It was really interesting learning about his life and the impact he had on Montana,” said Wills student Tally Berwick.Ī native of Columbus, Montana, Wills graduated from Broadwater High School in Townsend and received her Elementary Education degree from the University of Montana in Missoula. “My favorite part about the Montana History unit was getting to pick a famous person from Montana and making a movie about them. Her passion and excitement for Montana History is present in everything she does.” Without April’s expert lead, I would have never known to utilize the many wonderful traveling trunks that the Montana Historical Society has available to schools with different focuses in Montana History. In her nominating letter, Samantha Keefner, a fellow teacher at Bainville School, said: “April has worked very hard to bring the history of our state into the classrooms of many other educators. HELENA - April Wills, a fifth-grade teacher at Bainville Public School in northeastern Montana, is the 2020-2021 winner of the Montana Statehood Centennial Bell Award honoring the Montana History Teacher of the Year at the 4th-6th grade level.
