When the ISD 166 school board held its October meeting in Grand Portage, it received a memo from the Parent Committee of Cook County Schools (PCCCS), a branch of the Local Indian Education Committee (LIEC), which was formed under federal legislation almost four decades ago. The memo made six recommendations to the school district that the committee believes would better serve the Indian students in Cook County.
On November 28, 2011, Superintendent Beth Schwarz and school board member/ LIEC school board representative Deb White sent a response back on behalf of the district.
Ojibwe classroom location
The Ojibwe language classroom is located where the original CCHS gymnasium stage used to be, and it is accessed through a back hallway. The memo from the parent committee stated, “Some people feel that its out-of-the-way location is highly inconvenient, and in some cases, may even discourage students from taking the class.”
Schwarz and White responded by saying they are considering relocating the classroom. They also said they are working with Native American Academic Center (NAAC) staff, Grand Portage Guidance Counselor Lena Santos, and LIEC Education Director Haley Brickner on educational opportunities that could include changing the time of the high school Ojibwe course, adding Ojibwe into the middle school curriculum, and increasing Native American cultural awareness activities for grades K-5.
Staff diversity training
The parent committee stated, “With such a high population of Indian students attending ISD 166, we would like to recommend that the ISD 166 school board strongly encourage all administrators, teachers, and staff to attend training and professional development activities that address the issues involved in working in a multicultural atmosphere and perhaps even offer incentive for them to attend.”
The district responded by saying, “ISD 166 leadership agrees and supports encouragement of all staff to participate in staff development pertaining to diversity training. The district plans to increase participation by developing a rotation of staff to participate in Undoing Racism workshops and increasing staff development opportunities related to cultural awareness. … Further, the district will work to seek out future employees of Native American backgrounds via communicating with area colleges and national agencies.”
ACE program
After the Alternative Choice Education (ACE) credit recovery option for high school students was almost nixed by the school, it was reinstated with a different format, but the Grand Portage parent committee is not sold on the new format.
This year, ACE has gone from consisting of packets of work students would complete with help as needed from a teacher monitoring the students outside of the regular school day to online classes taught by someone other than that teacher, although an adult facilitator will be available to help students as needed.
The LIEC parent committee wrote, “We do not find this to be a satisfactory alternative to the original ACE program, because many students don’t do well with online classes and prefer a live tutor/student relationship. We would recommend that a faceto face option be offered as well.”
The response from Schwarz and White said, “…We understand and support the recommendation to maintain an engaged, adult mentor in the online credit recovery. Further, we support keeping the NAAC staff involved, especially during the summer months.” The plan calls for the onsite facilitator to tutor the students and help them communicate with their online teachers. NAAC staff will assist in the summer, and the program will be evaluated three times between now and next August.
Student progress data
“It would be very helpful if the district were to provide data to the Grand Portage Education Department and to the PCCCS regarding our Indian students,” the parent committee wrote. They requested things like standardized test scores and copies of data reported to the Minnesota Department of Education.
“Grand Portage provides a sizable investment every year in support of our K-12 students,” the PCCCS wrote, “and access to this type of information will help Grand Portage and the PCCCS to determine whether those resources are being directed effectively, and if not, what areas might need more attention.”
The district’s plan, wrote Schwarz and White, is to have the superintendent continue to attend LIEC meetings and to share information related to standardized testing with the LIEC, Lena Santos, and NAAC staff.
Impact Aid
According to the U.S. Department of Education, “Many local school districts across the United States include within their boundaries parcels of land that are owned by the federal government or that have been removed from the local tax rolls by the federal government, including Indian lands. These school districts face special challenges — they must provide a quality education to the children living on the Indian and other federal lands and meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, while sometimes operating with less local revenue than is available to other school districts, because the federal property is exempt from local property taxes.
“Since 1950, Congress has provided financial assistance to these local school districts through the Impact Aid Program.
“…Most Impact Aid funds, except for the additional payments for children with disabilities and construction payments, are considered general aid to the recipient school districts; these districts may use the funds in whatever manner they choose in accordance with their local and state requirements.”
ISD 166’s policy is “to inform parents of students living on tribal land and tribal officials of the [Impact Aid] application, evaluation of education programs assisted with Impact Aid funds, and plans for major changes in educational programs.” The policy also states that the school’s application will be mailed to all Reservation Tribal Council (RTC) members, the LIEC, and the Indian Education Department.
The LIEC parent committee requested that they receive this information along with a budget regarding how the funding will be spent each year. The school district’s response was that they would work with the LIEC to update and follow their policies and procedures related to Indian students residing on Indian lands.
Bullying and discipline
The parent committee’s admonition to the school district on issues related to bullying and discipline was strong: “Based on numerous examples this year and in the past,” they wrote, “there is an ongoing concern and feeling of distrust toward ISD 166 within the Grand Portage community. The community believes that our students are not always treated and disciplined equally at school.
“There are times when our students are bullied relentlessly, and when they retaliate or stand up for themselves, they are the ones [who] are penalized. There are other times when our students are bullied or even abused, and the offender is given only minimal discipline.”
The committee recommended that the district devise a plan of action, with input from the RTC, PCCCS, and Indian Education Department, to ensure that its students are treated equally and that it report “data that shows measured improvement in this area.”
“Bullying, discipline, and equal treatment of all students at ISD 166 is a priority we are focusing on,” Schwarz and White responded. “Principal Carman will work with the superintendent, NAAC staff, and school counselors in developing a plan to identify and address concerns specific to our Native American population.
“We truly appreciate the Parent Committee of Cook County Schools (Grand Portage, Minnesota) sharing their recommendations and we look forward to working closely with them to improve educational services for our Native American students.
“Together, we can provide opportunities for all of our students to reach their full potential.”
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