HELENA, Mont. -- Montana families are struggling during the pandemic, putting the well-being of children in the state at risk.

A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds one in seven Montana families are struggling to put food on the table and nearly one in seven isn't confident it'll be able to pay the rent or mortgage on time.

Xanna Burg, Kids Count Montana coordinator, said households are faced with impossible decisions on how to prioritize children's most basic needs.

"As families are navigating this crisis, there really is clear evidence that we need policymakers to act now, to prioritize the needs of children and families so that no Montanan is going hungry, without adequate housing or the health care they need," Burg urged.

The report also found one in ten Montana families doesn't have health insurance and one in five reported feeling depressed or helpless in the past week.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Foundation, said communities of color are experiencing higher levels of insecurity in every marker during the pandemic.

"The pandemic has laid bare and really exacerbated racial and ethnic inequities in this country," Boissiere contended. "And we've seen that Black, Latino and native communities in particular have been hard hit."

Burg stressed Montana leaders need to continue supporting Medicaid expansion, which provides health care for about 90,000 adults.

"Montana must ensure that parents have health insurance even if they've lost their jobs because parents who are healthy have healthier children," Boissiere emphasized.

The report recommends leaders prioritize racial and ethnic equity; help ensure families are stable financial through programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; and ensure schools are better funded.

With the cost of a four-year college education approaching six figures at some institutions, many students are looking at apprenticeships to train for a career.

A program in the Kalamazoo Public Schools is aimed at putting students on an alternative track toward well-paying jobs which do not require traditional degrees. The program, Career Launch Kalamazoo, is part of a national trend aimed at putting apprenticeships on a parallel track with the college prep curriculum.

Rita Raichoudhuri, superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools, said the district found it needed to rethink what it means to be a successful graduate.

"Not a lot of opportunities or access pointed existed for those students for whom college right after graduation from high school may not be the right fit, or even advisable," Raichoudhuri recounted. "Opportunities for them did not exist."

Raichoudhuri came to Kalamazoo from the Chicago Public School District, where she said she also developed programs to help kids succeed in competitive labor markets. She implemented Career Launch soon after arriving in 2020, for opportunities in information technology, manufacturing and other skilled trades.

The program, part of the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, is open to high school juniors and seniors, giving them the chance to earn while they learn through paid, on-the-job training with an industry mentor.

Raichoudhuri noted one of her challenges was to change the mindset of counselors, teachers, administrators and parents.

"So, we actually need to have, and we do have, curriculum starting at the kindergarten level all the way through 12th grade, where they're learning about all of these different opportunities," Raichoudhuri explained. "So by the time they have to make a decision, they can make an educated decision."

Raichoudhuri added the Kalamazoo business community enthusiastically supports the program and has stepped up to offer dozens of opportunities. She pointed out Career Launch makes sure students have what she calls "employability skills."

"Things like they need to be able to come in on time. They need to be able to get along with their teammates. They need to be able to manage up, manage down; self-regulation, time management, and organizational skills," Raichoudhuri outlined. "Those are the things employers are saying they don't want to take the time to teach, because they don't have the time."

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Missouri State University is offering a new option for students: a certificate that blends psychology with religious studies.

The Mental Health and Spirituality Undergraduate Certificate invites students to consider religion's impact on mental health and general well-being. Prof. Stephen Berkwitz, who heads the Department of Religious Studies at MSU, said it will require 15 hours of coursework, and is tailored to students pursuing undergraduate degrees in health care or social services.

"It's a concentrated program that allows students to kind of understand what are the bases of mental health, how do we understand it, and how does religion and spirituality contribute to mental health," he said.

Students have 19 courses to choose from in such areas as psychology, gerontology and religious studies, and can customize the focus to suit their educational goals. As the university puts it, "The power of faith can go a long way - especially in health care."

Psychology and the social sciences traditionally have been oriented toward evidence-based approaches to knowledge. Berkwitz said this program brings in knowledge from other disciplines.

"What's kind of unique about this program is that it's taking the empirical side of studying about human existence and how people make sense of themselves and find meaning in their lives," he said, "but adding the almost sort of philosophical or humanistic approach as well."

The certificate program is under way, with the initial cohort of students wrapping up their first semester in December.

This has been National Education Week, and a Pennsylvania high school teacher is among only five educators nationally to receive one of the profession's highest honors.

The Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence went to Kevin Gallagher, a high school computer science, math and statistics teacher at Keystone Oaks High School in Pittsburgh. It comes with a $10,000 award, and Gallagher will be featured in a mini-documentary from the National Education Association Foundation.

Gallagher, who has been teaching for 26 years, noted that the award recognizes leadership, not only within the classroom but for community involvement.

"Typically, the award is for advocacy for the profession. It's advocacy of our students - levels of intelligence, of diversity, gender, race - any equity in the classroom," he said. "Also for my contribution to my colleagues too, like professional development that I've provided for them."

Gallagher said he's dedicated to increasing diversity, and has worked to eliminate some barriers to learning, such as prerequisites that could otherwise keep students from enrolling in statistics and computer science classes. He was nominated for the award by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

The award is named after Horace Mann, a member of Congress in the 1800s who advocated for public education.

Gallagher said one of his many responsibilities as an educator is to always encourage students to do their best and use their creativity in their coursework.

"The things that we need to do on a daily basis to keep students motivated, to keep students engaged - it's a very distractible world," he said. "In my classroom, [I'm] always looking to keep students engaged; what do they like to do? They get to code, they get to do computer science exercises in their own personalization."

For example, he said, his school district is highlighting an event Dec. 8 called a Night of Code, when families with kids from kindergarten through eighth grade can take part in coding activities for computer science classes.