Lakeland earns 'Go On' award
<p>Lakeland High's Haley Lundeby, left, and Meghan Darden react after their school was announced as a $100,000 winner in the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation's "Go On" Challenge Friday during a video feed at the Rathdrum school.</p>
RATHDRUM - It was academia's version of students climbing onto the goalposts after a huge football victory, except in a more civilized fashion.
Lakeland High students and staff on Friday celebrated the school receiving a $100,000 grant from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation for the "Go On" Challenge after the announcement was made via an Idaho Education Network video feed from Meridian.
"It's the biggest award this school has ever received," said Conrad Underdahl, Lakeland's principal. "This will help our kids go on to college."
Underdahl said there aren't any stipulations as to how Lakeland spends the money, but it will be used to further students' efforts to transition to college.
"We'll have a committee see what we can do," Underdahl said.
Scholarships, additional dual-enrollment classes, a "college center" in which students can explore college options via the IEN or virtual visitations of colleges are some possibilities, Underdahl said.
Senior Kelsi Andersen, who plans to attend Oregon State University and pursue a degree in pre-pharmacy, was among the students who watched the video announcing Lakeland's grant.
"This will be a big help for the school to keep programs going," she said.
Andersen has taken the ACT and PSAT college entrance exams along with dual-enrollment classes.
"I appreciate our school offering those," she said. "They've helped a lot. I need to go to college, and these were an important step for me to get there."
Eight schools statewide received $100,000 grants. There were also three smaller prizes, and each school that completed the challenge received an iPad. Fifty-five schools participated in the challenge.
The intent of the contest was to motivate high schools to measurably increase the number of students who go on to postsecondary training or education.
Lakeland tied with Canyon Ridge High in the large school category and the class for students completing Advanced Placement (AP), dual credit and/or tech prep classes.
Lakeland laid the foundation for a 'Go On' culture by creating new on-campus college courses for dual-credit students and emphasizing and promoting PSAT, PLAN, SAT and ACT testing for all students.
The school has seen a 167 percent increase in students taking these exams from the 2009-10 school year. A record number of students are taking dual-credit courses on campus, through the Internet and at North Idaho College.
The school's booster club recently paid about $1,500 to allow all sophomores to take a college entrance exam to help students better know their academic strengths.
"We ... hope that this (grant) will make a significant difference in future students going on," said Jamie MacMillan, the foundation's executive director.
The foundation is a private, family foundation committed to preparing Idaho citizens for the 21st century and beyond.