Video recognizes St. Ignatius graduation rate

Administration with the St. Ignatius school district has taken a new approach to keeping students in high school, and recently was sought after for their work.

St. Ignatius Principal Shawn Hendrickson said that last year, representatives from the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) contacted the school after finding out about its increase in high school graduation rates.

PBS visted a high school in Livingston, Mont., the previous year. Hendrickson said the local cable channel reached out to St. Ignatius after some research.

“(They) at PBS (were) looking to do it again so they called the Office of Public Instruction,” Hendrickson said.

In May of 2016, a crew visited St. Ignatius High School, spending a day gathering footage for a two-minute film for a nationwide series called American Graduate Champion.

After the editing team cut the footage into a two-minute movie, PBS sent the link to Hendrickson in January 2017.

Representatives also discussed making the “short snip” into a longer package, Hendrickson said, but he hasn’t heard back yet from PBS.

The two-minute movie shows classroom settings and footage around the school, while Hendrickson and Superintendent Jason Sergent provide statistics and information in voice overs.

It is stated that as of last school year, 70 percent of the district’s students received free or reduced lunch.

Approximately 65 percent of the student body is made up of Native American descendents.

Currently, the district has 510 students, with approximately 30 students, Hendrickson said.

The groundwork for the approach by administration, Hendrickson said, is in part to “an extremely supportive superintendent,” Jason Sargent, as well as a supportive school board.

Hendrickson, who has been a principal at St. Ignatius High School for three years, said that the graduation rate was 77 percent when he first came to the district.

“Last year when (PBS was) here, we had increased (the graduation rate) to a 90 percent graduation rate and 2 percent dropout rate,” he said.

While an increase, Hendrickson said that the numbers may not make sense to people not involved in the education field.

He explained that if a student drops out of school or leaves St. Ignatius to go to another district and drops out there, that affects St. Ignatius.

To encourage students to stay in school, Hendrickson said administration and staff have taken a hands-on approach.

“We do a lot of personalized stuff with students,” he said. “We have (a Montana Behavioral Initiative) team that” students work with, focusing on culture and school culture, as well as having a voice as a student in what goes on in the school.”

Hendrickson said that students are involved with the decision process, too, by empowering them to be decision makers in the school.

“We run a lot of stuff by the students and they give us a lot of feedback,” he noted.

Positive behavior intervention and supports with fidelity are part of the plan, as well.

Hendrickson explained that incoming freshmen are paired with mentors who encourage them to become involved and socialize.

“They do a lot of activities to get students involved in positive activities,” he said.

Administration has used multiple models to the approach, most of which is research-based.

Some things were inspired by the State of Montana, Hendrickson explained, while other ideas have been borrowed from other school districts.

Some ideas have been modified to fit St. Ignatius, he said.

“It’s a little bit of everything.”

Hendrickson noted that the school has little disciplinary problems, allowing staff and students to focus on efforts “in a more positive manner.”

For more information on the St. Ignatius school district, visit stignatiusschools.org.