OPI head Juneau tours Ronan/Pablo Schools
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RONAN — When Montana Superintendent Denise Juneau visits school districts, she gleans information from the schools that will assist the Office of Public Instruction in their endeavor for educational excellence.
“Is learning happening in the classroom? Are students engaged? Is the school board doing a good job of governing the district?” Juneau listed the questions aloud before a tour of the Ronan/Pablo School District on Thursday.
During her visit, Juneau received feedback on what programs are successful and which programs require more funds.
Ronan/Pablo Superintendent Andy Holmlund accompanied Juneau on a tour of Ronan’s campus on Thursday before heading over to Pablo. The pair discussed the lack of funds the Gifted and Talented Program receives in contrast to the special education funds, as they toured K. William Harvey’s special needs rooms and the middle school’s Creative Learning Systems Lab.
The state superintendent’s visit was sparked by an invitation to speak at the district’s pupil instruction related day on Friday, which gave Juneau a rare opportunity to personally relay state-wide goals and initiatives to the community.
Using an advanced data system, the state can accurately keep track of high school dropout rates.
Though Ronan’s dropout rates have actually decreased from 9.5 percent in 2005 to 5.4 percent in 2009, the rest of the state’s numbers are not promising. The new statistics show that Montana’s dropout rate has risen from 3.3 percent in 2005 to 5.1 percent in 2009.
“We thought it was really important to focus on that issue,” Juneau said.
Juneau is pushing for the state legislature to adopt the initiative called Graduation Matters Montana.
Under this banner, the legal dropout age will be increased to 18. Surprisingly, the last time the state increased the dropout age to 16 was in 1921, Juneau explained.
The goal of this initiative is to ensure that all of Montana’s students leave school with a diploma.
Juneau also explained that if successful, Graduation Matters Montana will actually save the taxpayers’ money.
According to Juneau, 75 percent of women and 80 percent of men in prison are high school dropouts.
Studies also show that high numbers of families collecting food stamps and participating in social welfare programs such as TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) are headed up by high school dropouts.
“I don’t believe there is a student out there that doesn’t want to graduate,” Juneau said.
Reasons why students drop out include everything from pregnancy to bullying, Juneau explained. That’s why she hopes to see more communities and businesses charge forward with the initiative, adopting the slogan, while offering internships and support for students.
Entitled Schools of Promise, another program OPI is developing is based on data that suggests reasons for achievement gaps include deep, generational, isolated and concentrated poverty and high unemployment rates.
“I have never ran into a parent that doesn’t want their children educated,” Juneau explained. “Even very poor parents send their kids to school hoping that school will do their job.”
And that job has shifted in recent years, to provide students with services that were once considered outside the educational realm.
In an attempt to prepare students to learn, OPI is now looking to meet the children’s physical needs first.
And schools are now seeking resources that will address issues ranging from trauma to hunger.
“There’s really a lot going on on the federal and state levels,” Juneau concluded, noting that it’s important to identify the state’s “best practices and share them across the state.”
“Every school is different and needs to find their own way as well,” she added.
