Red Cloud High School: Inspiring Education and Hope
By Jamison Lamp
Pine Ride, S.D. - Nestled in the wooded foot-hills of the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, Red Cloud Indian School was founded in 1888 as the Holy Rosary Mission. In 1969 the school officially changed its name to Red Cloud Indian School in honor of Chief Red Cloud who requested the formation of the school by the Jesuits.
Requiring $12 million in grants and donations to provide its current services, Red Cloud School gives students a chance to prepare for college and position themselves for success when surrounded by poverty and despair.
During the 2010-2011 school year Red Cloud High School attained a 98 percent graduation rate. A strong balance of the Lakota Culture, Catholic faith and academics leads to the success of the students.
Students attending Red Cloud High School come from adverse economic situations were 80 percent of residents are unemployed and 61 percent of children below the age of 18 live below the poverty line.
Administrators acknowledge the realities that students face but encourage students to find value in their education.
“It starts with our expectation. I meet with all the students on the first day and I tell them I expect them to graduate and we will prepare you for college,” Jim Mattern, principal at Red Cloud High School, said. “Our expectation is there, they know it coming in and there families know it. With these expectations, we expect people to perform well. We know that this is their gateway. We want to instill hope in them. They want a better future.”
Mattern, who is in his second year as principal, attributes much of the success to well-rounded after school programs and exposure to colleges and technical schools.
“As part of our robust after school program, we have about 100 students participating in fall sports,” Mattern said. “ One of our most popular non-sport programs is study hall. We require one hour of studying and then in the second hour, we bring out the laptops for papers and other assignments. Faculty members have scheduled times and days were they are available.”
Another strong component of the after school activities includes a variety of special interest clubs.
“We also offer a poetry club, dance club, Lakota language club, chess club, and hand games club among others,” Mattern said. “Around the building you will notice murals, those were done by art club.”
The students are also expected to be part of a service club to grow in their faith. This is done through volunteer work at Red Cloud Elementary School.
To be active in the after school and extracurricular activities students must maintain a grade point average higher than 1.7. These programs help students stay on track for graduation and college. All 49 seniors have higher education plans for next year, including four year colleges, and tech-schools, Mattern said.
Red Cloud High School provides campus visits for seniors to colleges throughout the area.
“The visits are a great way for me to continue getting to know the students and I know all the students are extremely grateful that Red Cloud High School provides this opportunity for them,” volunteer Liz Welch said. “They are able to gain exposure to colleges both in South Dakota and out of state to help them realize the opportunities they have after high school. These college visits provide concrete goals for the students to maintain good grades and stay involved in extracurricular activities.”
Now, in her second year as a volunteer, Welch serves as a student advisor. Her duties include scheduling college visits and preparing seniors for college.
“Without these funded college visits these students wouldn’t get the opportunity to experience college campuses,” Mattern said. “We know not everyone is going to go to college, but it helps them with their future and goals.”
Visits have taken students to universities in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
While preparing students academically for future success, Mattern and the staff strive to keep culture and faith in balance.
“The culture is very important, 99 percent of our students are Lakota, they embrace that,” Mattern said. “We think it is very important that they learn the language and culture.”
As part of graduation requirements students are required to take two years of Lakota language along with a variety of Native American culture and history classes.
Taylor Wilson, a Red Cloud freshmen, looks forward to learn more about the culture.
“I learn a lot a Lakota culture from my grandpa,” Wilson said. “I know some Lakota but it will be good to learn more language.”
“We do not have enough Lakota teachers, we have four,” Mattern said. “I think that as education grows there will be more students coming back to help educate.”
Housing and other resources not readily available to attract teachers to reservation schools make staffing schools a challenge. Red Cloud relies on a two to three year volunteer program to fill the educational needs of the students. Volunteers are committing to living in the second poorest county in the United States, Shannon County, and being surrounded by an obesity, diabetes and heart disease epidemic.
“Since the time I was in second grade at Red Cloud Elementary School, while my parents worked at Red Cloud, I knew I wanted to be a volunteer,” Welch said “I knew I wanted to volunteer at Red Cloud because it gave my family so much and I wanted to return after graduating from Marquette University.”
Coming from a family of competitive boxers and Lakota singers, freshmen Cole Brings Plenty feels Red Cloud High School offers activities and classes to keep him interested in school.
Photos by Christian McHugh
Photos by Christian McHugh
