Willard staff outline restorative practices, donor-funded housing support and career programs

Willard Alternative School Principal Cameron Johnson told the Missoula County Public Schools board that Willard serves roughly 160 students per quarter through a proficiency‑based model and aims to meet students’ academic and wraparound needs through small classes, restorative practices and community partnerships.

Johnson said Willard won a $50,000 planning grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation to explore harm‑reduction and recovery‑school models and to identify supports for students struggling with substance use; the grant period ends July 1 and the school plans to submit a final report to the foundation. "Through that, we were able to explore schools in Seattle, Ohio and Massachusetts and try to implement some of those practices into our schools," Johnson said.

Student speaker Koda Zavala described Willard as a welcoming environment with five class periods and a 50‑minute leadership/office‑hours block used for credit recovery, clubs and restorative work. "They allow me to have more opportunities, and they also allow a lot of support," Zavala said.

Johnson and trustees described several locally funded initiatives: a safe housing fund established with roughly $20,000 in community donations to provide emergency rent and household furnishings for students and families; partnerships with the Human Resource Council to place students in housing; and vocational supports such as a Crow Coffee cart that trains students in beverage service. Johnson said donors also committed ongoing annual donations — "right now, I think it was about $12,000 a year that we're getting," he told trustees.

Trustees pressed administrators on capacity and expansion. Principal Johnson said expanding Willard would require additional staff and physical space to retain the program’s small‑class model, and floated ideas such as staggered days or shift schedules to serve more students while preserving class sizes. "We keep our classes capped at 10 to 15," he said, noting that increasing capacity without losing the small‑community approach would be a staffing and facilities challenge.

Willard leaders also described partnerships with youth court and treatment court, restorative practice tiers integrated into office hours, and efforts to provide academic and social supports for students returning from treatment. Johnson said the school used a $50,000 grant to pilot harm‑reduction strategies and that implementation funding had not yet been pursued: "We weren't ready yet to apply for an implementation grant from the Healthcare Foundation," he said.

Why it matters: Willard functions as a district alternative that both recovers credits and offers intensive supports for students facing academic or personal challenges. Trustees said they value the program but flagged constraints that limit the number of available seats; school leaders and trustees discussed donor support and potential district strategies to scale elements of the model.

Next steps: The board received the presentation and asked staff to continue exploring sustainable funding and capacity options. The agenda moved on after questions and public acknowledgement of Willard’s programs.