Photo courtesy of Rick Novitsky Kids playing outside the school building in Grand Portage. Next year’s students will be attending Oshki Ogimaag, the community’s new K-6 charter school.
Excitement is building in Grand Portage as staff is hired for Oshki Ogimaag, the School of New Leaders, which will open this fall as a K-6 public charter school. Cook County School District 166 closed its Grand Portage campus on the last day of school this June in order to make way for the charter school.
Oshki Ogimaag will have several emphases including not only academic excellence, but Ojibwe language and culture, technological proficiency, hands-on learning, and environmental preservation as well. To meet the state’s requirement that charter schools have sponsors, the school will be working with the Audubon Center of the North Woods, a nonprofit environmental learning center, which will provide (for a fee) ongoing expertise and annual outdoor learning experiences at their campus in Sandstone.
Theexcitement is about a lot of things. Kids will have an opportunity to learn Ojibwa language and culture. They will experience small class sizes with a lot of interaction. Theywill connect with learning opportunities from around the country and even the world, interfacing with virtual science labs, oceans, and space labs made possible through computers and the Internet.
And they probably won’t have to sit too long in their seats. According to a school brochure, “Future leaders will receive a complete education encompassing both Anishinaabe and non-native academics while meeting state educational standards. Students will attend a school without walls using Ojibwe homeland as an extended campus promoting the philosophy that all time and space holds opportunities for exploration and learning.”
Sherri Moe took the reins in April as Oshki Ogimaag director after moving from the Bemidji area. She has a master’s degree in education and leadership experience with Leech Lake Tribal College, Upward Bound (a program that prepares high school students to succeed in college), and the United Way.
Moe hosted three open house pizza parties in early June to welcome families and enroll students. Three classrooms – kindergarten, grades 1-3, and grades 4-6, will serve an expected 40-60 students. According to Moe, the birth-to-age-five population is expected to swell in the next few years.
Besides Moe, the staff roster will include four teachers (including one special ed teacher), three aides, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a nurse, a special ed director, a technology coordinator, a business manager, and a school psychologist working on contract as needed. “We’ll try to do everything we can to meet the needs of our students,” said Moe.
Thefounding board of Oshki Ogimaag is comprised of interested community members who worked to get the school going. Theywill be replaced by an elected school board over a three-year transition period.
Sherri Moe wants people to know that kids outside the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa are just as welcome as those who are part of it. Bussing will be available to bring students from as far away as Grand Marais.
When asked about any plans to develop the school beyond sixth grade, founding board member Bob Swanson said, “I hope so.” He would like to see the day when Grand Portage can host its own high school graduation.
Participating on the foundation board is one of the many ways Anna Deschampe, education director for the tribe, is promoting education in Grand Portage. Her job is to oversee K-12 education, higher education, and community education. She coordinates a college scholarship program for band members and their direct descendants and has helped facilitate collaboration with Fond du Lac to bring college classes to Grand Portage. Currently, 10 adult students are working from Grand Portage to earn their associate degrees.
“Our tribal council is extremely dedicated to education,” Deschampe said. Oshki Ogimaag students will be receiving the benefits of that dedication.
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