Today and tomorrow Bro. Paul Ackermann, FSC, the founder of De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, MT, is visiting Trinity High School. Bro. Paul helped establish the school in 2001 at the invitation of the diocese to serve the Blackfeet Indians. The school has about 67 students and serves students in grades 4-8. The parents pay little to no tutition (poverty is extreme there) and 97% of the school's $700,000 budget is covered by donations.
Because of the treatment of the Indians by the American government and the education system that was forced on them, many young people today don't see the value in education. Thus when the brothers arrived in 2001, the dropout rate in the town was around 50% (today it's about 30%). The immersion program that we are taking part in is partly an effort to surround the students with highly motivated students like ours who can inspire the children and help them see the value of education.
Bro. Paul spoke today with the sophomore theology classes and tonight he met with the 9 students going on the trip along with their parents. Tomorrow he will speak with the US History classes. Bro. Paul served as president of the school for 12 years but no longer works at the school directly. He is now based out of Chicago and his role is to visit immersion schools like Trinity and to cultivate relationships with donors to help support the school.
A little more than 2 weeks until we leave!
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