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With a new year on the horizon and Irving Berlin’s “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” still echoing through the air, CFP joins the rest of the world in taking stock of 2023. 12 months ago, Clark Fork Prep was a mere glimmer of an idea, a daring dream for a new kind of high school for Missoula. And with each passing day, we come closer to the realization of this dream: when interested folks subscribe to the newsletter (177 to date), the CFP Instagram gets a new follower (we surpassed our goal of 200!), or our website receives another look (over 4K page views since August), this independent high school gains momentum. At the outset, we counted on several things. We knew curious kids in Missoula needed another high school option, and we knew teachers would want to work at this kind of school. We knew we’d need to find a home, build a board, and raise a bunch of money. And though we hoped otherwise, we were pretty sure the IRS would be slow to process our nonprofit paperwork. Check, check, check. But here’s what surprised us: Cambie’s fried cauliflower (with bang bang sauce) makes a fantastic shareable snack for a CFP meeting; a kitchen table serves as a functional and friendly school planning headquarters; adding music to an Instagram story improves the experience for creators and followers; and practically everyone’s first location suggestion involves an empty MCPS building. As 2023 winds down, we’ve lost track of the number of times we’ve said, “We’re on a committee to start an independent high school,” or checked our website’s daily analytics page, or made an impossibly long to-do list that eventually got completed. But while we may not have an accurate tally of those oft-repeated moments, we are mindful of our good fortune–and it’s the teenagers who top the CFP blessings list. From individual writing conferences to science experiments along the river to energetic conversations over plates of fried cauliflower, investing in Missoula kids definitely counts as time well spent. In a few days, the countdown to midnight will commence. As we turn toward 2024, Missoula teens and their many cheerleaders are on our minds. Clark Fork Prep is for them–and they’re counting on all of us to make it happen. We’re grateful to be on this journey together!
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