Tulsa played host Wednesday to a first-ever conference about how to strengthen education for American Indian students throughout Oklahoma.
More than 300 public school educators and representatives of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma gathered to hear from leaders at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education, Bureau of Indian Education, and National Indian Education Association.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister noted that there are 130,000-plus American Indian students in Oklahoma public schools, more than any other state.
“Every child deserves an education that meets his or her holistic needs. It is about individuals — each child being recognized by name, by need, by strengths, hopes, by aspirations,” Hofmeister said. “Educators have an opportunity and responsibility to understand the rich history and customs of our Native American students.”
People are also reading…
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, which last year replaced the No Child Left Behind Act, includes a new requirement for public schools to consult with tribal leaders.
In Oklahoma, Hofmeister said there are 205 school districts with student populations that make them subject to that requirement.
“What we’ve seen in the past are pockets of good, strong collaboration about how to use dollars allocated for Native American children, but this formalizes that across the state,” she said. “It has been amazing to see what this means to tribal leaders.”
Gregory Anderson, secretary of education for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, told those in attendance, “It’s going to take all of us united together to improve upon what we’ve had in the past and what we’re going to become.”
Wednesday’s summit in Tulsa was designed to help both educators and tribal governments to understand both the exact requirements and spirit of ESSA.
Monique Chism, acting assistant U.S. Secretary of Education, acknowledged new uncertainty about the future of ESSA under the Trump administration.
“A lot of things are going on and people are trying to read the tea leaves about whether ESSA will stand, but we feel pretty confident that the law is going to stand — it was passed with bipartisan support,” Chism said.
Bernard Garcia, acting director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education, called Wednesday’s gathering a “historic moment.”
Attendees had practical questions about how to meet the new federal expectations for public schools to consult with tribal governments, such as cases in which schools enroll students from a variety of tribal backgrounds.
Chism said, “What federal law requires is consultation with tribal communities with the majority of students and that there is an effort that is inclusive of everyone.”
Garcia noted that earlier Wednesday, he had visited a Tulsa-area public school that had students from 60 different tribal heritages.
“It’s going to be challenging in urban school districts, as compared with one on a reservation or near,” Garcia said. “Since this is the first time, do the best you can. There is no right or wrong way to do it, but we just ask you to involve as many as you can.”
