the opportunity to try things, find a fit for themselves, and hopefully we're able to prepare them for the outside world," she said. "And it's not always college bound."

"CTE focuses on finding kids internships or apprenticeship so they can 'try out' a career before they jump in and go to college for four years and then say, 'Well, what am I going to do with this degree?’” Gray said.

She teaches business classes, including accounting and business 101. She also gets to know all the freshman, who each have a semester under her tutelage.

"We try to get them on a pathway to try some things in high school," she said of that initial introduction.

The students look at their skills and abilities and the work they're interested in exploring. She advises them to consider what they're good at and what they enjoy doing. Often, they've not consciously looking at whether their abilities and interests fit the career in which they're interested.

"If you don't like needles and blood, then you probably shouldn’t get into health care," she tells her students.

The students also complete state-provided career assessments as freshmen and again as seniors to see if their interests still match.

"A lot of times kids have grown in different ways or tried new things," Gray said.

For example, if a kid has never been in the shop before, and then says, "You know, I really like working with lumber and creating things this way," Gray said. “That’s nice to see.”

Students who uncover interests, such as building or livestock judging or sewing, have another place to go to learn more about their new interest since Ronan High School has six Career and Technical Student organizations, including the Business Professionals Association and Future Farmers of America. It’s unique for a small school to have that many job-oriented extra-curricular opportunities for students.

As a group, the entire RHS staff works to give their students choices, training, apprenticeships and internships.

It’s important to share kids, since many of them are also involved in band, chorus, sports, speech and debate, or theatre. "We work with each other's schedules," Gray said.

She introduces accounting to her students with a pencil and paper because she thinks that solidifies their understanding of how basic accounting works. One of her first students studied accounting in college but now thinks he wants to teach those skills. That’s exciting for Gray, since her ultimate goal is to find her own replacement.

In her business applications class, "We start with what is our community missing? What would you like to see? How can you make that into a business?"

Conversations about what businesses Ronan needs always brings up interesting ideas, Gray said, including some she's never considered. Students work on simulations and competitions and then put it all together to see if they could make it work.

Next, they try an internship or apprenticeship opportunity.

Ronan is a good community for helping kids learn about future employment options, according to Gray. St. Luke Hospital, Valley Bank and veterinarian Kevin Dettweiler are among those who offer internships and hands-on experience.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have been great about introducing students to forestry, Gray said, with some spending 10-hour days in the woods learning a forester's job. Teachers at K. William Harvey Elementary School welcome kids who want to become teachers, and a local dentist and a mechanic also give students opportunities to learn more about those occupations.

"If they want to go somewhere, we try and get them into it," Gray said. "These are life experiences."

Students already run a taco truck and Chief Coffee through the Family, Career, and Community Leaders class. In addition, Gray aspires to start a print/publication shop to create posters, maps, and flyers, utilizing the talents of the publications class she started this year.

She’d also like to make R Cantina Taco Truck more sustainable by purchasing a whole pig from local farmers. She envisions having students learn to butcher, while those in the agriculture classes could grow cabbage, onions and other veggies for the tacos.