Pride High teacher to retire

HURON — More than 200 students - 202 actually and counting - have a high school diploma thanks to an alternative education program in the Huron School District called Pride High. And the majority of those diploma-earning young people have, to varying degrees, Jonna Reid to thank for their completing a major life step.
“At every graduation, I tell those attending that getting a diploma from Pride High is so easy, it’s hard,” Reid said. “It’s all about what they put into it.”
This spring, when the school year winds to a close, Reid will step off her personal wave just as it crests, retiring from a job she loves with her eyes focused on what’s next.
“I do, I really do love what I do, where I work and the people I work with,” Reid said this week, relaxing in her classroom over the lunch hour. “Taking the step to move to Pride High when I had the opportunity worked out to be a great decision for me.”
And a career in education wasn’t even in the cards, at least at the start.
“My parents, Marvin and Patt Kool, were teachers and frankly, I always really loved school,” Reid said. “It’s where I got to go and see my friends every day.”
The Kool family lived in Deadwood, where Jonna was born, while Marvin and Patt worked for the Lead-Deadwood school district; Marvin taught Physical Education and an occasional science class, and Patt was an English teacher. The family moved to Huron when Jonna was very young. A short time later, Marvin began working for Bill Tredway in his sporting good store, traveling around the state and establishing contacts throughout the school systems.
While attending school, Jonna had an outstanding career participating in gymnastics for the Tigers, and she was also a part of several very good HHS track and field teams. When she graduated from Huron High School in 1982, Jonna headed to South Dakota State University, with her sights set on going into pharmacy.
“It seemed like a good fit,” she said. “I loved math and science and pharmacy was interesting to me.”
That lasted until she spoke with an advisor about a career as a pharmacist. “I learned that to begin their careers, pharmacists were generally provided one week of vacation at that time.” With parents who were teachers, Reid already knew that there was an extended break over the holidays, along with summer vacation.

“Again, I always loved school,” she said. “So I changed my career path.
She studied two years at SDSU and two at Huron University, and came out with her bachelors degree in Education. Her first teaching gig was in Iroquois, where she taught for two years. Then a chance came to coach gymnastics back at Huron High School and Reid jumped at the chance.
“I loved my time in Iroquois and the small-school atmosphere,” she said. “But the chance to coach gymnastics and the increase in pay was too promising to pass up.” She began teaching seventh grade math and was happy there for some time.
But as often happens, she found herself wondering if there was something else - perhaps something more fulfilling.
“I was at a meeting and Mr. (Terry) Nebelsick asked if there was anyone interested in a possible change - something that had a lower student-teacher ratio in a different classroom setting. My hand went up immediately.”
She joined the staff at Pride High - she credits Eileen Ohm and Wayne Fenner for making her feel welcome - and began what became her career calling.
When Pride High started, it was 50 percent funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, with one of the caveats that the school not be located on school property. Pride High began at the old AT&T building on Third Street. That has changed over the years, as the program first moved to Huron Arena, and eventually to its home at the district’s Vocational School building.
It used to be that Pride High was a way for students who had dropped out to come back to school and earn the credits they needed to get a diploma. Before the state law changed, students could drop out if they were 16 years old. Now they are required to be in school until they are 18.
“More of my students now are dual enrolled,” Reid said, “and come to get what they need to for a class or classes at the high school.”
What hasn’t changed is how the program is structured. “It is still an educational program that requires the student to be self reliant. That is the big thing. I am here as the teacher, but its is on them to put the effort forth. The students do work at their own pace, but they clock in and out on a time clock. They learn that you need to put forth that effort to succeed. Most of my kids are ones who had an problem making school work for them.”
“For some of the kids, the biggest obstacle is getting up and getting here every day,” she added. “‘Mom didn’t wake me up’ doesn’t work if you are going to be self reliant.”
For one student, Reid said that she found an alarm clock that included a barbell. When the alarm would go off, the student was required to do a certain number of curls to get the alarm to stop.
“When students meet Jonna they quickly learn that she is an advocate who will do whatever it takes to help them reach their goals,” said Huron High School principal Mike Radke. “Students who find themselves in PRIDE end up there for a variety of reasons and Jonna meets every student where they are and creates a path for success. She can be a trusted mentor who counsels them through problems or a task master that makes sure students are getting their work done.
Nebelsick echoes Radke’s belief that much of what makes Reid successful in the environment of Pride High is her ‘agape approach’ to each students’ situation. “She maintains and open mind and handles each student and his or her situation in its own unique way.”
“I still really like the one-on-one atmosphere. I like to get to know the kids personally. There are also online classes for the kids, which they can do on its own, or combine with the courses from the book. We can also do prep work for those who wish to do the GED.”
Reid will remain in the area and expects to be on the list of substitute teachers for the foreseeable future. She has plans to be married next year and with her sons and her mother in the area, Huron will remain her address going forward.
She has some hobbies “I have a real interest - as odd as it may sound - in woodworking,” which she wishes to pursue. “I want to be able to spend more time with my mom. Like many of us, I have learned as I grow older just how smart she was while I was a teenager! She was right about so many things.”
As she looks back, she has an armful of memories. Her classroom is adorned with photos of many of the graduates of her Pride High tenure, and she remembers dates of when things took place by looking at her list of who graduated in which year. It is obvious that the students she has seen come through Pride High have become important to her.
“Most teachers have a connection to their students,” Reid said. “But the kids  here - they really have to want to be here and I think that makes things a little different. It is great when a student succeeds and tells you that they wouldn’t have made it without me. That touches me.”
“Truly,” she said reflectively, “I get to come to a job that I love every day, in a place that I love. But I want to do something different. It’s time.”