Stevensville Schools held a Graduation Matters assembly for the entire K-12 student body last week to celebrate Stevensville’s increased rate of graduation and to get younger students to make a pledge to graduate.
High School Principal Brian Gum, who heads the Graduation Matters team at Stevensville, thanked school board members, business partners, teachers and students for their continued commitment to the program.
“Three years ago we started this program at Stevensville High School,” said Gum. “Our graduation rate at the time was 80.4 percent and our drop out rate was 5.7 percent. At the time we were doing about average for the state of Montana. We assembled a team of committed school and community members who wanted to make a difference and didn’t want to settle for average. Three years later our grad rate has risen to 95.5 percent and our drop out rate is down to 1.6 percent.”
Stevensville has received grant funding from the Graduation Matters program, which is a statewide initiative implemented by Denise Juneau, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Schools can apply for financial help to assist in boosting graduation rates. The state average graduation rate is now at 85 percent with a dropout rate of 2.8 percent.
Gum said programs at Stevensville, such as daily Advisory period, monthly assemblies, business roundtables, freshman orientation and ‘Jacket Fair have all made a difference.
The Graduation Matters team at Stevensville High School includes Pam Johnson, Tammy Johnson, Nate Fry, Sam Fawcett, and Steven Coop. Student representatives are Joseph Fecteau and Jennifer Harthan.
Gum also mentioned that increased graduation rates could not have been accomplished without the help of the middle school and elementary staff. The Middle School is starting their own business roundtables and next year will be participating in Choosing a College Program. Their team is comprised of Tracey Rogstad, Colleen Buhler, Sara Nasseem, Karen Nebel, Christine Middlemaus, Lori Lewis and Ellen McKern.
“Our elementary program is also very strong and has added to the overall success of this program,” said Gum, “because their great ideas and implementation of this program have helped foster, at an early age, the belief that everyone will graduate. They have done a nice job with the ‘Picture Me Graduated’ program and other incentives.” The elementary team is comprised of Jackie Mavencamp, Scott Siebert, and Brenda Servoss.
Desks were used to illustrate the improved graduation rate. Twenty desks were arranged on the assembly floor, representing the number of dropouts three years ago. Students then removed all but three of them, to illustrate the current number.
Student leaders were recognized as well. Those included Joseph Fecteau, Katie Schiwal, Savannah Jurasic, Ben Crews and Tom Trangmoe.
The event culminated with students filling out “I Pledge to Graduate” cards and receiving a wristband and a cupcake!