Annual MEA-MFT Educators' Conference

Nearly 3,000 Montana Educators tuned up their skills at the annual MEA-MFT Educators' Conference in Missoula, Oct. 16-17, 2008.

The Educators' Conference is the largest professional development opportunity for teachers in the Pacific Northwest and one of the largest in the nation.

As part of the conference, hundreds of participants attended a gala celebration honoring Montana's 2009 Teacher of the Year Sally Broughton and finalists.

Teacher of the Year celebration: From left: Finalists Frank LaLiberty of Cascade & Karen Spencer of Great Falls, MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver, 2009 Teacher of the Year Sally Broughton of Bozeman, and 2008 Teacher of the Year Steve Gardiner of Billings.

With the theme "Education: The Golden Road to Success," the conference offered nearly 600 workshops and keynote addresses geared to helping Montana's classroom educators expand their knowledge, learn new teaching techniques, and recharge their batteries.

The conference covered math, science, English, social studies, special education, computers, gifted and talented education, foreign languages, art, Indian education, and much more. MEA-MFT partners with 24 different Montana curriculum groups to present the conference.

"Throughout our long and distinguished history, MEA-MFT has prioritized professional development," said MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver. "Every third week in October, Montana classroom educators - teachers and paraprofessionals - gather to learn from each other how best to teach our children."

Conference-goers check out the goods at a benefit raffle for the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation and Montana Learning Center.