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Big Sky Connection - New data show Montana ranks above the national average in the overall health and well-being of its kids. While the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count Data Book shows the state made progress in among 16 key social, family and economic indicators, it is lagging in critical areas. Comments from Xanna (ZAN-uh) Burg, Kids Count director, Montana Budget and Policy Center.
Click on the image above for the audio. In Montana, one-third of fourth graders scored at or above proficient in reading in 2022, according to the new Annie E. Casey Kids Count Data Book. (Adobe Stock)
Mark Moran
June 10, 2024 - New data show Montana ranks 20th for the overall well-being of its children.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's "Kids Count Data Book" reported the state is making improvements among 16 key indicators but lags in some critical ones. The Data Book showed more Montana kids live with parents who have stable employment, fewer are living in poverty or high poverty areas, and fewer kids live in single-parent households.
Xanna Burg, Kids Count director for the Montana Budget and Policy Center, said despite improvements, at least 23,000 Montana children live in poverty -- in households with incomes of about $30,000 for a family of four -- and it has a trickle-down effect on the kids.
"What's the context where a child grows up," Burg asked. "That context really influences kind of the resources that are available to them."
The report showed the Montana teen birthrate is down but the number of children without health insurance is up and the statistic is likely to continue to increase, as Montana is aggressively removing families from pandemic-era Medicaid coverage. The report also showed poverty is disproportionately higher among Black and Indigenous people.
While there are social and economic improvements for kids in Montana, almost three-quarters of eighth graders are not proficient in math and two-thirds of fourth graders are not reading at grade level. The numbers have not changed much since the last count but Burg pointed out, given the pandemic-related disruptions in the education system, it may be a silver lining.
"The fact that we're not seeing a sharp rise in the number of children who are below proficient; I think that's, in some ways, a good thing," Burg explained. "At the same time, we're also not seeing much progress, right? And so, the reality is still very similar for kids now, compared to 2019."
Burg remains convinced there are policy solutions to address the areas where Montana is not doing enough to support its children. She added some of the low scores -- even the ones beyond reading proficiency and Medicaid enrollment -- are the result of the pandemic.
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PNS - Monday, June 10, 2024 - Donald Trump holds a rally in the battleground, state of Nevada. Centrist Benny Gantz resigns from the Israeli War Cabinet over what he describes as a lack of a plan for ending the Gaza war. And third party candidates provide alternatives for those tired of the 'same old, same old.'
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PNS - Monday, June 10, 2024 - NV progressive groups react to Trump Las Vegas campaign rally; Trump probation interview set for today (Monday) after hush money conviction; Arkansas receives mixed results in annual Kids Count Data Book; MA could become 11th state with medical aid-in-dying law.
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Kate McCourt, B-SB Historic Preservation Officer photo by Paul Vang
By Paul F. Vang for ButteNews.net
Kathleen (Kate) McCourt grew up in an area rich in landmarks from the Revolutionary War in the Hudson Valley of New York and has studied internationally. Since 2022, she has been bringing her background in history and archeology to her job as Historic Preservation Officer for Butte-Silver Bow. After two years in Butte, she finds her work fascinating, as she delves into what she calls, “All the crazy things that have happened here.”
Ms. McCourt (we’ll refer to her as Kate) was born in Marlboro, New York, in Hudson Valley, about 75 miles from New York City. She has a bachelor’s degree from State University of New York (SUNY) in Albany, New York. She earned a master’s degree in archeology from University College London, and a master’s Certificate in historic preservation from the University of Kentucky. She went to a field school in Cyprus where she learned, firsthand, archeological excavation.
She returned to the U.S. and did field work at Revolutionary War sites, such as Newburgh, New York, where General George Washington had colonial Army headquarters for an extended period of the war, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an important naval port during the Revolution.
Kate first came west in 2008 to work as a preservation specialist in Virginia City. She reflects, with a smile, that she came to Virginia City for a summer job that somehow turned into five years. She went back east in 2013, where she taught an online course on Historical Architecture for Boston Architectural College, as well as had a job with the University of Montana, based in Virginia, as a museum registrar for a collection of naval artifacts.
Kate came back to Montana in 2019, landing a job as historic preservation officer for the city of Great Falls. She found that she missed the mountain country and got a job in Helena with the Foundation for Montana History. She became the Historic Preservation Officer for Butte-Silver Bow in March 2022.
After working in Virginia City, Montana’s second territorial capitol, a town based on placer mining for gold, she considers Butte as a big jump, as a center for industrial mining and smelting “on the biggest scale.”
Kate finds Butte, with its unique and varied architecture, its important contributions to war efforts in both World Wars, and a center of organized labor, to be a fascinating place. “There are so many stories to tell,” she says.
Varied architectural styles can be found in Butte and familiarity with architecture is an important part of Kate’s job. As part of her job, she’s been through a lot of buildings in uptown Butte, including buildings with businesses on the street level and upper floors where pigeons have taken over. Much of her work is to identify significant buildings, to find money to fund preservation projects, and often to keep buildings mothballed for future purposes. A big challenge to this, she has found, “There are lots of absentee landlords.”
Kate enjoys working for Butte-Silver Bow, and one of her projects has been for the historic Silver Bow County Courthouse, getting a grant from the Foundation for Montana History to soon restore the revolving doors at the main entrance to the courthouse. She has other grant proposals pending with the National Park Service and Urban Revitalization Agency.
Kate has become involved with other groups. She’s serving on the Board of the Butte Cultural Heritage Center, formerly the B’nai Israel Synagogue. She’s an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board of the Butte Performing Arts Center, which operates the Mother Lode Theater. She’s also on the board of the World Museum of Mining.
Kate took the opportunity, during our interview, to mention a special event on Thursday, March 6, 6:30 p.m. The Butte Cultural Heritage Center is presenting a program on the holiday traditions of Passover, Easter, Christmas and Hanukkah, and commonalities and contrasts from the different traditions. The program will have a panel that includes Kate McCourt, as a historian, Father Patrick Beretta, a Catholic priest in Butte, Rabbi Sonia Pilz, of Congregation Beth Shalom in Bozeman, and Rev. Miriam Schmidt, pastor of All Saints in Big Sky, a shared ministry of Episcopal and Lutheran churches. Janet Cornish of the Cultural Heritage Center will be the moderator.
After spending most of her adult life bouncing around the country and the world, Kate has become a homeowner, buying a home on Butte Hill, and she is pleased that her home is on the historical register. One of her goals is to get a plaque for the house.
On a personal side, Kate loves the outdoors and the many opportunities for hiking in the Butte area. As a new homeowner, she’s also learning about gardening in Butte’s mile high cold, dry climate. She has a dog and two cats that keep life interesting. I asked if she was related to the late Frank McCourt, the Irish American teacher and writer, author of Angela’s Ashes. She says that there’s no connection, except possibly in the distant past in Ireland. She did say, however, that her grandfather once met Frank McCourt, greeting him, “Mr. McCourt, I’m Mr. McCourt,” and they had a cordial conversation following that introduction, with Kate also shaking the author’s hand.
After two years as the Historical Preservation Officer for Butte-Silver Bow, Kate McCourt reflects, “I had big shoes to fill when I took this job,” referring to her predecessor, Mary McCormick. She adds, “The more I know about Butte, the more I love it. I’m proud to live here.”
