2015 NATIVE YOUTH COMMUNITY PROJECTS

American Indian Resource Center, Inc. (OK)
S299A150021: The Four Directions Project

The Four Directions project will address the Career and College Readiness needs of the Indian students in grades 5-8 in the Cherokee County area. The project partners are American Indian Resource Center (AIRC), Cherokee Immersion Charter School, Cherokee Nation Educational Department, and Cherokee Foundation. The Four Directions represents the four partners and the four components of the project, (Leadership, Educational Enrichment, Financial Literacy and STEM Theory). The overall outcomes of the project are to increase the career and college readiness of American Indian 5th-8th grade students in 12 Cherokee County, Oklahoma public schools. The objectives of the project are as follows: 1) Increase in self-esteem and locus control; 2) Increase in grade point; 3) Increase in financial literacy; 4) Increase in STEM related course
grade point. As a result we will see an increase in American Indian students ready for career exploration at the high school level and an increase in American Indian students being ready for high school college track.

Number of Participants: Up to 1,500
Contact: Georgia Dick
Address: 110 W. Choctaw Street
City, ST: Tahlequah, OK
Phone: 918-456-5581
Application Download: S299A150021 PDF13.1K

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Osage County Interlocal Cooperative (OK)
S299A150023: Project AAIMS’ (Advancing American Indians in Medical and STEM careers)

The Project AAIMS’project promotes college and career readiness of approximately 1,439 Indian students from 26 tribes in nine districts and twenty sites in Northeastern Oklahoma. The project partners include Osage County Interlocal Cooperative, Anderson Public School, Bowring Public School, Frontier Public Schools, Hominy Public Schools, Osage Hills Public Schools, Pawuska Public schools, Shidler Public Schools, Woodland Public Schools, the Osage Nation, and the Otoe-Missouri Tribe. Through the partnerships and activities developed in this proposal, Indian students in the communities of the Osage and Otoe-Missouria reservations will begin preparation for college and careers in early childhood continuing through high school graduation. Outcomes for students include: leaving early childhood programs kindergarten ready; increasing math, science and reading scores; improving ACT scores; receiving more instruction time, increasing academic engagement and performance; seeing Native American role models in STEM jobs; relating Native culture to medical and science practices; and becoming aware of potential careers and understanding the education requirements associated with professionals in STEM jobs. Teachers will increase their content knowledge in STEM subjects, have access to STEM professionals in their classrooms as mentors or examples of real-world applications; and incorporate cultural aspects to curriculum.

Number of Participants: 1,439
Contact: Jacque Canady
Address: 207 E. Main
City, ST: Hominy, OK
Phone: 918-885-2667

Application Download: S299A150023 PDF13.1K

Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (AK)
S299A150025: Journey Ahead

Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (CITC), in partnership with the Anchorage School District (ASD), proposes Journey Ahead, a middle-school intervention designed to improve the college and career readiness
of Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) students in Anchorage, Alaska. Journey Ahead will improve outcomes key to developing college and career readiness, including academic achievement, attendance, and
perceptions of a respectful school climate and caring adults, and provide advocacy services and referrals for supportive services. The objectives of the project include: providing complementary, culturally-informed
STEM-skill building programming to AN/AI middle school youth, resulting in students being on target for enrollment in academically challenging and rigorous high school coursework as measured by proficiency in Math,
Reading, and Science on the Alaska Measures of Progress criterion referenced achievement test at the end of four years. Enrolled students will meet or exceed 90% school attendance. CITC-enrolled students will
perceive a respectful school climate within their classroom and/or school, and that adults are caring and have high expectations for them. Also, the project will provide advocacy services to CITC-enrolled students
and their families.

Number of Participants: 210
Contact: David Crowson
Address: 3600 San Jeronimo Drive
City, ST: Anchorage, AK
Phone: 907-793-3101

Application Download: S299A150025 PDF13.1K

Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe Inc. (NC)
S299A150027: The Haliwa-Saponi Native Youth Initiative (HSNYI)
The Haliwa-Saponi Native Youth Initiative proposes to better prepare the American Indian students in rural southeastern Warren and rural southwestern Halifax Counties in North Carolina for college, career readiness and life. The project partners are Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School, Halifax County Schools, Warren County Schools, Iredell-Statesville Schools, PLC Teacher Support Structures, and Warren County Youth Services Bureau. The project is designed to serve all Native students from each LEA. Informed sets of data revealed both in-and-out of school barriers. The project is designed to increase Native student agency, to ground academic rigor with cultural responsiveness in K-12 initiatives (i.e., including ACT preparation, and redefining “NaTivE” culture to include career and college readiness), and increase parent and tribal community involvement. The HSNYI Indigenized Logic Model and theory of action supports a Collectivistic Approach, from which emerged an opportunity to create a culturally responsive system of education and
community-based programs to support students.

Number of Participants: 4,300
Contact: Archie Lynch
Address: P.O. 99
City, ST: Hollister, NC
Phone: 252-586-4017 x222

Application Download: S299A150027 PDF13.1K

Circle of Nations School (ND)
S299A150039: Circle of Nations School Native Youth Community Project

Circle of Nations School Native Youth Community Project will improve education indicators for college and career readiness through a community-wide approach providing academic, social and other supports promoting
school engagement and commitment to learning, which is the primary barrier among Circle of Nations School (CNS) students. CNS is a BIE-funded boarding school that serves students in grades 4-8. The project partners
are Circle of Nations School, Boys and Girls Club of the Three Affiliated Tribes, United Tribes Technical College Land Grant Extension, University of North Dakota Indians into Medicine Program, and the Sisseton-Wahpeton
Oyate. Expected outcomes are: increased measures for school improvement plan, youth developmental assets, physical fitness, health behavior, academic achievement, and cultural pride evidenced by objective and subjective evaluation methodology. CNS will expand evidence-based progress with significant new partnerships specifically to increase knowledge, skills, and abilities around physical activity, nutrition and Native health issues while preparing our students for college and career readiness. CNS will host annual culture-based summer wellness camp with Three Tribes Boys & Girls Club and will continue building on existing partnerships to promote lifelong learning and lifetime health for Native youth.

Number of Participants: Up to 500
Contact: Lise Erdrich
Address: 832 8th St. N
City, ST: Wahpeton, ND
Phone: 701-642-3796

Application Download: S299A150039 PDF13.1K

HoChunk Community Development Corporation (NE)
S299A150040: Native Students’ College Vision Quest (NSCVQ)

HoChunk Community Development Corporation (HCCDC) proposes the Native Students’ College Vision Quest (NSCVQ) initiative to serve the Winnebago Indian Reservation in two school districts with high Native American populations. The project partners are the HoChunk Community Development Corporation, Winnebago Public Schools, the Walthill Public Schools, the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Education Department, and the Boys and Girls Club-Hocak Nisoc. NSCVQ will engage 75 elementary students per year (300 over the four year project period) and their families in evidence-based services aimed at increasing their college and career readiness. We will engage a coalition of educational and community service providers on the reservation to accomplish an earlier intervention at the elementary grades level in order to demystify the college experience, including planning and preparation, for our high need/high
potential Native American youth.

Number of Participants: 300
Contact: Brian Mathers
Address: 509 HoChunk Plaza North
City, ST: Winnebago, NE
Phone: 402-878-2192

Application Download: S299A150040 PDF13.1K

Karuk Tribe (CA)
S299A150041: Peempaah Píit (The New Road) project

Through the proposed Peempaah Píit (The New Road) project the Karuk Tribe will provide college preparatory and leadership development programs for 109 Indian children at two High Schools and three Elementary schools. The project partners are the Karuk Tribe, Happy Camp School District, KTJUSD-Orleans Elementary School, Karuk Community Development Corporation, Yreka High School, College of the Siskiyous, and the Orleans Elementary School. The project not only represents an unprecedented community-wide partnership to address the needs of students whose academic performance and very low college-going rate indicates high risk of educational failure, but also represents a comprehensive effort to address the financial, geographic, and social barriers to improving historic levels of educational attainment. The tribe will partner with three elementary schools to provide competency-based Khan Academy challenges, afterschool activities, career exploration and leadership development opportunities. The Tribe will partner with two high schools and a community college to enhance Indian students’ college preparation through a combination of academic, leadership development, and culture-based self-efficacy strengthening activities aligned with research-based frameworks for building a “college culture” and facilitating acquisition of career development skills.

Number of Participants: 1,256
Contact: Emma Lee Perez
Address: 64236 Second Avenue
City, ST: Happy Camp, CA
Phone: 530-493-1600 ext. 2022

Application Download: S299A150041 PDF13.1K

Grand View School (OK)
S299A150044: The Do Your Best Project

The Do Your Best project is a collaborative effort focused on the elementary school level in extremely rural northeast Oklahoma. The project partners are Grand View School, the Cherokee Nation, Cherokee Heritage Center, Cherokee Nation Foundation, Cornerstone Counseling, Americorps, KiBois Head Start, and the City of Tahlequah. The project will positively affect 325 students. Grand View is one of three biggest K-8 public elementary schools in Oklahoma, serving 578 students. The project partners have initiated a student and community reform project called Do Your Best that will put students on track for college and career success, beginning in their PreK years. The Do You Best program is designed to help students take the steps needed at the elementary level to set themselves up for success in post-secondary education and careers. This will be achieved through academic support, tutoring, challenging coursework, college entry assessment preparation, partnerships, and parent involvement.

Number of Participants: 325
Contact: Ed Kennedy
Address: 15481 N. Jarvis Road
City, ST: Tahlequah, OK
Phone: 918-456-5131

Application Download: S299A150044 PDF13.1K

Tribal Education Departments National Assembly Co. (CO)
S299A150045: Native Youth Community Partners (NYCP) Project

The purpose of the Tribal Education Department National Assembly (TEDNA) Native Youth Community Partners (NYCP) Project (hereafter referred to as the TEDNA NYCP Project) is to develop, test, and
demonstrate effectiveness of College and Career Readiness services and supports to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Indian students in middle and junior high school among four tribes: the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. The TEDNA NYCP Project is expected to achieve the goal that all participating Grade 6-9 Indian students will improve College and Career Readiness as defined by a successful transition into high school with a GPA greater than 2.0. The project will develop a plan that addresses and supports College and Career Readiness that is locally informed. The TEDNA NYCP Project will use community-based strategies that improve high school success among Indian students by measuring behaviors and psychosocial attributes early in their academic experience that are often overlooked in standardized tests, but critical components of their academic success. Measureable objectives of the project are: (a) to increase the academic Achievement of participating Indian students in Grades 6-9 to be College and Career Ready; (b) to increase informed College and Career Planning with Indian
students in Grades 6-9; and (c) to build a College and Career Readiness Culture so that everyone, especially educators, community, students, and families ALL believe that Indian students are capable of success in College and Career.

Number of Participants: Up to 1,120
Contact: Quinton Roman Nose
Address: 1506 Broadway
City, ST: Boulder, CO
Phone: 580-791-1694

Application Download: S299A150045 PDF13.1K

Phoenix Indian Center, Inc. (AZ)
S299A150047: Forward Promise

Forward Promise is a program designed for American Indian high school students in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The project partners are the Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian
Community, Mesa Public School District, Native American Connections, Native Health, Phoenix Indian Center, and the Phoenix Union High School District. The purpose of the program is two-fold. First, to provide
interventions focused on dropout prevention and increasing high school graduation rates. Second, to promote career training initiatives that empower students to be college and career ready. In short, our
Project Forward Promise program expects to equip its participants with the knowledge and resources they need to achieve success–>both during and after high school. Program activities include a two-week
“career explorations” camp, mentoring, monthly “Saturday Academies” which focus on academic skills, college/career readiness topics, and strengthening cultural identity as well as tutoring and College Fairs.
Last, Staff Navigators provide individualized opportunities for participants to increase knowledge of pathways to college and career, and they meet directly with parents/guardians to assess issues and provide
navigation to customized social services and other resources that will eliminate barriers for the students and their families.

Number of Participants:
Contact: Patricia Hibbeler
Address: 4520 North Central Ave.
City, ST: Phoenix, AZ
Phone: 602-264-6768

Application Download: S299A150047 PDF13.1K

Native American Community Academy Foundation (NM)
S299A150050: Native American Community Academy (NACA) Foundation

The Native American Community Academy (NACA) Foundation proposes to start-up charter schools in Northwest New Mexico. The participating communities include Cibola County (Acoma/Laguna Pueblos), Gallup, Navajo, Santa Clara Pueblo, and Shiprock. The project partners are the Native American Community Academy (NACA) Foundation, Albuquerque Public School District, Dream Dine Charter School, Dzil Ditl’ooi School of Empowerment, Action and Perseverance (DEAP), the Santa Clara Pueblo Department of Youth and Learning, and Teach For America. The foundation seeks to expand on best practices recognized at the state and national level for culturally-revitalizing, rigorous academics, and sharing of Indigenous values and perspectives in education. Following a 3-year piloting phase, the NACA-Inspired Schools Network (NISN) emerged out of community efforts to establish the first network of high-performing schools dedicated solely to Indigenous education. Through an expanding network
of member schools, NISN seeks to reimagine what Indigenous education and the school experience can be for Native students by creating schools of academic excellence and cultural relevance. NISN is committed to establishing schools in high-need Native American communities that outperform peer schools in the surrounding district and that prepare all students for success in college, careers, and their communities. The collective high academic performance of students will serve as a disruption to the current landscape of educational mediocrity and the entrenched systems that fail to serve Native American students well. Through an intensive Fellowship program and centralized network support, NISN is identifying opportunities to launch new charter schools, and/or to “restart” tribally controlled grant (TCG) schools.

Number of Participants: 300
Contact: Kara Bobroff
Address: 1000 Indian School Rd. NW
City, ST: Albuquerque, NM
Phone: 505-266-0992

Application Download: S299A150050 PDF13.1K

Lumbee Land Development (NC)
S299A150054: Project ACCESS

Project ACCESS seeks to improve access to higher education and career preparedness for American Indian youth of Robeson County, North Carolina through engagement in the process by Native youth, their families, and the tribal communities. The project partners are the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the Public Schools of Robeson County, Robeson Community College, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. To achieve its proposed outcomes, Project ACCESS seeks to attain five goals by the end of Year 4 of the grant. The goals are: 1) Introduce 240 American Indian middle and high school students, along with 1,400 family and tribal community members, to higher education through summer, day, and community camps where they gain a better understanding of higher education and its importance, the college admissions/application process, opportunities available in college, and UNC Pembroke and its historical relationship to the Lumbee community; 2) Promote an awareness of higher education and UNC Pembroke to students in the Public Schools of Robeson County and the Lumbee Tribe and its Boys & Girls Clubs through an annual county-wide “College Day;” 3) Improve the academic support and success of 40 students in the Lumbee Tribe’s Boys & Girls Clubs by implementing an academic tutoring program; 4) Increase the Public Schools of Robeson County’s American Indian student participation in Robeson Community College’s Career and 2 College Promise program to 685 students, and provide Health Sciences and STEM summer camps to broaden the exposure of the Public Schools of Robeson County’s American Indian students to higher education and STEM fields; and 5) Remove transportation and financial barriers that prevent American Indian students in the Public Schools of Robeson County from participating in Robeson Community College’s Career and College program.

Number of Participants: 1,400
Contact: April Bryant
Address: 6984 NC Hwy 711 West
City, ST: Pembroke, NC
Phone: 910-522-5471

Application Download: S299A150054 PDF13.1K