Each Fall, schoolteachers and home-schooling parents bring their kindergarten, elementary and middle school students to join the pre-service teachers at Montana Western in explorations using math, science, literature, and arts.
Pre-service teacher and elementary student take a closer look at a plant stem. Check out Rural Friday Students Modeling Plant Stems Video to see more of the investigation they did one Friday afternoon.
Rural Fridays not only provides Montana youth rich learning experiences, but also gives pre-service teachers at Western an immersive and well-mentored teaching experience.
The mentoring that pre-service teachers receive from professors, schoolteachers, and other education experts helps them develop the skills needed to become highly qualified teachers.
2026 Dates
Rural Fridays 1: September 18
Rural Fridays 2: September 25
Rural Fridays 3: October 2
Rural Fridays 4: October 23
Rural Fridays 5: October 30
Daily Schedule
Morning Check-In: 8:00 to 8:15 AM
Morning Class: 8:15 to 11:00 AM
Morning Check-Out: 10:45 to 11:00 AM
Lunch: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Afternoon Check-In: 12:00 to 12:15 PM
Afternoon Class: 12:15 to 3:00 PM
Afternoon Check-Out: 3:00 to 3:15 PM
Program Policies & Enrollment
To ensure children have a safe learning environment, each pre-service teacher has passed a criminal background check, maintains their good standing with the university, and is prepared to implement our program policies.
If this sounds like a good program for your child, please review our program policies and enroll your K-8 student today!