Secretary's Column
By Dr. Rick Melmer
Department of Education

The Pearls of 2010E

Since the Governor announced the 2010 Education Initiative on January 4, there has been discussion about three main initiatives that are part of the plan. The preschool program, the classroom connection (laptop initiative) and the teacher compensation assistance program have received a great deal of discussion in media coverage. Even though those programs are very important to the overall initiative, there are other programs that may be of equal or more importance in the long run. Here is a quick summary of a few of those programs.

Virtual school

The State of South Dakota is looking seriously at establishing a statewide virtual high school.  There are other quality virtual schools around the state, and we fully expect that those programs will continue. However, it is important for the state to get its arms around the virtual school issue and begin to provide some guidance and direction for schools around the state. We in the department believe that this initiative could have a far-reaching impact to how high schools operate and how student counts are made at the high school level.

Senior projects

Many would believe that the high school experience isn’t as relevant as it should be to the young people in our schools across the state. One way to help students reflect on their learning and to begin to examine what they have gained from their high school experience is to have them engage in a senior project. There are a number of school districts across the state that have an interest in this concept, and we are hoping that more districts express an interest and begin to implement a senior project into their high school curriculum. We believe the project does make school more meaningful for students and provides them with an opportunity to tell others what they have learned in high school.

American Indian graduation rate

Clearly, the graduation rate for American Indian students isn’t as high as we would like. The Department of Education is excited about the Gear-Up grant, which we have received to assist in helping American Indian students graduate from high school. Beginning in the summer of 2006, we will attempt to engage over 400 7^th graders in a summer enrichment program that will be followed up with a mentoring program throughout the year. The hope would be to add that same number of 7^th graders every year. Over a six-year period, we would have many more American Indian youth in a program that will assist them in graduating from high school and moving on to post-secondary education.

I would encourage you to take some time to review the 2010 education initiative.  You can access the goals, objectives and initiatives on our Web site at www.2010education.com. We appreciate any support you can give the Department of Education on this very important initiative.