Mission gold
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ST. IGNATIUS – Mission High School was the only reservation school in the state to receive a gold rating from the Montana Department of Education’s behavioral program this year.
“It’s a big deal for us,” said high school teacher Sara Keast. “All three schools in our district were recognized at different levels. This is the first year we have gotten gold.”
Schools electing to participate in the Montana Behavioral Initiative program are rated starting at bronze on to silver and working up to gold. Over 200 schools in the state participated and only 12 received gold. It took Mission a few years to reach gold.
“It took a lot of hard work to get it,” she said.
The program is designed to create a positive school environment with a multi-step approach that focuses on school climate and academic rigor. The school is assessed by a team from the department of education. One of those assessment tools included a survey answered by the students to help improve the school.
“We want the school to be the best it can be,” Keast said. “Personally, I want kids to believe that Mission is the best school, not in the valley or the state, but the best school. It’s about school pride.”
Discipline is another part of the program. The school went from 240 referrals in the high school in the past few year, which means a student was sent to the principal’s office, to a low of 42. The drop was due in part to a change in the way discipline was handled.
“The idea is to be pro-active instead of reactive,” she said, which was achieved by creating a system that monitored at-risk students and paired them with an adult mentor to look at grades, attendance and socializing to help decrease the causes of behavioral problems.
“We survey teachers and staff regarding behavior interventions,” she said. “We develop steps for students so they don’t slip through the cracks. One intervention doesn’t fit every kid. One adult works with one student individually to create a plan.”
The high school received the gold award this year, but that doesn’t ensure that they will get it again next year.
“We can’t just coast through,” she said. “We have to keep working at it. Our goal is to keep doing what we are doing and improving.”
