Ensuring No American Indian and Alaska Native Child Is Left Behind

The mission of the Office of Indian Education is to support the efforts of local educational agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions, and other entities to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives so that these students can achieve to the same challenging state standards as all students.

The No Child Left Behind Act amends the Indian education programs as Title VII, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This landmark in education reform embodies four key principles: stronger accountability for results; greater flexibility in the use of federal funds; more choices for parents of children from disadvantaged backgrounds; and an emphasis on research-based instruction that works.

• Connecting to the U.S. Government in the Age of Digital Communication: Federal TA Day, October 17, 2012
  In keeping with this year’s NIEA convention theme of using appropriate technologies and social media to advance American Indian and Alaska Native education, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education is hosting a much different Technical Assistance Day this year. The Federal Technical Assistance Day, or “Federal TA Day,” will precede the NIEA convention as before, but this year’s format will be streamlined and more interactive. The sessions will include in-person presentations with interactive online exchanges among participants, agency speakers, and tribal and community leaders.

  While of special interest to Title VII grantees, including administrators and staff of formula and discretionary grant projects and professional development efforts, this year’s program will also include tribal leaders, school superintendents, teachers, parents, and others interested in federal issues and grant opportunities for the education of Native children.

  We encourage you to attend the Federal TA Day at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City to learn how we can best assist your school and district in advancing education for all American Indian and Alaska Native children and adults.

  To register online click here: http://www.ed-ta-day-2012.com".
  (October 12, 2012)

• U.S. Education Department Awards Nearly $2 Million to Tribal Education Agencies to Improve Education for American Indian and Alaska Native Students
  The U.S. Department of Education today announced the award of four competitive grants totaling nearly $2 million to tribal education agencies (TEAs), under the State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) program. These grants will help to increase the role of TEAs in the education of American Indian and Alaska Native students to meet the unique educational and cultural needs of those students and to improve their academic achievement.

  "We have a profound obligation to ensure that all children, including American Indian and Alaska Native students, have the opportunity to receive a 21st century education," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "Tribal leaders, teachers, and parents are best-suited to identify and address the needs of their children, and tribal communities deserve to play a greater role in providing American Indian and Alaska Native students with the tools and support they need to be successful in school and beyond."

  During regional tribal consultations, tribal officials consistently discussed the lack of opportunities for tribes to meaningfully participate in the education of their own children. Drawing from input received at these consultations, the Obama administration included in its Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization proposal a pilot authority that would elevate the role of TEAs. The Department's fiscal year 2012 Congressional appropriation provided funding for the Department to create a pilot competition to increase the role of tribal education departments in the education of students attending public schools on the tribe's reservation.

  The STEP program aims to promote collaboration between TEAs and state educational agencies (SEAs) and to build the capacity of tribes as they develop and enhance their roles, responsibilities and accountability in Indian education. The pilot program will fund projects created through collaborative agreements between TEAs and SEAs that allow for TEAs to perform some state-level functions for certain federal grant programs funded through the ESEA, within public schools located on tribally controlled lands. STEP grants are three-year awards, and year one grant amounts are listed below. Grantees and their SEA partners are:

  Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho - $451,481
  The Navajo Nation Diné Department of Education, New Mexico - $357,347
  The Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma - $739,246
  Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon - $385,436
  
  

  For more information on the STEP pilot program, please visit here: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/step/index.html"

  The actual press release may be found here: Press Releases".
  (October 12, 2012)

• Tribal Consultation Transcripts Available
  On December 2, 2011, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13592, which established the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education (Initiative). The President's Initiative committed the Federal Government to working closely with tribal governments to close the achievement gap between Indian students and non-Indian students, decrease the alarmingly high dropout rates of all American Indian and Alaska Native students, and help preserve and revitalize Native languages.

  The Secretaries of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) serve as co-chairs of the Initiative. The Departments of the Interior and Education must collaborate with those who know their students and communities the best and will be hosting four Tribal Leader Consultation meetings to consult on the following objectives: (1) the development and content of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Education and (2) the strategic implementation of the Initiative.

  The Department of Education recently conducted tribal consultation meetings in various locations around the country. You may download these trancripts in Word or PDF format below. These include:

  September 17, 2012 - Anchorage, AK, Tribal Leader Consultation Meeting
  PDF (531K)

  August 30, 2012 - Pala, CA, Tribal Leader Consultation Meeting
  PDF (336K)

  May 30, 2012 - Seattle, WA, Urban Native Educational Learning Session
  PDF (605K) | MS Word (332K)

  
  

  May 24, 2012 - Flagstaff, AZ, Tribal Leader Consultation Meeting
  PDF (432K) | MS Word (251K)

  
  

  June 8, 2012 - Chicago, IL, Urban Native Educational Learning Session
  PDF (384K) | MS Word (243K)
  

  Previous tribal consultation material for 2010 and 2011 may be found here:
  2012 and 2011 Tribal Consultation documents
  (October 12, 2012)

• Office of Indian Education Announces 2012 Indian Education Professional Development Grant Awards
  The Office of Indian Education announces the 2012 awards under the Indian Professional Development Grants. A total of twelve awards were made recently under this authorization. The purposes of the Professional Development program are to (1) increase the number of qualified Indian individuals in professions that serve Indian people; (2) provide training to qualified Indian individuals to become teachers, administrators, teacher aides, social workers, and ancillary educational personnel; and (3) improve the skills of qualified Indian individuals who serve in the education field. The FY 2012 competition included three absolute priorities and two competitive preference priorities. The absolute priorities are from the notice of final supplemental priorities and definitions for discretionary grant programs, published in the Federal Register. The full set of abstracts are located at this link 2012 INDIAN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS".

  
  

  ARIZONA
  Arizona State University

  CALIFORNIA
  California State University - Chico

  MONTANA
  Little Big Horn Tribal College
  Salish Kootenai College
  Stone Child College

  OREGON
  University of Oregon

  SOUTH DAKOTA
  United Tribes Technical College

  WISCONSIN
  Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe Tribe
  The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

  WYOMING
  Wind River Tribal College
  (September 17, 2012)

• Office of Indian Education Announces 2012 Indian Education Demonstration Grant Awardsstrong>
  The Office of Indian Education announces the 2012 awards under the Indian Demonstration Grants for Indian Children. A total of twelve awards were made recently under this authorization. Demonstration Grants for Indian Children is a competitive discretionary grant program that supports projects to develop, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve educational opportunities and achievement of Indian children. To meet the purposes of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, this program focuses project services on the following two absolute priorities: (1) increasing school readiness skills of three- and four-year old Indian children to prepare them for successful entry into kindergarten; and, (2) enabling Indian high school students to transition successfully to postsecondary education by increasing their competency and skills in challenging subjects, including mathematics and science. Below is a ist of the 2012 awards. The full set of abstracts are located at this link 2012 DEMONSTRATION AWARDS".

  
  

  ALASKA
  Cook Inlet Tribal Council
  Northwest Arctic Borough School District
  Yukon-Koyukuk School District

  ARIZONA
  San Carlos Apache Tribe

  CALIFORNIA
  Southern California Indian Center

  NEBRASKA
  Douglas County School District

  NORTH DAKOTA
  Turtle Mountain Community College

  OKLAHOMA
  Kingfisher Public Schools

  MONTANA
  Salish Kootenai College

  MINNESOTA
  Special School District # 1

  WASHINGTON
  Grand Coulee Dam School District
  Puget Sound Educational Service District
  (August 29, 2012)

• Executive Order on American and Alaska Native Education Signed by President Obama
  On December 2, 2011 President Obama signed a new Executive Order on Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities. The order provide for an Interagncy Working Group to facilitate the order and increase educational opportunities for tribal colleges and universities. The Order also calls for increasing outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native outcomes including native language and culture. The link to the order may be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/02/executive-order-improving-american-indian-and-alaska-native-educational-
  (December 2, 2011)

• National Advisory Council on Indian Education Annual Report for 2010-2011 Available
  The National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) recently released their annual report to congress for 2010-2011. The report details the council's recommendations for American Indian and Alaska Native education and activites for 2010 and 2011. The annual report may be viewed by clicking this link: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/oie/nacie.html
  (December 2, 2011)

• Tribal Leader Consultation Meetings will Resume in 2012
  The U.S. Department of Education will be scheduling several Tribal Leader consultation meetings for 2012. Senior officials from the Department, to date, have obtained feedback from Tribal officials on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the development ofthe Department's Consultation Policy. We look forward to ongoing and meaningful dialogue with Tribal leaders. The dates and locations will be posted here when conrimed.



• Updated schedule and registration information can be found at the following Website: http://www.edtribalconsultations.org

Please visit the Web sites below for additional information:
• The Department's "Blueprint" for ESEA reauthorization can be found at the following Web site: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/index.html".


• To submit written comments on the "Blueprint," or on education matters more generally, e-mail: TribalConsultation@ed.gov
  (February 28, 2011)

• New ED506 Form Available
  A new Title VII Student eligibility form is now available from the Office of Indian Education. The 506 Form is used by Indian education formula programs to document Indian heritage of participating students. To download this file follow this link to our Indian formula resource page: http://www.ed.gov/programs/indianformula/resources.html
  (July 17, 2010)

• National Indian Education Study 2009 Part 1 & 2 Released
  National Indian Education Study 2009 Part I: Performance of American Indian and Alaska Native Students at Grades 4 and 8 on NAEP 2009 Reading and Mathematics Assessments is now available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies The report presents the results of Part I of the National Indian Education Study (NIES) focusing on the performance of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) fourth- and eighth-graders on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and mathematics. A national sample of approximately 9,300 AI/AN students at grades 4 and 8 participated in the reading assessment and 9,000 in the mathematics assessment. Results from this study are compared to those from the first NIES conducted in 2005 and 2008. The results for 12 states with relatively large populations of AI/AN students are presented in addition to the national results.

  See complete results at: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies
  Read the executive summary of the report at: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies/media/press_release.pdf
  NIES was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education. NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.
  (July 17, 2010)

• Update on OIE Contacts
  OIE's work in processing all applications and awards is performed by teams instead of specific state assignments of grantees to program specialists. For more information and a listing of teams, see Contacts for OIE.
  (April 6, 2007)