Evergreen School District has kept its post-secondary planning program afloat this year with two grants.

A $10,000 grant from the Missoula-based Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and a $300 grant from NorthWestern Energy has buoyed the district’s $42,100 contribution from the general fund with support of the school board.

“We feel the program is so valuable,” Evergreen Junior High Principal Kim Anderson said. “We feel pretty lucky to get $10,000 for our little school.”

The post-secondary planning program budget used to be more than $100,000 just two years ago when the district received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs federal grant to provide college and career readiness services. 

GEAR UP grants are awarded to states based on need. States then award grants to districts with large low-income populations and low standardized test scores to provide money to the neediest populations.

Low income is often gauged by the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Evergreen Junior High was a GEAR UP school from 1999 through 2011 when it was no longer a candidate for the discretionary grant program because standardized test scores had improved greatly despite 71 percent of the students being eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Being an academic success story is a double-edged sword, Anderson said.

“Basically they told us our test scores were too good to receive funding,” Anderson said.

Laurel Ekern, liaison for the post-secondary program, said it has significantly changed student culture. The district’s post-secondary education enrollment rate has gone from 65 percent in 2006 to about 78 percent in 2011, which is why the district has dug into funds to continue the program, Anderson said.

The program currently serves more than 500 fifth- through 12th-grade students at Evergreen Junior High extending to Flathead and Glacier high schools.

A primary focus of the program is getting young students to start the planning process for post-secondary education by exploring careers, college campuses and receive counseling when applying for college, scholarships and financial assistance. 

Students get to take field trips to state and out-of-state colleges and learn what different campuses have to offer. They also learn what high school courses they need to take to achieve their goals and can participate in job shadowing. Academic tutoring and mentoring is available to students through the program. 

“This program really increases their success in life,” Anderson said. “They see the possibilities that are out there.”

Ekern is the program’s only liaison. The district is writing more grant applications with a goal to get a second liaison. The program also accepts donations.

“We had multiple liaisons with GEAR UP,” Anderson said. “We’re looking for grants hoping to get a second liaison to work at the high school level because Laurel is taxed. The job is intensive and high paced.”

For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/a/evergreensd50.com/postsecondaryplanning/

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.