Officials focus on Indian ed

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal Staff Writer | Monday, October 17, 2005

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RAPID CITY — Officials from 16 states and the District of Columbia are sharing information and success stories in American Indian education during a conference that began Sunday at Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn. The conference continues through Tuesday.

“Strengthening Partnerships for Education of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Students” is a project of the Council of Chief State and School Officers or CCSSO. The South Dakota Department of Education is a co-sponsor of this week’s meeting.

James Cason, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Victoria Vasques, U.S. Department of Education, are among today’s guest speakers, according to Julia Lara, deputy executive director of CCSSO’s division of state service and technical assistance.

State education officials are focusing more attention on the education of American Indian children since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, Lara said.

Chief school officers and state agencies are responsible for the education of American Indian children in public schools. More than 90 percent of American Indian children in the United States attend public schools, Lara said.

“On the other hand, American Indian communities have a point of view about how their children ought to be educated,” she said.

Although public and non-public education agencies have a common goal to improve the educational success of American Indian students, they don’t have a common vision on how to reach that goal, Lara said.

Lara said her organization started bringing top officials together three years ago to give them a platform for the sharing ideas and strategies. The council’s purpose is to assist communication between different education agencies.

“We’re not telling American Indian people how they should educate their children,” Lara said.