Each January & June, Montana Academy’s faculty and students take a break from the normal four-class period days and spend three weeks immersed in multi-disciplinary courses that combine subject areas, are more experiential in nature and often take advantage of the local areas in and around Montana.

Montana Academy students are currently enrolled in their January 2021 Interim Session and one course in particular is being co-taught by Rick Stern, Dean of Students and Social Studies Department, and Matt Avanzino, English Department. This course, entitled Local History, aims to continue the story of our local Lost Prairie and Pleasant Valleys which was originally started in Jean Jackson’s 1998 book entitled Where the Green Grass Grows: Pleasant Valley and Lost Prairie, Montana, 1880 – 1946. During this course, students will read selections from Jackson’s book, and then continue the task of detailing the evolution of these local valleys through interviews with local residents and by exploring some of the most important historical, cultural and geographic sites. Students are undertaking this project during this January Interim Session and will continue the project throughout the calendar year.

The Interim Academic Sessions at Montana Academy were created a few years ago with the mission of offering students and faculty a reprieve from the normal classroom offerings and core coursework in order to explore and expand horizons. The Interim Sessions have often incorporated travel both locally and beyond to other regions of the United States, including the Southwest.  The academic faculty at Montana Academy is consistently expanding their creativity and has the freedom to develop a curriculum for students to complement their learning process and educational experience.

About Montana Academy

Established in 1997, Montana Academy is a non-profit, co-educational, therapeutic boarding school located in Northwest Montana. The leadership and staff at Montana Academy bring more than 175 combined years of cumulative experience to students and their families. Montana Academy’s approach places character development at the heart of its developmental model in helping young men and women mature. Montana Academy’s community is one that combines an array of therapeutics, college-preparatory academics, and a robust offering of experiential and skill-building programmatic opportunities.