Post by Okwes on Mar 27, 2007 14:30:02 GMT -5
Progress seen in Indian education, but more cooperation needed, agency head
says
By Terry Woster
(mailto:_twoster@midco.net
PIERRE - State government and tribes must cooperate to give Native American
students opportunities to get high school diplomas and go to college, Keith
Moore told legislators Thursday.
Moore, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and head of the state Office of
Indian Education, said the state and tribes both have sometimes been slow to
work together on the issue.
Moore said steps are being taken to improve academic success for Native
American children in the state and to encourage higher levels of education.
He told the Senate Education Committee that the high-school graduation rate
for Indian children lags far behind that for the population as a whole -
about 66 percent for Native Americans in the state public schools compared
with
89 percent statewide.
Moore described a project called Gear Up, in its second year and funded with
a federal grant. The program takes a number of Native American students in
high school grades and gives them an intense, six-week course of study on
the
campus at South Dakota School of Mines. The program gives those students a
head start on math and science courses and introduces them to college life,
which is foreign to a number of students from the state's reservations.
"We want the same thing that everyone else wants," Moore said of Lakota,
Dakota and Nakota families. "We don't understand the path a lot of times. We
don't understand our way around the college scene. To leave a reservation
and go
on a college campus is a daunting experience."
Gear Up breaks the ice, both for students and their families, he said.
Students live in dorms, eat campus food, meet professors and become familiar
with
a college setting, Moore said.
Republican Rep. Jim Bradford of Pine Ridge said many Lakota students from
his reservation struggle even with the transition from elementary school to
high school. Part of the reason is because the reservation has numerous
grade
schools or K-8 schools but many aren't tied to a high school.
"Lots of elementary kids, when they leave eighth grade, you don't know if
they go to Gordon, Neb., or Bennett County or Rapid City or Kyle or Pine
Ridge,"
Bradford said. "That child is going to a completely different atmosphere, I
don't care where he is."
State education officials also told legislators more work is needed to raise
achievement on tests for Native American students. Scores on ACT exams by
Native American students in South Dakota have climbed in recent years but
still
trail overall state scores on the test for college-bound young people, state
Education Department reports show. The department report shows an increase
in the ACT scores of Native American students from 16.8 in 2002 to 17.5 this
year.
"I think that's a positive, but we definitely need to move that higher,"
said
Wade Pogany of the state agency. He said the statewide average score on the
ACT in the most recent round of tests was 21.8.
Reach Terry Woster at 605-224-2760.
says
By Terry Woster
(mailto:_twoster@midco.net
PIERRE - State government and tribes must cooperate to give Native American
students opportunities to get high school diplomas and go to college, Keith
Moore told legislators Thursday.
Moore, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and head of the state Office of
Indian Education, said the state and tribes both have sometimes been slow to
work together on the issue.
Moore said steps are being taken to improve academic success for Native
American children in the state and to encourage higher levels of education.
He told the Senate Education Committee that the high-school graduation rate
for Indian children lags far behind that for the population as a whole -
about 66 percent for Native Americans in the state public schools compared
with
89 percent statewide.
Moore described a project called Gear Up, in its second year and funded with
a federal grant. The program takes a number of Native American students in
high school grades and gives them an intense, six-week course of study on
the
campus at South Dakota School of Mines. The program gives those students a
head start on math and science courses and introduces them to college life,
which is foreign to a number of students from the state's reservations.
"We want the same thing that everyone else wants," Moore said of Lakota,
Dakota and Nakota families. "We don't understand the path a lot of times. We
don't understand our way around the college scene. To leave a reservation
and go
on a college campus is a daunting experience."
Gear Up breaks the ice, both for students and their families, he said.
Students live in dorms, eat campus food, meet professors and become familiar
with
a college setting, Moore said.
Republican Rep. Jim Bradford of Pine Ridge said many Lakota students from
his reservation struggle even with the transition from elementary school to
high school. Part of the reason is because the reservation has numerous
grade
schools or K-8 schools but many aren't tied to a high school.
"Lots of elementary kids, when they leave eighth grade, you don't know if
they go to Gordon, Neb., or Bennett County or Rapid City or Kyle or Pine
Ridge,"
Bradford said. "That child is going to a completely different atmosphere, I
don't care where he is."
State education officials also told legislators more work is needed to raise
achievement on tests for Native American students. Scores on ACT exams by
Native American students in South Dakota have climbed in recent years but
still
trail overall state scores on the test for college-bound young people, state
Education Department reports show. The department report shows an increase
in the ACT scores of Native American students from 16.8 in 2002 to 17.5 this
year.
"I think that's a positive, but we definitely need to move that higher,"
said
Wade Pogany of the state agency. He said the statewide average score on the
ACT in the most recent round of tests was 21.8.
Reach Terry Woster at 605-224-2760.