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December 1, 2021St. Bernard Mission School has welcomed a new principal this year—Lawrence Montclair.
He joins the Fort Yates Catholic school also teaching fourth and fifth grades in addition to administrative duties.
Montclair is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and grew up in Fort Yates. He’s a graduate of Fort Yates/Standing Rock Community School and a U.S. Army veteran having served in Germany and Iraq.
He's been married to his wife, Dawnette Faith, for 22 years and they have two children. He taught in both 5th and 2nd grade classrooms for 13 years and drove bus for the Standing Rock Grant School for 27 years. Currently, he is finishing up his master’s degree at Sitting Bull College.
Having grown up on the Standing Rock Reservation, Montclair has a deep appreciation for the people as well as a personal mission of equipping the youth with a good education. “The success of each one of these students is the highest priority for me,” he noted.
In addition to the day-to-day administrative duties as principal, being a classroom teacher presents some challenges in the workload. He’s quickly learning to use his limited free time wisely. One of the other teachers takes his students to recess so he can catch up on phone calls and other tasks.
It’s that reliance on his fellow teachers that is helping him make sure all is covered. “We have great teachers here and I trust them,” Montclair said. “We are here for each other and especially for the children.”
Other major areas of focus for Montclair are the health and safety of the children amid COVID concerns as well as building a strong relationship between the community and the school.
“Obviously, we are very focused on health and safety with COVID screenings, making sure we have a safe and caring environment for the kids to show up each day.”
Regarding building the relationship within the community, Montclair said the goal is to just raise awareness about the great benefits of the St. Bernard Mission School. He’s been putting efforts toward things like flyers, radio spots and social media to make and keep people aware that the school is open for in-person learning and welcoming to students.
Montclair, who taught from home last year in the public school system, can’t stress the importance of in-person learning enough. “It’s about getting more attention. We’re here. We’re open and we’re not closing.”
The Mission school has so much to offer the students in addition to in-person learning. “We have good, experienced teachers here and the one-on-one time the students get here is so valuable.”