State recognizes local school
courtesy photo
Courtesy photo Principal Shawn Hendrickson, Gear Up Coordinator Alan Pule, Elementary Teacher Maria Stults, Elementary Teacher Shirley Azzopardi and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen attend an award ceremony at Montana State University.
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ST. IGNATIUS – Teachers from across the state of Montana cheered as the first reservation school in the state received a platinum award, which was given to the St. Ignatius School District.
“When it was announced, it got pretty loud in the room; it was a big deal in the teaching world,” said St. Ignatius High School Principal Shawn Hendrickson.
The award was given to the school by the Montana Office of Public Instruction through the Montana Behavioral Initiative program during an award ceremony at the Montana State University ballroom on June 22. About 2,000 teachers attended the event.
Schools need to fulfill a set of criteria to qualify for the award including student intervention, positive support, mentoring, and decreased referrals.
“To get the award, OPI does an assessment of the school based on the criteria they set,” he said.
For the past five years, the schools within the district have worked their way up to the highest level of achievement within the program. The district was also the first in the state to have all three of their schools receive the highest ranking, which includes the elementary, middle and high schools.
“The teachers in the district put a lot of time and effort to get here with support from the superintendent and school board,” he said. “We celebrate the achievement for all three schools in obtaining this award and recognize the hard work and effort each student, staff member, teacher, and administrator has put forth to realize this great success.”
The state gives the schools a sticker with a platinum rating to put on a banner.
“It’s nice that the state takes the time to honor the schools, but this is about wanting the kids to have a positive school experience,” he said.
The school staff plan to keep going with the project now that they’ve reached the highest level. “We are going to work to hold onto platinum,” he said.
