Grants Awarded
Grantee: Alaska Native Heritage Center
PR# S299A200075
Project Name: Tiamuna Project
# of Students Served: 800-900
Tribe(s): All Alaskan Natives
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: K-8
Funding Amount: $592,500
Grantee: American Indian Center of Arkansas
PR# S299A200082
Project Name: American Indian Center of Arkansas Education Program
# of Students Served: 160
Tribe(s): Multiple
Location: Arkansas
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $579,710
Grantee: American Indian Resource Center, Inc.
PR# S299A200032
Project Name: NATIVE ACE (Accessing Choices in Education)
# of Students Served:725
Tribe(s): Cherokee Nation
Location: Oklahoma
Grade Levels: K-12 and Parents
Funding Amount: $319,421
Grantee: Chatham School District
PR# S299A200021
Project Name: Tlingit Native Language and Culture Initiative
# of Students Served: 93
Tribe(s): Angoon Community Association
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: 6-12
Funding Amount: $385,091
Grantee: Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
PR# S299A200038
Project Name: Renew Indigenous Strength with Empowerment (Project RISE)
# of Students Served: 400
Tribe(s): The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Location: Oklahoma
Grade Levels: 6-12
Funding Amount: $877,350
Grantee: Chugachmiut
PR# S299A200044
Project Name: We Work Together for Educational Choices
# of Students Served: 300
Tribe(s): Native Village of Nanwalek, Native Village of Port Graham, Qutekcak Native Tribe (Seward), Native Village of Tatitlek, Native Village of Chenega, Native Village of Eyak (Cordova), and Valdez Native Tribe
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: PreK-12
Funding Amount: $447,747
Grantee: Douglas Indian Association
PR# S299A200073
Project Name: Kali.it’ch’i Kutxayanahá Yaanáx Yee Kawdigán, You All Shine Brighter than The Shining Stars: A Student-Centered Approach to Education
# of Students Served: 1,298
Tribe(s): Douglas Indian Association (DIA)
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $998,014
Grantee: Educational Service Unit #2
PR# S299A200051
Project Name: Educational Service Unit 2 Cultural Connections (ESU2CC)
# of Students Served: 200
Tribe(s): Winnebago and Omaha Tribes of Nebraska
Location: Nebraska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $779,570
Grantee: Gila River Indian Community
PR# S299A200012
Project Name: Choices – Securing a Bright Future
# of Students Served: 800-900
Tribe(s): Gila River Indian Community
Location: Arizona
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $616,167
Grantee: Ho-Chunk Nation
PR# S299A200059
Project Name: Preparing Oneself for a Good Life
# of Students Served: 1,000
Tribe(s): Ho-Chunk Nation
Location: Wisconsin
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $763,673
Grantee: Kawerak, Inc.
PR# S299A200062
Project Name: Alaska Native Engineering Education Development
# of Students Served: 2,680
Tribe(s): Chinik Eskimo Community (Golovin), King Island Native Community, Stebbins Community Association, Nome Eskimo Community, and the Native Villages of Brevig Mission, Council, Diomede, Elim, Gambell, Koyuk, Mary’s Igloo, Nome Eskimo Community, Saint Michael, Savoonga, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref, Solomon, Teller, Unalakleet, Wales, and White Mountain
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: 8-12
Funding Amount: $441,963
Grantee: Knik Tribe
PR# S299A200081
Project Name: CHOICES
# of Students Served: 1,900
Tribe(s): Knik Tribe
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $889,680
Grantee: Lapwai School District
PR# S299A200026
Project Name: Lapwai ACE: Accessing Choices in Education
# of Students Served: 240
Tribe(s): Nez Perce Tribe
Location: Idaho
Grade Levels: 6-12
Funding Amount: $266,892
Grantee: Lower Yukon School District
PR# S299A200008
Project Name: Culture, Health, and Opportunities in Career/College Exploration (CHOICE)
# of Students Served: 340
Tribe(s): Village of Alakanuk, Asa’carsarmiut Tribe, Village of Bill Moore’s Slough, Native Village of Chenega, Chuloonawick Native Village, Emmonak Village, Native Village of Hamilton, Native Village of Hooper Bay, Village of Kotlik, Iqurmuit Traditional Council, Native Village of Marshall, Native Village of Nunam Iqua, Village of Ohogamiut, Native Village of Paimiut, Pilot Station Traditional Village, Native Village of Scammon Bay, and Native Village of Tatitlek
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: 7-12
Funding Amount: $1,327,227
Grantee: Milwaukee Board of School Directors
PR# S299A200049
Project Name: Holistic Urban Education Program
# of Students Served: 400
Tribe(s): Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Menominee Indian Tribe, Oneida Tribe, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, St. Croix Chippewa Indians, Sokaogon Chippewa Community, and Stockbridge-Munsee Community
Location: Wisconsin
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $124,155
Grantee: Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
PR# S299A200061
Project Name: Building Intelligences for Strong Individual Decision-making and Goals (BISID) Project
# of Students Served: 100
Tribe(s): Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
Location: Washington
Grade Levels: 9-12
Funding Amount: $469,564
Grantee: Muscogee (Creek) Nation
PR# S299A200058
Project Name: Cokv kerretv Enhopoke “Educational Choice”
# of Students Served: 2,000
Tribe(s): Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Location: Oklahoma
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $597,840
Grantee: NACA Inspired Schools Network
PR# S299A200080
Project Name: Listening Circle: Empowering Student and Parental Choice in Native American Education
# of Students Served: 150
Tribe(s): More than 60 tribes
Location: New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $446,112
Grantee: National Indian Education Association
PR# S299A200085
Project Name: Supporting Student Success in Navajo Nation
# of Students Served: 9,440
Tribe(s): Navajo Nation
Location: Washington D.C.
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $626,417
Grantee: Navajo Preparatory School
PR# S299A200046
Project Name: Dine Soaring – Choice in Learning
# of Students Served: 281
Tribe(s): Navajo Nation
Location: New Mexico
Grade Levels: 9-12
Funding Amount: $316,550
Grantee: Nenana Native Association
PR# S299A200022
Project Name: Athabascan Native Connections (ANC)
# of Students Served: 184
Tribe(s): Nenana Native Association
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $151,591
Grantee: Nisqually Indian Tribe
PR# S299A200037
Project Name: Nisqually Youth Educational Choice Option Initiative (NYECOI)
# of Students Served: 193
Tribe(s): Nisqually Indian Tribe
Location: Washington
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $96,913
Grantee: San Juan School District
PR# S299A200005
Project Name: San Juan Native American Youth Choosing a Brighter Future
# of Students Served: 1,831
Tribe(s): Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Location: Utah
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $407,662
Grantee: Sokaogon Chippewa Community
PR# S299A200048
Project Name: Improving Educational Opportunities and Achievement for Sokaogon Chippewa Community Children
# of Students Served: 1,790
Tribe(s): Sokaogon Chippewa Community
Location: Wisconsin
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $287,084
Grantee: Stone Child College
PR# S299A200009
Project Name: Stone Child College Accessing Choices in Education Project
# of Students Served: 1,650
Tribe(s): Chippewa-Cree Indians
Location: Montana
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $549,142
Grantee: Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation
PR# S299A200047
Project Name: California/Oregon Indian Student Services Program
# of Students Served: 1,000
Tribe(s): Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Yurok Tribe, Resighini Rancheria, and Elk Valley Rancheria
Location: California
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $655,193
Grantee: Tribal Education Departments National Assembly
PR# S299A200071
Project Name: Tribal Education Departments National Assembly (TEDNA) Accessing Choices in Education (ACE) Project
# of Students Served: 1,200
Tribe(s): Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Comanche Nation, and Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Location: Oklahoma
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $843,020
Grantee: Turtle Mountain Community College
PR# S299A200028
Project Name: Turtle Mountain Accessing Choices in Education (ACE)
# of Students Served: 1,000
Tribe(s): Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
Location: North Dakota
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $150,263
Grantee: Tzicatl Community Development Corporation
PR# S299A200079
Project Name: American Indian Resurgence (AIR) Initiative: Native Youth to College through Community Pathways
# of Students Served: 1,000
Tribe(s): Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and any other Native American tribes
Location: California
Grade Levels: 6-12
Funding Amount: $751,020
Grantee: Umo’n Hon Nation Public Schools
PR# S299A200029
Project Name: Umo’n Hon Nation Improving Tomorrow for Everyone (UNITE)
# of Students Served: 540
Tribe(s): Umo’n Hon Nation and Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
Location: Nebraska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $1,500,000
Grantee: United Tribes Technical College
PR# S299A200039
Project Name: Monarch Project
# of Students Served: 1,832
Tribe(s): Multiple
Location: California
Grade Levels: 9-12
Funding Amount: $624,947
Grantee: Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
PR# S299A200014
Project Name: Pisichu Enrichment Academy for Knowledge (PEAK)
# of Students Served: 750
Tribe(s): Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Location: Colorado
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $887,079
Grantee: Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
PR# S299A200052
Project Name: Education Pathways to Student Success (EPSS)
# of Students Served: 400
Tribe(s): Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Location: Nebraska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $146,567
Grantee: Yerington Paiute Tribe
PR# S299A200027
Project Name: Monarch Project
# of Students Served: 150
Tribe(s): Yerington Paiute Tribe
Location: Nevada
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $253,336
Grantee: Yukon Flats School District
PR# S299A200024
Project Name: Tribal Leaders of Tomorrow Indian Children and Youth Demonstration
# of Students Served: 275
Tribe(s): Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribe (Native Village of Fort Yukon)
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $656,964
Grantee: Yukon-Koyukuk School District
PR# S299A200030
Project Name: ESTEEM (Emotional Skills Training for Educational Excellence & Motivation)
# of Students Served: 315
Tribe(s): Hughes Village, Native Village of Minto, Nulato Village, Village of Kaltag, Rampart Village, Allakaket Village, Koyukuk Native Village, and Native Village of Ruby
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $1,405,086
Grantee: Yukon-Koyukuk School District
PR# S299A200043
Project Name: YKSD Interior Choices Project (Career, Hope, and Options for Indigenous Communities through Educational Structure)
# of Students Served: 2,300
Tribe(s): Allakaket Village, Hughes Village, Huslia Village, Nulato Village, Village of Kaltag, Koyukuk Native Village, Native Village of Minto, Native Village of Ruby, and Rampart Village
Location: Alaska
Grade Levels: 7-12
Funding Amount: $774,408
Grantee: Yurok Tribe
PR# S299A200020
Project Name: Native Educational Choices and Empowerment Project (NECEP)
# of Students Served: 2,000
Tribe(s): Yurok Tribe
Location: California
Grade Levels: K-12
Funding Amount: $1,038,353
American Indian Resource Center, Inc. PR# S299A180040 (OK) ($824,371)
The American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) applicant, will implement the Sequoyah Project, which represents two counties with two rural schools in these counties being our main LEA partners: Sequoyah High School (Cherokee County, BIE-funded) and Vian Public Schools (Sequoyah County). Other schools to be served include 11 sites in Sequoyah County. The Cherokee Nation Educational Department will represent the Cherokee Nation (tribe), Cherokee Nation Foundation and Carl Albert State College will be partners. The Sequoyah Project will use several strategies to meet the need of College and Career Readiness of American Indian students in 20 school sites by using evidenced-based curriculum and proven program strategies. The outcomes of the project is to provide an overall comprehensive approach to college and career readiness for American Indian students, 5- 12 grades, living in Cherokee and Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. The strategies used to reach these outcomes and the GPRA goals are Leadership, Cultural Identification, Academic Enrichment, STREAM, Virtual Learning, ACT test strategies, and Financial Literacy Defined Local Geographical Area Served by the Project: Project Sequoyah, represents the two counties (Cherokee and Sequoyah (southern area) in northeast Oklahoma) we will be serving- the Indian students (2,320) in grades 5-12th grades in 20 schools in these counties, located in rural northeastern Oklahoma in the heart of Cherokee Nation jurisdictional/tribal area and in Cherokee County, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Barriers and Opportunities Addressed by the Project: Barriers include: low income first generation college, low educational levels, high drop-out rate, teenage pregnancy and the lack or desire to achieve any type of college degree/certificate, the isolated location of their schools and its proximity to opportunities and lack of structured mentoring/educational enrichment. American Indian Resource Center, Inc. Opportunities include partner coordination to deliver services to these communities and learn how to have a “Positive Tomorrow”, productive citizen and “BE BEST” (Melania Trump). Community Based Strategies and Measurable Objectives of the Project: Strategies will be to meet the need of College and Career Readiness of American Indian students using evidenced based curriculum and proven program designs. These schools will have access to several community based strategies and tools (Leadership, Cultural Identification, Academic Enrichment, STREAM, Virtual Learning (interactive field trips/ Skype, ZOOM), OIE/ACT Testing Strategies (adapted for cultural and age level), and Financial Literacy (Junior Achievement programs through the Cherokee Nation Foundation) and “CASC” Positive Tomorrow. Objective 1. By the end of the 48 months, 80 percent of students will have increased their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale by 10% by participating in Leadership strategy: Project Venture (5-8), Challenge Day, (7 high schools) Native Hope and Cultural Identification, (5-12). Objective 2: By the end of each school year, 80 percent of students participating in Academic Enrichment, STREAM, testing strategies (12 elementary schools), Virtual Learning/ZOOM; will demonstrate an increase in 5 percentage points in two of their core subjects; and those students participating in ACT test strategies (12 elementary and 8 high schools) will demonstrate an increase of 1-2 point on ACT retest. Objective 3: At the end of each school year, the 5th; 6th & 8th grades (12 elementary schools) will have participated in the Junior Achievement strategy and career exploration (5-12th) with an emphasis on careers with a tribal emphasis with 90percent completion rate.
NYCP: GULGA is designed to assist participants in identifying and securing qualifying employment as outlined in the following table: To be GULGA in College Ready a student: | To be GULGA in Career Ready a student: |
Earns the equivalent of 12 college hours through a combination of Dual Credit or Advanced Placement Tests. | Completes all courses within at least one chosen CTE field w/a GPA of 3.0 or higher. |
Completes 40+ hours of job shadow/intern in the chosen career/major field. | Completes 40+ hours of job shadow/intern in the chosen CTE or related field. |
Attends at least 1 counseling meeting per quarter 8th-12th grade. | Attends at least 1 counseling meeting per quarter 8th-12th grade. |
Attends at least 1 tribal/cultural learning event | Attends at least 1 tribal/cultural learning event |
Attends at least 1 College and Workforce Visit off POW. | Attends at least 1 College and Workforce Visit off POW. |
Completes a Service/Career Project. | Completes a Service/Career Project. |
Completes all state and district mandated graduation requirements. | Completes all state and district mandated graduation requirements. |
College and Career Readiness | Student persistence, motivation, career exploration, skill building for college application processes, job readiness, cultural connections |
Family/ Support | Poverty, ATOD use and abuse, health/wellness, parental involvement/support; risk/protective factors, ready access to support services, transportation; school choice |
Culture and Leadership | Cultural awareness and knowledge, high mobility rates, culture as prevention, risk/protective factors, a sense of belongingness |
Community Partnership | Collaborative reach/capacity, interagency communication, and planning together as a community |
1. Alaska Gateway School District (AK) $954,977 S299A170053 (PDF, 21MB) Alaska Gateway School District and its district, tribal government and tribal organization partners will implement Project RAVE (Rural Alaska Village Entrepreneurs). Tribal partners include the Tanana Chiefs Conference, the Mentasta Traditional Council, the Native Village of Tanacross, the Native Village of Tetlin, the Northway Native Association and the Tok Native Association. The Project RAVE goals include: reducing the drop-out rate; increasing the number of students who are ready for and who attend post-secondary school; and who ultimately find local gainful employment or create their own opportunities. The majority of the career pathway courses will be delivered through blended online courses, which will be merged into the traditional classroom setting.
Alaska Gateway School District (AK) $787,544 S299A160048 (PDF, 25MB)
The Alaska Gateway School District has proposed the Alaska – Care and Husbandry Instruction for Lifelong Living (A-CHILL) as their Native Youth Community Project. The geographic area to be served by this project is the Alaska Gateway School District and Yukon-Koyukuk School District covering an area of approximately 93,000 miles. The Hughes Village Council, Kaltag Tribal Council, Manley Hot Spring Traditional Council, Koyukuk Tribal Council, Ruby Tribal Council, Chief’s Conference, Mushers Association, Brightways Learning, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and partners seek to create systemic, sustainable change for Alaska Native youth by addressing career and post-secondary educational needs for students in grades 7-12. The barriers identified by the community survey and through analysis of the youth data are: graduation rates below 50% for Alaska Native students, lack of career readiness upon leaving school, lack of exposure to higher education opportunities and the need for greater exposure to cultural heritage. A-CHILL proposes to make changes through the development of a career educational program involving veterinary sciences, animal husbandry and cultural training. By leveraging expertise from high school programs, UAF programs and tribal elders related to the dog sledding industry, students will be incentivized to stay in school and consider the region’s rich cultural her
Community-based strategies to address barriers to college- and career-readiness include FAST and SAFE (Sequential; Active; Focused; Explicit) tutoring frameworks for middle school students; mental health first aid training for all tutors and/or interested KPBSD teaching staff; Positive Youth Development-focused tutoring and leadership opportunities available through Kenaitze Yaghanen program and Youth Council; and health and human services delivery for targeted students that is based on Trauma-Informed Care and Kenaitze’s Dene Model of holistic healthcare.
I Can Career Pathways Measures predict: 60% of students will raise their scores on the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP), the ACT, and WorkKeys assessments; a minimum of 40% of Native Youth will complete 20+ hours of job-shadowing and internships each year; 100% of students following in the I Can Career Pathway will experience 80+ hours of technical, social, and cultural life outside of Kodiak; and 60% of students will earn at least one technical certification.
I Can College Pathway Measures predict: 60% of students will raise their scores on the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP), the ACT, and AP assessments; 40% of Native Youth will complete 10+ hours of job-shadowing, internships and community service yearly; 100% of students following the I Can College Pathway will experience 80+ hours of professional, college, social, and cultural life outside of Kodiak; by graduation 60% will have earned at least 18 hours of college credit; and there will be a 50% increase of students that complete post-secondary programs or go to work.
NWABSD has developed a strong career and technical education curriculum for high school within the Star of the Northwest Magnet school that focuses on 4 pillars – culinary arts, education, process technology and health. This grant would focus on middle school students to prepare them for college- and career-readiness through participation in Junior Achievement and the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, a model STEM program for Alaska Native students supported by University of Alaska. Barriers have existed because of the cost to design and support the initial phases of both programs. Community, local entities and businesses support the efforts as demonstrated by previous discussions and designation of priorities. The proposed sites include all of NWABSD’s schools. Sites serving students K-12 include Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kivalina, Kiana, Kobuk, Noatak, Noorvik, Shungnak and Selawik. Kotzebue houses two schools: June Nelson Elementary and Kotzebue Middle/Senior High. All sites outside of Kotzebue are served by air transport daily, the only way to regularly access the sites. The area to be served is a remote geographic region.
The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) is a 374,000-acre Indian Reservation located in South Central Arizona, bordering the Phoenix metropolitan area. The community lies south of the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Chandler, and north of Casa Grande. GRIC is the fourth largest federally recognized Native American Tribe in the United States and consists of two distinct tribes, the Pimas (Akimel O’Odham) and Maricopas (Pee Posh). The seeds for readiness are planted in the home—readiness for school, readiness for career success, readiness for college. Gila River Tribal families stand among thousands of Indian families nationwide who fight a continuing battle to achieve optimal conditions for growing career-oriented learners that are ready, in the words of Barack Obama, “for the special role they will play as citizens of tribal nations in defining the future of this country, and also in leading Native cultures, traditions, and governments into the next century.” This project is designed to establish a student-centered, community-based model that leverages existing programs and services to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of preschool, elementary, and secondary Indian students. We intend to grow readers and develop leaders across the Gila River Indian Reservation by overcoming the biggest barriers to college- and career-readiness—book scarcity and poor habits of self-determined reading; limited access to quality early childhood education; and low academic achievement in grades K-8.
The three goals of the program will serve to address an overarching problem that the Picacho Project can make an impact on—chronic absenteeism and truancy rates, which are among the top barriers to student achievement. The Picacho Project aims to reach the approximately 300 American Indian/Alaska Native students from K-12th grade of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation and adjacent district townships of Bard, Winterhaven, Andrade and Felicity, California. The Parent Academy’s objectives will be to educate and create awareness of the importance of attendance, examine extensive barriers that cause attendance problems/truancy, foster parent to parent support, improve parent to school district rapport and parent involvement in community activities. The enhanced tutoring segment will augment the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program’s afterschool and summer tutoring programs by utilizing a teacher’s pool from the school district that will infuse teachers whom can assist the JOM program staff and tutors with developing curriculum for tutoring, while training JOM tutors on styles and methods in the process.
The Cultural and Heritage Awareness program objective will be to promote and expand upon existing programs as a means to ignite and revive parents of and AI/AN students with one of the most critical aspects of the indigenous spirit – its culture. This objective will bring local and regional speakers on culture to teach Quechan culture and create Tribal cultural awareness on a broader level. This objective will also provide support to the school district staff through cultural awareness workshops that will focus on cultural sensitivity, explaining customs and how they affect learning and attendance and other necessary information to address early intervention of problematic issues.
The Career Exploration objectives will expose AI/AN students to pathways leading to career or job readiness upon high school graduation. Trips to local and regional industries and services will allow the students to explore the types of jobs in demand, thus learning of coursework needed to obtain certificates, skills and degrees to achieve career goals. Opportunities for participation in local community events and regional youth leadership conferences that focus on STEM and other driving industries will bolster the exploration experience.
Project goals include focusing on academic performance by using culturally relevant and academically challenging lessons based on the Karuk cultural heritage and modern day science principles, improving college and career readiness of participating students through local partner resources such as Humboldt State University’s, Indian Natural Resources and Science and Engineering program enabling them to be better prepared for college or career once they leave high school.
The purpose of the project is to: a) Increase cultural awareness & education among AI students and school district staff; b) Increase AI students’ attendance, college admission, vocational programs enrollment and standard test scores; c) Increase peer to peer support and parent involvement;
program will offer a holistic college and career program using research-based and community-based strategies with measureable objectives. The program will be implemented in partnership with Tribal programs, families, community partners and supported by local policies, existing programs, practices, service providers, and funding sources. Regularly scheduled activities to support students’ college- and career-readiness, school success, mental health, and physical health will take place during the school day, after school, and on early release days for middle school students (grades 5-8) who attend the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School and Plummer-Worley Schools. As a result of this project, there will be a measurable increase in several areas of student engagement, achievement, and family engagement including: GPA in core middle school courses, students scoring proficient or higher on state assessment, high school students applying for scholarships and FAFSA, student participation in college- and career-readiness activities, participation rate of youth in summer internships, and parent engagement in college- and career-readiness activities. In addition, there will be a measurable increase in participation in healthy living activities, motivation/persistence, healthy relationships, financial literacy and physical and cultural activities.
We will be serving approximately 722 Indian students in grades 4-12 in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. The project is located in rural west central Louisiana. Deemed the worst flooding in the state since 1948, the disastrous floods of 2015 and 2016 brought not only high waters but destruction and heart break. The disaster continues to have a deep and devastating impact on families living in Sabine Parish. Sabine Parish was declared a federal disaster area, one of the thirty-seven named within Louisiana. A needs assessment and analysis of data sources determined the greatest barriers both in and out of school include 1) area demographics, 2) limited cultural awareness, 3) lack of appropriate homework environments, 4) lack of access to computer and technology for learning, 5) low student academic engagement and opportunities for active learning, and, 6) lack of systematic effort to improve preparation for college, career, and leadership. Common barriers to Indian student academic achievement and career aspirations include adverse socioeconomic factors, limited access to high quality teachers and instruction, and low levels of family and community involvement.
To support the program goal and address both the barriers and the opportunities, the Education Department of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe and the lead tribal agency for the program (TEA), is partnering with two local education agencies (LEAs), namely the Mashpee School District and the Barnstable School District, in the towns with the highest percentage of Mashpee Wampanoag Youth, to support the program implementation. The Mâyuhtyâôk Program will serve Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal youth who are located geographically in Barnstable County, on Cape Cod in Southeastern Massachusetts.
The name of the project, “Es Xcimi”, is Salish for “getting ready or becoming prepared.” Thus, this is the focus of the project: to teach and support American Indian (AI) youth in culturally responsive ways so they become better prepared for success in their lives through an array of career and college choices. Es Xcimi: Braiding Resources to Increase College and Career Readiness of American Indian Students (BRICCR) will serve the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana. This project plans to increase the college and career mentoring and education of AI students through the following goals: 1) to enhance the discipline-based literacy skills of PreK-12th grade students; 2) to enhance the STEM career awareness and readiness skills for PreK-12th grade students; 3) to implement culturally relevant, research-based instructional methods to enhance PreK-12th grade student academic mindsets and other related non-cognitive factors; 4) to create a model, data-driven, collaborative structure for improving the college- and career-readiness of PreK-12th grade AI students that can be replicated throughout the Flathead Reservation, the state on Montana, and nationally, as well.
Located in south-central Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation is a federally-recognized American Indian (AI) tribe with an established Tribal Education Agency (TEA). There are a total of 65 school districts within the TEA tribal boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation’s 7,648 square miles of jurisdictional territory. The proposed project will be implemented solely within the Chickasaw Nation’s tribal boundaries and will focus on Native American students enrolled in the 14 school districts located within Carter and Pontotoc Counties, which contain the highest Native American enrollment of all the counties in Chickasaw Nation’s tribal boundaries. In addition, the State Tribal Education Partnership Program’s referral system (information acquired from teachers, administrators, counselors, Indian education coordinators and parents/guardians) identified specific social, cultural and educational barriers that plague AI/AN students within the Chickasaw Nation’s tribal jurisdiction, including absences due to lack of transportation to school, utilities being disconnected, bullying due to appearance, undiagnosed hearing and vision conditions, juvenile delinquency as a result of substance abuse and a lack of parental involvement. The TEA will coordinate with local programs within Pontotoc County, as well as entities within Carter County to provide enhanced educational opportunities and counseling, as well as promote the development of strategies to address the identified barriers to educational success.
Goals are to improve academic skills, improve college/career readiness and increase high school completion. Objectives are to increase proficiency on the reading and math state test by 10%; increase graduation rate by 20%; decrease dropout rate by 3% or to zero; improve average ACT score to 20; increase college ready benchmarks by 5%; and increase students taking dual enrollment or advanced placement courses to half of 11-12th grade students. All objectives will be within the context of increasing Lakota language and cultural pride. We will make full use of the existing programs that address these areas and add the services that will address unmet needs. Anticipated outcomes are improved academic achievement, increased high school completion, college- and career-readiness, and ultimately more opportunities for youth to have improved economic status and educational attainment.
The SWO grant will develop, and sustain in the future, the following activities: 1) learning academies through partnerships to ensure all students are college- and career-ready and 2) wrap-around programs that will actively teach, reinforce and instill protective factors. Barriers that the SWO youth face include: lack of opportunity due to the rural setting, below-proficiency academic performance for students at tribal schools, lack of career and technical education available for students, suicide completion and ideation increasing every year for the past years (lack comprehensive data prior to that), negative behavior that impacts and impedes education opportunity, poor attendance, and lack of digital/technological instruction and usage to engage students in meaningful opportunities. The educational and wrap-around opportunities that will be addressed in this project are within the Tribal schools, Head Start, and the Youth Department.
The design will utilize the Collective Impact Model (CIM) to create systemic change that will sustain the action oriented goals. The CIM utilizes a structured process to create social change. It brings a full team of focused individuals and concentrates efforts to implement a full education turn-around model that will instill a system change. The project will employ research- and evidence-based implementation of curriculum to create a wrap-around model for students.
SJSD is located in Southeastern Utah in the Four Corners area. The project will serve approximately 1,600 San Juan School District Native American students, both Navajo and Ute, located in 9 district schools. Five of the schools are located within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. The other four are in close proximity of both the White Mesa Ute Community and the Navajo Nation.
SJSD Native Youth often face barriers such as: fragmented services due to jurisdiction challenges and poor communication between providers and the school; ineffective and culturally inappropriate school discipline measures; and poor preparation for college and career futures due in part to lack of culturally relevant curriculum. Opportunities to address barriers are: a great willingness of all partners to engage in the project to improve quality of services; a realization from the district that changes in discipline approaches are needed and will be more successful; and the discovery of Dream Navigator, a company who specializes in indigenous people’s curriculum development. Community-based strategies include establishing an Executive Council Steering Committee of representatives from the Navajo and Ute tribes, agencies and schools which will meet biannually to review project progress and make recommendations for improvements. School communities will hold a monthly collaborative staffing meeting where members will plan for services for the most needy students and their families. A Ute Mountain Ute committee will develop their own version of Peacemaking.
Community-based strategies to address barriers to college- and career-readiness include FAST and SAFE (Sequential; Active; Focused; Explicit) tutoring frameworks for middle school students; mental health first aid training for all tutors and/or interested KPBSD teaching staff; Positive Youth Development-focused tutoring and leadership opportunities available through Kenaitze Yaghanen program and Youth Council; and health and human services delivery for targeted students that is based on Trauma-Informed Care and Kenaitze’s Dene Model of holistic healthcare.
I Can Career Pathways Measures predict: 60% of students will raise their scores on the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP), the ACT, and WorkKeys assessments; a minimum of 40% of Native Youth will complete 20+ hours of job-shadowing and internships each year; 100% of students following in the I Can Career Pathway will experience 80+ hours of technical, social, and cultural life outside of Kodiak; and 60% of students will earn at least one technical certification.
I Can College Pathway Measures predict: 60% of students will raise their scores on the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP), the ACT, and AP assessments; 40% of Native Youth will complete 10+ hours of job-shadowing, internships and community service yearly; 100% of students following the I Can College Pathway will experience 80+ hours of professional, college, social, and cultural life outside of Kodiak; by graduation 60% will have earned at least 18 hours of college credit; and there will be a 50% increase of students that complete post-secondary programs or go to work.
NWABSD has developed a strong career and technical education curriculum for high school within the Star of the Northwest Magnet school that focuses on 4 pillars – culinary arts, education, process technology and health. This grant would focus on middle school students to prepare them for college- and career-readiness through participation in Junior Achievement and the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, a model STEM program for Alaska Native students supported by University of Alaska. Barriers have existed because of the cost to design and support the initial phases of both programs. Community, local entities and businesses support the efforts as demonstrated by previous discussions and designation of priorities. The proposed sites include all of NWABSD’s schools. Sites serving students K-12 include Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kivalina, Kiana, Kobuk, Noatak, Noorvik, Shungnak and Selawik. Kotzebue houses two schools: June Nelson Elementary and Kotzebue Middle/Senior High. All sites outside of Kotzebue are served by air transport daily, the only way to regularly access the sites. The area to be served is a remote geographic region.
The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) is a 374,000-acre Indian Reservation located in South Central Arizona, bordering the Phoenix metropolitan area. The community lies south of the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Chandler, and north of Casa Grande. GRIC is the fourth largest federally recognized Native American Tribe in the United States and consists of two distinct tribes, the Pimas (Akimel O’Odham) and Maricopas (Pee Posh). The seeds for readiness are planted in the home—readiness for school, readiness for career success, readiness for college. Gila River Tribal families stand among thousands of Indian families nationwide who fight a continuing battle to achieve optimal conditions for growing career-oriented learners that are ready, in the words of Barack Obama, “for the special role they will play as citizens of tribal nations in defining the future of this country, and also in leading Native cultures, traditions, and governments into the next century.” This project is designed to establish a student-centered, community-based model that leverages existing programs and services to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of preschool, elementary, and secondary Indian students. We intend to grow readers and develop leaders across the Gila River Indian Reservation by overcoming the biggest barriers to college- and career-readiness—book scarcity and poor habits of self-determined reading; limited access to quality early childhood education; and low academic achievement in grades K-8.
The three goals of the program will serve to address an overarching problem that the Picacho Project can make an impact on—chronic absenteeism and truancy rates, which are among the top barriers to student achievement. The Picacho Project aims to reach the approximately 300 American Indian/Alaska Native students from K-12th grade of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation and adjacent district townships of Bard, Winterhaven, Andrade and Felicity, California. The Parent Academy’s objectives will be to educate and create awareness of the importance of attendance, examine extensive barriers that cause attendance problems/truancy, foster parent to parent support, improve parent to school district rapport and parent involvement in community activities. The enhanced tutoring segment will augment the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program’s afterschool and summer tutoring programs by utilizing a teacher’s pool from the school district that will infuse teachers whom can assist the JOM program staff and tutors with developing curriculum for tutoring, while training JOM tutors on styles and methods in the process.
The Cultural and Heritage Awareness program objective will be to promote and expand upon existing programs as a means to ignite and revive parents of and AI/AN students with one of the most critical aspects of the indigenous spirit – its culture. This objective will bring local and regional speakers on culture to teach Quechan culture and create Tribal cultural awareness on a broader level. This objective will also provide support to the school district staff through cultural awareness workshops that will focus on cultural sensitivity, explaining customs and how they affect learning and attendance and other necessary information to address early intervention of problematic issues.
The Career Exploration objectives will expose AI/AN students to pathways leading to career or job readiness upon high school graduation. Trips to local and regional industries and services will allow the students to explore the types of jobs in demand, thus learning of coursework needed to obtain certificates, skills and degrees to achieve career goals. Opportunities for participation in local community events and regional youth leadership conferences that focus on STEM and other driving industries will bolster the exploration experience.
Project goals include focusing on academic performance by using culturally relevant and academically challenging lessons based on the Karuk cultural heritage and modern day science principles, improving college and career readiness of participating students through local partner resources such as Humboldt State University’s, Indian Natural Resources and Science and Engineering program enabling them to be better prepared for college or career once they leave high school.
The purpose of the project is to: a) Increase cultural awareness & education among AI students and school district staff; b) Increase AI students’ attendance, college admission, vocational programs enrollment and standard test scores; c) Increase peer to peer support and parent involvement;
program will offer a holistic college and career program using research-based and community-based strategies with measureable objectives. The program will be implemented in partnership with Tribal programs, families, community partners and supported by local policies, existing programs, practices, service providers, and funding sources. Regularly scheduled activities to support students’ college- and career-readiness, school success, mental health, and physical health will take place during the school day, after school, and on early release days for middle school students (grades 5-8) who attend the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School and Plummer-Worley Schools. As a result of this project, there will be a measurable increase in several areas of student engagement, achievement, and family engagement including: GPA in core middle school courses, students scoring proficient or higher on state assessment, high school students applying for scholarships and FAFSA, student participation in college- and career-readiness activities, participation rate of youth in summer internships, and parent engagement in college- and career-readiness activities. In addition, there will be a measurable increase in participation in healthy living activities, motivation/persistence, healthy relationships, financial literacy and physical and cultural activities.
We will be serving approximately 722 Indian students in grades 4-12 in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. The project is located in rural west central Louisiana. Deemed the worst flooding in the state since 1948, the disastrous floods of 2015 and 2016 brought not only high waters but destruction and heart break. The disaster continues to have a deep and devastating impact on families living in Sabine Parish. Sabine Parish was declared a federal disaster area, one of the thirty-seven named within Louisiana. A needs assessment and analysis of data sources determined the greatest barriers both in and out of school include 1) area demographics, 2) limited cultural awareness, 3) lack of appropriate homework environments, 4) lack of access to computer and technology for learning, 5) low student academic engagement and opportunities for active learning, and, 6) lack of systematic effort to improve preparation for college, career, and leadership. Common barriers to Indian student academic achievement and career aspirations include adverse socioeconomic factors, limited access to high quality teachers and instruction, and low levels of family and community involvement.
To support the program goal and address both the barriers and the opportunities, the Education Department of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe and the lead tribal agency for the program (TEA), is partnering with two local education agencies (LEAs), namely the Mashpee School District and the Barnstable School District, in the towns with the highest percentage of Mashpee Wampanoag Youth, to support the program implementation. The Mâyuhtyâôk Program will serve Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal youth who are located geographically in Barnstable County, on Cape Cod in Southeastern Massachusetts.
The name of the project, “Es Xcimi”, is Salish for “getting ready or becoming prepared.” Thus, this is the focus of the project: to teach and support American Indian (AI) youth in culturally responsive ways so they become better prepared for success in their lives through an array of career and college choices. Es Xcimi: Braiding Resources to Increase College and Career Readiness of American Indian Students (BRICCR) will serve the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana. This project plans to increase the college and career mentoring and education of AI students through the following goals: 1) to enhance the discipline-based literacy skills of PreK-12th grade students; 2) to enhance the STEM career awareness and readiness skills for PreK-12th grade students; 3) to implement culturally relevant, research-based instructional methods to enhance PreK-12th grade student academic mindsets and other related non-cognitive factors; 4) to create a model, data-driven, collaborative structure for improving the college- and career-readiness of PreK-12th grade AI students that can be replicated throughout the Flathead Reservation, the state on Montana, and nationally, as well.
Located in south-central Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation is a federally-recognized American Indian (AI) tribe with an established Tribal Education Agency (TEA). There are a total of 65 school districts within the TEA tribal boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation’s 7,648 square miles of jurisdictional territory. The proposed project will be implemented solely within the Chickasaw Nation’s tribal boundaries and will focus on Native American students enrolled in the 14 school districts located within Carter and Pontotoc Counties, which contain the highest Native American enrollment of all the counties in Chickasaw Nation’s tribal boundaries. In addition, the State Tribal Education Partnership Program’s referral system (information acquired from teachers, administrators, counselors, Indian education coordinators and parents/guardians) identified specific social, cultural and educational barriers that plague AI/AN students within the Chickasaw Nation’s tribal jurisdiction, including absences due to lack of transportation to school, utilities being disconnected, bullying due to appearance, undiagnosed hearing and vision conditions, juvenile delinquency as a result of substance abuse and a lack of parental involvement. The TEA will coordinate with local programs within Pontotoc County, as well as entities within Carter County to provide enhanced educational opportunities and counseling, as well as promote the development of strategies to address the identified barriers to educational success.
Goals are to improve academic skills, improve college/career readiness and increase high school completion. Objectives are to increase proficiency on the reading and math state test by 10%; increase graduation rate by 20%; decrease dropout rate by 3% or to zero; improve average ACT score to 20; increase college ready benchmarks by 5%; and increase students taking dual enrollment or advanced placement courses to half of 11-12th grade students. All objectives will be within the context of increasing Lakota language and cultural pride. We will make full use of the existing programs that address these areas and add the services that will address unmet needs. Anticipated outcomes are improved academic achievement, increased high school completion, college- and career-readiness, and ultimately more opportunities for youth to have improved economic status and educational attainment.
The SWO grant will develop, and sustain in the future, the following activities: 1) learning academies through partnerships to ensure all students are college- and career-ready and 2) wrap-around programs that will actively teach, reinforce and instill protective factors. Barriers that the SWO youth face include: lack of opportunity due to the rural setting, below-proficiency academic performance for students at tribal schools, lack of career and technical education available for students, suicide completion and ideation increasing every year for the past years (lack comprehensive data prior to that), negative behavior that impacts and impedes education opportunity, poor attendance, and lack of digital/technological instruction and usage to engage students in meaningful opportunities. The educational and wrap-around opportunities that will be addressed in this project are within the Tribal schools, Head Start, and the Youth Department.
The design will utilize the Collective Impact Model (CIM) to create systemic change that will sustain the action oriented goals. The CIM utilizes a structured process to create social change. It brings a full team of focused individuals and concentrates efforts to implement a full education turn-around model that will instill a system change. The project will employ research- and evidence-based implementation of curriculum to create a wrap-around model for students.
SJSD is located in Southeastern Utah in the Four Corners area. The project will serve approximately 1,600 San Juan School District Native American students, both Navajo and Ute, located in 9 district schools. Five of the schools are located within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. The other four are in close proximity of both the White Mesa Ute Community and the Navajo Nation.
SJSD Native Youth often face barriers such as: fragmented services due to jurisdiction challenges and poor communication between providers and the school; ineffective and culturally inappropriate school discipline measures; and poor preparation for college and career futures due in part to lack of culturally relevant curriculum. Opportunities to address barriers are: a great willingness of all partners to engage in the project to improve quality of services; a realization from the district that changes in discipline approaches are needed and will be more successful; and the discovery of Dream Navigator, a company who specializes in indigenous people’s curriculum development. Community-based strategies include establishing an Executive Council Steering Committee of representatives from the Navajo and Ute tribes, agencies and schools which will meet biannually to review project progress and make recommendations for improvements. School communities will hold a monthly collaborative staffing meeting where members will plan for services for the most needy students and their families. A Ute Mountain Ute committee will develop their own version of Peacemaking.