Corps of discovery - Flathead training program teaches kids job, life skills
By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian
RONAN - Jathan Jones revels in the campus life at Kicking Horse Job Corps Center, nestled as it is amid postcard-perfect scenery in the foothills of the Mission Mountains, offering vocational training in 11 job skill areas.
“We're spoiled here,” said Jones, a 19-year-old medical assistant student. “We get so many opportunities to do things. The food is great and the view is beautiful.”
The teenager from Rosebud, S.D., quickly developed a positive mind-set about the Job Corps training program, a school he once thought was only for “delinquents.”
“I said, ‘I don't want to go there,' ” said Jones. He credits his twin brother, Jonathan “J.D.” Jones, a carpentry student, for telling him about the center he now holds in high regard.
Derek Martinez, Samantha Murphy, from left, and Modena Sakizzie, right, learn correct isolation procedure from medical instructor and registered nurse Malia Kipp at the Kicking Horse Job Corps on Thursday afternoon. The students are in a program to become certified medical assistants. Photo by LINDA THOMPSON/Missoulian
On Wednesday, school officials will open the doors to people interested in learning more about Kicking Horse Job Corps as part of an open house, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The school will provide tours, lunch, vocational displays and door prizes.
“It's one of the best free educations in the United States,” said Charles Camel, center director at Kicking Horse. “We want our kids to capitalize on such a program if they're eligible.”
It doesn't cost anything to attend the school, but it's also not available for just anybody. Students must meet income requirements, be a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and be willing and able to engage in an academic and trade-school environment.
The center, one of 122 Job Corps centers nationwide, was recently ranked as one of the top 10 centers for producing some of the highest wage-earners among students six months after graduation.
But few know of its mission, or many success stories.
“For some reason, it seems to be the reservation's best-kept secret, probably because it's mostly served Native students,” said Shelly Fyant, a Kicking Horse spokeswoman. But that changed two years ago when the school opened its enrollment to students of all races, ages 16 to 24, in an effort to boost enrollment.
Still, Kicking Horse Job Corps, three miles south of Ronan on the Flathead Reservation, continues to have a Native student majority. About 60 percent of nearly 170 students on campus are Natives from Job Corps Region IV, including Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes is one of two tribal governments in the United States with a Department of Labor contract to operate a job training center.
“It's an excellent program,” said Malia Kipp, a medical instructor at the school. “It's not just teaching career skills. It's teaching life skills. We have the dorms here. They learn how to take care of themselves, work in teams, live with others - those sorts of things that are important in life that other schools won't teach you.”
Applicants can attend the school, study, earn certifications and leave with job skills that prepare them for business and finance, or employment as medical, nursing and dental assistants, culinary specialists, diesel mechanics, building maintenance, heavy equipment operators and carpenters.
Jesse Blackbonnet recently hammered nails into masonite siding on a “mock” house, while his instructor yelled out instructions to him and his classmates.
“This is going to be hard to nail,” carpentry instructor Bill Udall told the students. “You got to keep it on edge or it will buckle on you. Go ahead guys, put it up.”
Blackbonnet, who has a supervisory role among the carpentry students, hopes to build homes when he leaves Kicking Horse. His instructor hopes the students can one day build real homes for people as part of their training.
Students seeking training can apply any time, given the school's open enrollment policy, meaning new students who are accepted are allowed to work and study at their own pace. Not only does the center prepare students for a trade, but it also provides an education for those who never finished high school.
Rachel Shore, a 19-year-old Northern Ute from Salt Lake City, has been learning nursing skills while also studying for her high school equivalency test. The Job Corps center will allow her to eventually earn a diploma from nearby Two Eagle River High School in Pablo.
The Kicking Horse Job Corps opens career doors for students who are expected to build upon their skills once they leave.
“This shouldn't be where they stop,” said instructor Kipp. “It should be a starting point for them.”
Trisha Ramone, a Navajo from Rocky Ridge, Ariz., reached a milestone on Friday when she took her state-certified nursing exam.
“I learned a lot being here, being on my own without my mom doing things for me,” said Ramone. “I feel like I grew up a lot. I'm going to stay here and work on my medical assistant (certification). And then I plan on going to college.”
