By Michael Howell
As part of the Graduation Matters Montana program, Hamilton High School has achieved one of the highest graduation rates in the state and, according to Principal Dan Kimzey, that will increase to about a 97% graduation rate once the latest results are tallied.
Graduation Matters Montana was launched by Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau in 2010 to ensure that Montana’s public schools graduate more students who are prepared for college and careers. Since launching that initiative, Montana’s graduation rate has increased by nearly six percentage points, from 80.2 percent in 2009-2010 to 86 percent in 2014-2015. There are now 58 communities across Montana with their own Graduation Matters initiatives.
Hamilton High School’s efforts at increasing its graduation rate have been twofold. On the one hand it offers college bound students many stimulating and challenging Advanced Placement and dual credit courses with the opportunity to earn college credits and get a leg up on their college careers. Last year Hamilton High’s students earned a whopping 614 college credits through dual enrollment programs and Advanced Placement courses.
On the other hand, it also offers students who are not necessarily college bound the opportunity to get an education that will give them a leg up in entering the workforce by offering Career and Technical Education programs, and access to industry credential programs such as Certified Nurse Assistant, OSHA safety certification and others.
For its work in creating a learning environment focused on serving the needs of all students, Graduation Matters Hamilton was honored this year by the American College Test (ACT) College & Career Readiness Campaign with the Raising Aspirations Award.
State Superintendent Denise Juneau was in Hamilton last week to visit with the high school staff and some of the students participating in a couple of the career training programs.
Becky Brough, School to Career Coordinator at the high school, who supervises over 70 student internships each semester, said that students put in up to 100 extra hours over a period of six weeks. She said one graduate was now working locally at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and another at MAPS Media Institute.
Rachel Grimes, who is getting certified as a Certified Nurse’s Assistant through an internship at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, told Juneau that she always wanted to work in health care.
“I love helping people,” she said. “It just fits me.” She said she didn’t go into the program with a lot of expectations but has found the experience “amazing.”
Emily Fussell said that she was nervous at first being the youngest student in the program, but she had a friend in the program who helped boost her confidence. She told Juneau the program has exceeded her expectations.
“I can’t believe that, at my age, I am certified to help people,” she said.
Juneau said that the medical field will always have jobs, whether as doctors and nurses or as information techs or other related jobs. She said there were over 300 job descriptions in the medical field.
Juneau also visited with Brent Holmes’ Solid Works 3D Design Class. Holmes talked about how vocational education has changed over the years. A lot of those changes have to do with information technology and how those developments have altered the fields of industrial engineering, construction, and design. Things have changed and are changing so quickly, in fact, that the most valuable lessons have to do with adapting to new technology, new software, and new tools, he said.
“Adaptability and problem solving are what students need to learn most,” said Holmes.
High School Superintendent Tom Korst said that it was the school board’s vision and the public support for the levy that helped put this program in place.
“The Board wrote some good goals and then wrote a levy to meet those targeted goals and the public supported them,” said Korst. “But we never would have guessed that it would be so successful so fast.”
Principal Dan Kimzey said that he was very proud of the way the staff and students have adopted the Graduation Matters program and made it a part of the culture of the school.
“Everyone in this building wants every kid to graduate and is willing to extend themselves the extra mile to make that happen,” said Kimzey. “It’s a culture I’m very proud of.”