Montana State University collaborated with Emily Dickinson and Hawthorne elementary schools to organize Masked Reader events, which took place on Feb. 27 and March 6, according to a March 12 announcement. The initiative brought together hundreds of K-5 students who participated in assemblies designed to promote literacy and build community.
The Masked Reader program matters because it combines reading with interactive activities, aiming to foster both academic skills and school culture among young students. The event also provides Montana State University (MSU) health enhancement students with practical teaching experience.
During the week leading up to the assemblies, elementary students watched videos featuring masked readers—teachers or staff members whose identities were concealed—reading children’s books aloud while offering clues about themselves. Students then tried to guess who each reader was before their identities were revealed at the assembly. MSU health enhancement students worked closely with teachers and staff at both schools to create these videos and deliver movement lessons that encouraged physical activity alongside literacy learning.
Karie Orendorff, associate professor in the MSU Department of Food Systems, Nutrition and Kinesiology, started the event in 2024. “As a (health enhancement) teacher, you’re expected to do more at a school than just teach,” Orendorff said. “As a (health enhancement) teacher, you have the ability to affect the entire culture of the school. That’s why we do this.” She added that pairing movement with literacy helps children remember concepts better: “There is research galore on how movement helps fire all neurons in your brain to help you remember things.”
MSU student Madylan Osler said participating in classroom activities provided valuable experience: “It’s really helpful to be in a classroom and to be interacting with the kids,” Osler said. Ellen Olson, another MSU student studying health enhancement K-12, said working directly with children validated her career choice: “Every time I’m in the classroom and interacting with the kids, I love it. It makes me glad I picked this for my major.” Emily Dickinson principal Chanell Brown said, “I love the camaraderie that the Masked Reader brings, along with all the communication students and classrooms are participating in… Last year was our first year doing it, and it will now become a yearly tradition.”
Orendorff emphasized that MSU undergraduates benefit from seeing educational theory put into practice: “This is not about a lecture and learning theory; it’s about putting theory into action, with real kids,” she said.
Montana State University leads research funding in Montana with annual expenditures exceeding $288 million according to its official website. The university contributes through volunteer efforts, outreach programs, and research aimed at improving lives and environments according to its official website. MSU ranks among the top five percent of global universities per rankings by the Center for World University Rankings according to its official website. Enrollment stands at approximately 17,165 students split evenly between residents and nonresidents according to its official website.
As Montana’s land-grant institution based in Bozeman, MSU focuses on research, education, community outreach—and access to outdoor recreation amid vast wilderness—while providing extensive academic programs according to its official website.