Yesterday the Montana Office of Public Instruction highlighted the fact that Montana’s students are scoring higher than the national average on reading tests.

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau’s office touted the latest results of the National Assessment of Education – “The Nation’s Report Card“ -  which is based on tests taken by fourth- and eighth-graders.  

So how did Montana kids do? Pretty darn good. Our fourth-graders scored an average of 225 (the national average is 221) to place our state among the top five highest-scoring states in the nation.  Eighth-graders did even better, scoring an average of 270 (the national average is 264) and also giving our our state a place among the top five highest-scoring states in the nation.  

“While our overall results exceed national averages, our bottom line must be to raise the level of achievement for all Montana students while closing the achievement gap,” Juneau said in a prepared announcement.

She also offered this encouraging message: “Montana has the best teachers in America. The hard work and innovation happening in Montana’s classrooms is paying off as we can see with these top-notch results. I am proud of all of our students and teachers.”

- MM

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Apparently I’m not the only person in western Montana obsessed with bathrooms. You see, as the mother of a wee child with a tiny bladder, I’ve found myself using more public and business bathrooms in the last five years than in all the rest of my life combined.

I’ve changed my daughter’s diapers on the grungy floors of bathrooms that didn’t offer a changing table. I’ve struggled to help my growing girl reach countless too-high sinks and towel dispensers suspended by malicious giants 8 feet up on the wall. And I’ve blessed businesses that have “family rooms” with a thousand mental cheers for allowing my husband to accompany our daughter to a toilet.

I’ve also asked many, many parents (maybe too many) how they navigate the mother-son, father-daughter bathroom thing, because when nature calls to a little kid, it doesn’t exactly whisper. But no matter how pressing the potty emergency, no parent of a young child wants to leave a defenseless kiddo alone in an enclosed but public place.

Their responses always fascinate me. Many dads, apparently, just cover their girls’ eyes and steer them into the men’s room. Some fathers opt for the ladies room, but check to make sure it’s empty first. Some, instead of going in themselves, ask random women to keep an eye on their daughters whilst they are in the privy.

And moms of sons? They seem to have fewer compunctions. The vast majority of women I’ve talked to (like, six people), said they just go to the ladies room with their boys, and nobody blinks an eye. It’s when their sons get a little older and want to use the men’s room that they run into problems.

But a far more common concern (in my experience) is that there is almost never a changing table in the men’s room. I guess the assumption is that men don’t change diapers.

Another complaint (again, in my experience) is that while handicap accessible toilets are now pretty common, bathroom sinks, soaps and towel dispensers are often out of reach of not only small children, but very short adults and people in wheelchairs.

Perhaps I need to start my own group and Web site to address these pressing issues. What do you think we should call it? 

- MM

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Photo by KENNETH BILLINGTON/Missoulian

“There are ditches in people’s backyards, rivers and creeks – and no matter how good a parent you are, kids sometimes fall into them.”

That’s fellow Missoulian and mom Kaci Briggeman, who recently became the only Infant Swimming Resource instructor in Montana, as quoted in today’s Missoulian story.

The story also notes a 2007 report from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services that says the most common cause of unintentional injury death among children 1 to 4 years old in Montana is drowning.

The high rate of dr0wning deaths of very young children is why Infant Swimming Resource’s motto is “The sooner, the safer.” And why, though it’s always a little startling to see an infant floating on her own or a toddler paddle by you before he can walk, it’s a very good thing for all kids to learn to float and swim.

We waited until my daughter was almost 5 to enroll her in a swimming class at Currents, and the confidence it gave her in the water is just amazing. She still can’t swim on her own, and she refuses to float on her back, but at least she’ll dunk underwater and paddle a bit on her own initiative. And best of all, swimming is now a lot more fun for her.

Makes me wonder how she would be doing now had she had some swimming classes as an infant.

- MM

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If you’ve ever doubted that coaches, teachers and other significant adult figures in your child’s life have a strong, long-term impact, you need to read the letter to the editor in today’s Missoulian from Maggie Jiminez. A longer version of her letter is posted online here.

Jiminez writes about how her former soccer coach at Hellgate High School, Geoff Birnbaum, fostered a lifelong love of soccer – and much more: “He taught us to believe in ourselves.”

Sadly, Jiminez was inspired to write her letter by the news that Hellgate has decided to let Birnbaum go.

- MM

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LUNAFEST, the festival of “short films by, for and about women” kicks off in Missoula tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Wilma Theatre. And, of course, its lineup includes several films of particular interest to moms.

“Roz (and Joshua),” for one, is about a woman who dreams of being reunited with her son. In “Omlette,” a mom wrestles with finances in a changing economy. And then there’s “The Kinda Sutra,” which promises to tackle the topic of how babies are made.

That’s only a quick look at the 11 films featured in the festival. There’s also a film directed by Missoula’s own Hasalyn Harris – a news anchor for KECI – and Login Modine. 

Proceeds from the festival, which cost $10 ($5 for students) will go to a good cause – the YWCA’s GUTS! girls leadership program and the Breast Cancer Research Fund.

Call 543-6691 for tickets.

- MM

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Earlier this month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Montana. This week, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is in Washington D.C. to speak to the Senate agriculture committee, which includes Montana Sen. Max Baucus, and which is expected to take up the Child Nutrition Act on Wednesday.

According to the release, Juneau plans on lending her support to Farm to School programs.

“Farm to School programs educate students about the interconnection of food, nutrition, and agriculture, and encourage them to eat more fruits and vegetables and make healthier food choices.”

“ ‘Agriculture is the state’s largest industry,’ said Juneau. ‘Schools can also provide a substantial and consistent market for local farmers and ranchers, which support our rural communities. My goal is to help empower our delegation to go in and talk about this issue.’ ”

Read on for the full release:

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“I really want to try cross-country skiing!” pleaded my daughter moments after she’d picked up her bag. We were heading toward the airport terminal ladies’ room to change clothes so we could hike to the “M” and reward ourselves with sweet potato fries at Hob Nob on the “hip strip” in downtown Missoula.

I was game, having downhill skied throughout my lifetime, albeit not adeptly. I’d recently announced that I would never ski that way again. I’d been feeling my age and had sworn off virtually everything but walking, fishing, or pumping an elliptical trainer. Balance and coordination have never been my forte, but outdoor desire burns bright, I’d struggled with acting it out all my life, and now I imagined cross-country to be less harrowing a winter endeavor for one in her, ahem, late fifties. If I experimented with the technique-or lack thereof-with Katharine, I’d be safe from the embarrassment of falling and flailing in front of my peers who had heretofore invited me to come try it. This way, I could grow comfortably seasoned before next ski season!

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The Missoulian’s own Joe Nickell tackles the subject of crying babies and squirmy toddlers at formal music venues in today’s Nickell’s Bag. “Music may hath charms to sooth the savage beast; but it won’t shush the baby,” he says, and Missoula Mom is inclined to agree.

- MM

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Word just came in that Denise Juneau – Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction – will be paying a visit to Big Sky High School in Missoula tomorrow.

The reason for the visit is for Juneau to experience first-hand the school’s use of food to explore cultures – in this case, American Indian culture.

In addition to Juneau, Big Sky students and teachers, Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Alex Apostle is also scheduled to join in the visit, which will include a ceremonial dance performance and an address to students by Juneau herself.

- MM

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Every day I pack my own lunch for work, and unfortunately, most days I end up eating some weird mishmash of leftovers that don’t exactly represent the five food groups. There are five, right?

Anyway, you can imagine my trepidation at the thought of packing my daughter’s lunches when she starts kindergarten this fall. The poor kid shouldn’t be stuck eating leftover white rice for lunch three days in a row.

But the obvious solution – forking over the dough for hot lunches – may not actually be the more nutritious choice, I learned after reading this letter from Kathryn Strong, a staff dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine based in Washington, D.C.

Here’s what she has to say:

“We could soon see more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy plant-based meals in school cafeterias across the country. A new bill in Congress would help schools add plant-based vegetarian options and nondairy milk options. As a dietitian who works with school food service directors, I know the Healthy School Meals Act of 2010, H.R. 4870, is critical to conquering childhood obesity.

“Children who eat school lunches are more likely to be overweight or obese than children who bring packed lunches, according to a new University of Michigan study. Researchers also found that children who eat school lunches are nearly four times more likely to consume two or more servings of fatty meats like hot dogs and fried chicken daily. With shocking percentages of overweight and obese children in every state, and with millions of families relying on school lunches, we must take immediate action to improve school nutrition.

“The Healthy School Meals Act of 2010 would make healthier options available and affordable, helping schools fight obesity, comply with federal nutrition standards, and meet all children’s dietary needs. Learn more at www.HealthySchoolLunches.org.”

Healthier, more affordable options? Sounds good. In any case, I think I’d better start practicing packing healthier lunches.

- MM

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