2025 Montana AGATE conference
Registration is now closed.

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Amy Price Azano is the founding Director of the Center for Rural Education and a Professor of Rural Education and Adolescent Literacy at Virginia Tech. Azano's scholarship focuses on rural education, adolescent literacy, and the needs of special populations in rural schools.
Tamara Fisher Alley is the K-12 Gifted Education Specialist (teacher and coordinator) for the Polson School District, located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Giftedness,
Creativity, and Talent Development from the University of Connecticut in 2004. She is Co-Director of Edufest, the northwest’s premiere conference on gifted and talented education, as well as a Past President of the Montana Association for Gifted and Talented Education (Montana AGATE). Fisher Alley’s experiences working with K-12 gifted students appear in Intelligent Life in the Classroom: Smart Kids and Their Teachers, which she co-authored with Karen Isaacson. Fisher Alley’s writing also appeared for six years at the Education Week Teacher website where she blogged about gifted education in her “Unwrapping the Gifted” blog. “Unwrapping the Gifted” is now re-animated as a column in the National Association for Gifted Children’s Teaching for High Potential magazine. She has presented on gifted-related topics for local, county, tribal, state, regional, national, and international audiences, including teachers, parents, students, administrators, pre-service teachers, and the general public. Fisher Alley was selected as the 2001 Polson Teacher of the Year and the 2013 Montana AGATE Educator of the Year.​

Conference Information

FAQ Section
Schedule

The conference will run Thursday, April 10 (Noon - 8:30 pm) and Friday, April 11 (8:30 am - 4:00 pm).

Thursday

  • 11:00 AM: Registration Open (lunch after registering)

  • 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM: Welcome, Awards, and Keynote #1 (Amy Azano)

  • 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM: Breakouts

  • 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM: Break

  • 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM: Breakouts

  • 3:45 PM - 4:00 PM: Break

  • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Breakouts

  • 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM: Dinner (on your own)

  • 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Parent Panel

Friday

  • 8:30 AM - 9:15 AM: General Membership Meeting

  • 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM: Breakouts

  • 10:30 AM - 10:45 AM: Break

  • 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM: Breakouts

  • 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM: Lunch

  • 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM: Keynote #2 (Tamara Fisher)

  • 1:30 PM - 1:45 PM: Break

  • 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM: Breakouts

  • 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM: Break

  • 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Breakouts

Location

Big Horn Resort Billings
1801 Majestic Ln, Billings, MT 59102
(406) 839-9300

Enjoy a complimentary breakfast with your stay at The Big Horn Resort. The Big Horn Resort is connected to The Reef Indoor Waterpark, and also features a small bar and casino. While there is no on-site restaurant, dining options are within walking distance.

A block of rooms has been reserved for conference attendees. To receive the special conference rate, book your reservation by April 1st. After this date, rooms will be released to the public. Book online: here or call to reserve: (406) 839-9300 and ask for the AGATE rate.

Pricing $275 per person -OR- $1100 for five people

Registration fees include Thursday and Friday lunches and a one-year membership to MT AGATE.

Renewal Units

Up to ten renewal units available!

Thank you to our sponsors

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