Happy Wednesday Beacon readers! Mariah Thomas here today, hanging in after covering quite the week in Montana politics. Here’s hoping you’re hanging in with us too!

Today, I bring you a dispatch from the education side of my beat. Last week, EdWeek published its 2026 State of Teaching project, including state-by-state data on factors that influence teacher morale, which include considerations like salary, benefits, student behavior and how communities perceive their job. The survey consisted of 5,802 teachers nationwide and was conducted in August-November of 2025. I pored over some of the data and insights it offers about Montana — and here’s what I noticed.

According to the survey’s data, Montana’s average teacher morale is higher than the national average by a few points. The project rates teacher morale on a scale of -100 to +100, with negative scores indicating lower morale and positive ones indicating higher morale. Montana’s teacher morale is at +18 points — higher than the national average by five points — though it comes with a range of +12 to +24 points.

In terms of factors other than salary that teachers said would improve morale, Montana teachers ranked more planning time during the workday as the highest priority, followed by changes to how administrators and policies address student discipline.

The data shows teachers nationally saw student behavior as a significant issue. When it comes to what might improve behaviors, nearly 60% of Montana teachers checked off that parents could play a major role, either via instruction for them on how to teach their children to behave in ways that are appropriate for school, or by limiting parents’ ability to undermine consequences when their children get in trouble for misbehaving.

Fifty-six percent of teachers also checked off that reducing students’ access to screens, phones and devices could have a major positive impact on student behavior and their ability to manage the classroom. Montana is one of only two states that has never introduced a bill to regulate cell phone use in schools, though Gov. Greg Gianforte has pushed schools to restrict the devices before. According to reporting from Montana Public Radio, around 90% of Montana school districts do have a full or partial cell phone ban in place.

And Montana falls right in line with the national average when it comes to teachers’ perception of how the public views them. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being very negative and 10 being very positive, Montana teachers ranked the local community’s view of them as a 5.7.

Of course, that data simply provides a snapshot of teacher morale in Montana. If you’re an educator interested in chatting about trends, teacher morale, recruitment and retention efforts and more, my inbox is always open. You can find my information on our “About Us” page.

That data comes as teacher recruitment and retention has been a top education issue in Montana. The state — and area — have for years grappled with a shortage of qualified teachers and para-professionals, due to a slew of factors, from low pay to distrust in public schools and the teaching profession.

That shortage appears to be worsening, according to data from the Office of Public Instruction. The state is on track to give “emergency authorizations” to more than 300 unlicensed educators to teach this year. The special designation allows schools to fill gaps in the classroom when licensed teachers aren’t available. It’s a number that has consistently risen over the course of the past five years. And it comes alongside a decreasing number of teachers getting a license for the first time or renewing one.

The state legislature has made some effort to improve starting teacher pay via the STARS Act in 2025, which directed $100 million to raising beginning teachers’ salaries in Montana’s K-12 districts. It also passed several changes to education funding during the session. But the issue of teacher recruitment and retention remains a top priority for lawmakers moving forward.

And now, onto the rest of Wednesday’s Daily Roundup.