U.S. Department of Education Awards more than $6 Million to develop Indian Education and Specialized Development

The U.S. Department of Education today awarded 22 grants totaling more than $6 million to improve educational opportunities and achievement for American Indian children in 13 states and to provide professional development for individuals of American Indian descent who serve in the education field. 

"Reforming Native education has never been more important," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "To do what is best for Native students, we must collaborate with people who know the students and communities. These grants will help schools offer more opportunities for students and provide training and support to educators and others in the communities that are serving the students." 

The Department awarded 12 grants totaling $3,329,938 under the Demonstration Grants for Indian Children program, a competitive discretionary grant program that supports projects to develop, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Indian children. This grant focuses on increasing the school readiness skills of three- and four-year-old Indian children to prepare them for successful entry into kindergarten. Program funds also are used to enable Indian high school students to transition successfully to post secondary education by increasing their competency and skills in challenging subjects, including mathematics and science. 

Under the Indian Education Professional Development program, 10 grants totaling $3,329,939 are being awarded to increase the number of qualified Indian individuals in professions that serve Indian people and to provide training to qualified Indian individuals to become teachers and administrators.

National Indian Education Study divulge unstable Progress

Average math scores for fourth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools have improved since 2009 according to a national study released today, though the overall academic progress of these students has stalled since 2005.

The National Indian Education Study (NIES) study, which provides data on the educational achievement and experiences of AI/AN students, also reveals details about these students’ cultural exposure, academic aspirations, school conditions, and curriculum.

“For too many American Indian and Alaska Native students, progress in closing the achievement gap has been too slow,” said Joyce Silverthorne, Director of the Office of Indian Education. “This report provides a key opportunity for increasing our understanding of the challenge and fostering the collaboration necessary to erase the achievement gap.” 

About one-half to two-thirds of AI/AN fourth-and eighth-graders score at or above the Basic level in mathematics and reading, according to the study.

“American Indian and Alaska Native students need a top-flight education in order to fully participate in a 21st century economy, and the wide and persistent gap between our fourth- and eighth-grade Native students and their peers highlights that we need to do more to help these students,” said Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education.

Building Communities and opportunities for education in Rural America

In an increasingly interconnected world, we can no longer allow geography to be a barrier to education and opportunity in rural America.

Today, the White House Rural Council announced the U.S. Department of Education’s new online community of practice group for rural schools. Virtual communities of practice provide a platform for educators to connect to resources, tools, colleagues, experts, and learning activities, both within and beyond schools.

Rural school leaders and teachers can join this online community for rural schools by logging-on to www.schoolturnaroundsupport.org and creating an account. As membership grows, rural educators will be able to connect with peers in their home states and across the nation to exchange ideas and learn from one another.

This new community of practice is the latest effort to address the needs of rural educators. Last year, the Department of Education (ED) launched its school turnaround community to support Title I school improvement grantees. ED has scheduled a summer Webinar series to begin the dialog and introduce members to research-based best practices.

Turning around chronically low achieving schools is tough work and no one should feel they have to do this work alone.

How School Councellors can support Teachers

1. Call on counselors to help you understand the whole student. When teachers notice red flags, such as behavioral issues or grades, school counselors are prepared to help teachers gain a more complete understanding of the issues behind the actions.

2. Consult with counselors for professional advice. When teachers find themselves stuck with strategies that aren’t working with a particular student, a counselor who is trained to problem-solve can help them gain fresh ideas to age old problems.

3. Tackle problems before they become insurmountable. When teachers sense trouble brewing in class, language or behavior that causes them anxiety, they should talk with a school counselor who can help trouble-shoot and prevent a situation from escalating.

4. Offer students an empathetic listener. When students are having problems that seem personal or sensitive or that have the potential to get them into trouble, send them to a school counselor who can provide a sounding board and help them find solutions.

5. Guide students’ decision-making. When students act out repeatedly in class, teachers should inform a counselor who can work with them on decision making. School counselors can also help the child reframe the situation and illustrate how different behaviors might be in their best interest.

6. Collaborate with a counselor to integrate counseling and class lessons.  Work together to teach lessons in class about academics, careers, and personal/social issues. These lessons are preventive by design and developmental in nature to help students with their decision-making in school. For example, a lesson about bullying and harassment in a civics class could be paired with a project on laws about harassment.

7. Work with counselors and teachers to design professional development that meets your needs. In-service days provide great opportunities for counselors and teachers to explain their work and develop solutions to school-wide problems.

8. Allow a counselor to make peace. When students can’t get along in class despite the teacher’s attempts to separate them or diffuse tension, allow a counselor to mediate and work out a plan for how the two parties can peaceably coexist.

9. Explore career options. Educators may want to engage a school counselor in helping students understand how their academic work connects to specific careers.

10. Ask a counselor to clarify the severity of a problem. As students develop physically, rapid changes in their mood or behavior can leave teachers wondering whether certain behavior is a normal or a cause for deeper concern. School counselors have been trained to ask the questions that get at the heart of what’s really going on.

First time, US Department of Education recognized Green Ribbon Schools

Another historic milestone for the green schools movement, as the 78 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools announced during Earth Week were recognized at a national ceremony in Washington, DC.  Secretary Arne Duncan joined EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and U.S Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin in congratulating the honorees for their exemplary practices.

The winning schools, diverse in the student populations, and representing 29 states and the District of Columbia, all took a comprehensive approach to greening their schools, making strides to reduce their schools’ environmental impact, improve health and provide education geared toward the sustainability challenges of the 21st century.

Duncan congratulated the schools on their tremendous work, noting their practices to improve student achievement, increase student engagement and provide effective professional development are practices that all should follow, not just aspiring green schools.

While all the selected schools have outstanding stories, Secretary Duncan highlighted Arabia Mountain High School in Lithonia, Ga.,, which requires every student take AP Environmental Science, and is exceeding state and county assessment scores.  At Lothrop Technology Magnet School in Omaha, Neb., school gardens, and complementary practices such as composting, are a critical tool to getting even the youngest students learning and experiencing science first-hand.

ED released a document with highlights and success stories from the 2012 honorees. The Secretary also announced the first installment of the Green Strides Webinar Series, to help all schools move toward reduced environmental impact, improved health and effective sustainability literacy, the three ‘Pillars’ of the award.