Rounds pushes to improve Indian ed

By Chet Brokaw, Associated Press Writer | Tuesday, April 26, 2005

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PIERRE — People who work in schools day after day must cooperate to find ways to improve education for American Indian students in South Dakota, Gov. Mike Rounds said Monday.

The best ideas will come not from one person but from all those who have spent years in the classroom, Rounds said during a luncheon speech to people attending a conference on education for Indian students.

"You know what's working. You know what's not working. You have an insight that only comes with experience," Rounds told the teachers, administrators and others.

The South Dakota Indian Education Summit featured workgroup sessions on topics such as parental involvement, school climate, Lakota language, Lakota culture and what has been found to work in various schools. The conference, which began Sunday evening, concludes today.

Rounds acknowledged he is not an expert in education but that he believes educators can find ways to improve schools by sharing their ideas and experience.

If solutions were easy, education's problems already would have been solved, he said.

"We're not the first folks who have cared deeply about what happens to their children," Rounds said.

The governor said one of the first things he did after taking office in 2003 was to invite tribal government officials to dinner so he could get to know the tribal leaders.

Rounds said the state is committed to cooperating with Indian schools. He has appointed an Indian Education Advisory Council and created an Office of Indian Education in the state Education Department.

"Every young person that's attending school within South Dakota deserves the opportunities that only an education can provide," Rounds said. "Our challenge at both the state and the local level is to ensure that opportunity is available."