GREAT FALLS — In Montana’s public schools, students who are deaf or hard of hearing depend on sign language interpreters to fully engage in their education.
But across the state, there are not enough trained interpreters, and no in-state program to prepare them.
“In Montana, there isn’t a university or training program for educational interpreters to receive proper training," Montana School for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB) Superintendent Paul Furthmyre says.
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Now, with funding from the Montana Legislature, MSDB is partnering with the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf to launch a free professional development series.
The focus is to prepare educational interpreters to better serve students in STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math — where the vocabulary and visual setup require specialized skills.
“This has been a three-year process. We’ve worked with lawmakers to look at how we can increase the capacity of educational interpreters across Montana," Furthmyre explains.
The training includes four sessions, open to interpreters statewide. The first session, held virtually, introduces foundational skills for interpreting STEM concepts.
Additional in-person classes will take place at MSDB in Great Falls later this month. Nationally recognized instructors from RIT will lead the sessions.
Bonnie Joslyn, an interpreter at MSDB who works in Great Falls classrooms, is one of those participants.
“I love being part of the solution, helping people communicate more effectively and feel truly heard," she told MTN.
Joslyn says interpreting for STEM subjects brings unique challenges, and this training is helping interpreters prepare for them.
“For English, you sign across from dominant to non-dominant side. But for math, you have to mirror what’s happening on the whiteboard, so you do the opposite.”
Furthmyre says nearly all of the interpreters working in Great Falls Public Schools are participating in the STEM-focused training.
In addition to the summer training, up to eight participants will receive a year-long mentorship from national experts, meeting regularly to continue building their skills throughout the school year.
The Montana Legislature also approved an incentive this year — educational interpreters who meet certification standards can now qualify for additional pay, similar to the scale used for teachers.
Furthmyre hopes this will encourage more school districts to hire and retain qualified interpreters.
Organizers say these courses are just the beginning, part of a long-term effort to grow the profession of educational interpreting in Montana.
“Overall, there's no interpreters going in the pipeline. So, this is the start of that and really trying to build a program. So in ten years from now, we're not standing here talking about districts being without opportunities for interpreters," Furthmyre explained.
