NIEA Calls for Action (fwd link)

[Phillip E Cash Cash]

December 2012, Language Magazine
USA

*NIEA Calls for Action*

According to a new policy statement from the National Indian Education
Association (NIEA), “Native education is in a state of emergency, and the
federal government needs to take immediate action to ensure that Native
students grow into engaged, productive citizens of both their tribes and
the nation as a whole.”

The statement is asking for improvement from the Obama administration as it
transitions into a second term. NIEA leaders argue that the achievement gap
between American Indian children and their white peers is not being
tackled, their dropout rate is too high, and too few of their children
receive an education “steeped in their language or culture.”

Approximately 93% of Native children are enrolled in public school systems,
both urban and rural. The remaining 7% attend schools within the Bureau of
Indian Education (BIE) system. “Regardless of where they attend school,
Native students are not receiving an education steeped in their language or
culture. They are also very unlikely to receive instruction or be taught in
a classroom/school climate that is appropriate for them,” asserts the
statement.

To address these problems, the NIEA is calling for passage of the Native
CLASS Act (Native Culture, Language, and Access for Success in Schools) in
Congress, which would help strengthen tribal control of education by
authorizing tribal education agencies to function like state education
agencies with authority to operate federal education programs (in
particular, having more control over Title I expenditures) in schools that
are located on reservations.

Access full article below:

http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=5387
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