Kaci Hipple receives second Pony Pride Award

Havre High School Attendance Secretary Kaci Hipple was named the second winner of the Pony Pride Award, a monthly award for outstanding work in Havre Public Schools, which she was presented with earlier this week by its first recipient, Havre High Assistant Principal Jeremiah Nitz.

Hipple said the receipt of this award was an unexpected honor and she looks forward to continuing her work at Havre High School.

As attendance secretary, she said, her job involves interacting with all 500-plus students at Havre High, greeting late arrivals, approving students who need to leave early, tracking absences, finding substitute teachers, answering parents' questions and making sure everyone is getting to class safely, and it's a job she's enjoyed since she first began in 2021.

At a meeting of the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees where she was given the award, Nitz said she is an integral part of the school and her skills as a problem solver are unrivaled.

"Her effectiveness has had an amazing impact on the culture of our school," Nitz said.

Hipple said in an interview later in the week that her job is dynamic and unpredictable, with different challenges every day, but that's what makes it so engaging.

"It's something new every single day," she said. "That's what I like most about it."

Hipple worked for Hill County for 13 years before coming to Havre High and was a deputy elections administrator for seven of those years, but she was looking for a job that would allow her the same time off as her children, so she took the opportunity to work for the district.

The job isn't without difficulties, Hipple said, as there are a lot of situations to deal with all at once with little down time, and a great deal needs to get done every day, but interacting with the students of Havre High makes it worth it.

"I love the kids," she said. "I love seeing them when they come in and I treat them like they're my own. ... They are what truly keeps me here."

She said she also interacts with parents, which has been great, especially this year.

She has admittedly missed a phone call here and there, she said, because she was attending to a student's needs and they always come first.

Hipple said Nitz and Havre High Principal Dustin Kraske have both been great to work with, as have teachers, custodians, food service, practically everyone at the school, all of whom put the students first.

"It shows how a community can work together for the kids," she said.

As someone born and raised in Havre, she said, she graduated from Havre High herself and coming full circle has been an amazing experience.

As for who the next Pony Pride Award recipient will be, Hipple said, there are a lot of obvious choices.

She said her three children Asics, Avyn and Aylah all go to different schools in the district so she hears about a lot of people across the school buildings doing great work deserving of recognition.