2010 Carnival Classic The Helena Education Foundation’s annual Carnival Classic will take place on September 19th from 11-4:00 at Memorial Park, as kids and families enjoy their favorite carnival activities throughout the day. Read the Full Story

Fabulous Firsts Returns This Fall A generous donor has made possible the development of Fabulous Firsts, a celebration of reading and of first graders. Read the Full Story

Fall Grant Application Deadline Applications for fall Great Ideas Grants are due Monday, October 4, 2010. The Great Ideas Grant Program is a cornerstone of The Helena Education Foundation's mission to enrich education in the Helena Public Schools. Read the Full Story

Upcoming Events

09/08 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Fabulous Firsts @ Broadwater

09/09 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Grant Writing Workshop @ The Red Atlas

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Trading Places 2009

After spending the morning at Kessler Elementary, the school's principal, Karen Stout-Suenram, worked at the post office with Turner for the afternoon. The pair IR Photo by Chad Trettin went to a meeting at the Myrna Loy Center of Performing Arts in the hopes of scheduling events around a stamp coming out in September commemorating the actor Gary Cooper, who was born in Helena.

The principal-postal worker team was one of a dozen pairs of school administrators and local business folks that participated in the Helena Education Foundation's annual Trading Places event.

Cordingley said educators often spend their entire work days inside their schools, and Trading Places gives them time to get to know the businesses and workers in other parts of the community.

"Administrators' jobs aren't always readily perceived by the community as complex and as important as they are," she said. "They don't always know how critical the role of administrators is to keep education operation at a high level of function. For business leaders to get into the school and gain a better understanding of how critical the role of administrators is helps us get the word out to the public."

Where is Montana's Climate Going?

The Helena Education Foundation proudly welcomed UM professor and Nobel laureate Steve Running to Helena to lecture on the effects of climate change to Montana.

Professor Running has been featured in New West Missoula, The Missoulian, and you can listen to and see some of his views on climate change at the University of Montana web page.

This lecture was free and open to the public, and took place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, February 2nd, in the Carroll College Lower Commons.

Talk of the Town

In one large banquet room Wednesday night a listener could hear conversations about literature, alt politics, astronomy, finances, religion, and yes, even beer. Dynamic discussions took place among eight people at a table, with a different topic at each of the 40 tables at the sixth annual Great Conversations at the Great Northern Hotel.

This was the first year JoAnn Prost, of Helena, attended the event and just before attendees took their seats, she said, "I'm just on cloud nine."

The goal of Great Conversations is not to fix the problems of the world, but rather provide a venue to engage citizens in conversations on meaningful topics to spark an interest in subject matter, to share knowledge to inquiring minds and to inspire dialogue with our fellow community members.

Great Conversations is sponsored by the Helena Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission of promoting consistent community investment in the Helena Public Schools to provide rich and rewarding educational experiences.

HEF Executive Director Lisa Cordingley said it is one of the foundation's most popular events because it appeals to people from all walks of life. Read more in the Independent Record or view photos of this year's event.