Education Archives - Page 72 of 77

Scholars of the Native American boarding school experience will convene for two-day presentation of research

Press Release, University of California

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Scholars of Native American history will gather at the University of California, Riverside and Sherman Indian High School in Riverside for a two-day symposium, “Sherman Institute: The American Indian Boarding School Experience,” on Feb. 7 and 8, beginning at 9 a.m.

The symposium is free and open to the public. Feb. 7 activities will take place in Costo Library, located on the fourth floor of the Tomás Rivera Library at UCR. Parking is $6. The symposium will move to the Sherman Indian High School auditorium, 9010 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, on Feb. 8.

Scholars will address a variety of topics specific to the experience of Native Americans at Sherman Institute — which became Sherman Indian High School in 1970 — as well as the boarding school experience more generally.

“We want people to understand about the attempted assimilation of American Indian children by taking them out of their homes and putting them in boarding schools,” explained Clifford E. Trafzer, Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs at UC Riverside and co-editor of the recently published book “The Indian School on Magnolia Avenue: Voices and Images from Sherman Institute.” The book was written and edited by historians connected to UC Riverside and Lorene Sisquoc, curator of the Sherman Indian Museum and a UCR master’s degree site supervisor. “In spite of that, many children used their education and experiences — sometimes positive, sometimes bitter — to help their tribes understand U.S. government, business and culture.”

Presenting research in the UCR portion of the event will be: David Adams of Cleveland State University, “What We Don’t Know about the History of Indian Boarding Schools”; Robert McCoy, Washington State University, “Building to Assimilate: Mission Architecture of Sherman Institute”; Diana Bahr, UCLA, “Robert Kennedy and Sherman Institute, A Promise Fulfilled”; Leleua Loupe, California State University, Fullerton, “A Network of Control: Exploiting Indigenous Labor in the West”; Kevin Whalen, UCR, “Indian School and Company Town: Sherman Student-Laborers at Fontana Farms Company, 1907-1930″; Jason Davis, CSU San Bernardino, “Paradigm Shift: Assimilation to Preservation at Sherman Indian School”; Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, University of Illinois, “Hopi Runner Harry Chaca and the 1929 Vallejo Pre-Olympic National Marathon”; William O. Medina, Riverside Community College, “Patriotic Indians at Sherman Institute”; Kathleen Bartosh, UCLA, “Domesticity and Defense: The Female Experience at the Sherman Institute, 1930-1960”; Jean Keller, Palomar College, “Before Sherman Institute: The Perris Indian School.” Trafzer and Sisquoc will serve as moderators.

At Sherman Indian High School, current and former students, staff and faculty as well as Sherman scholars and historians will convene for three panel discussions in the morning. The museum will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and a visit to the off-site school cemetery is planned from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The symposium is sponsored by the Sherman Indian School Museum and UCR Costo Chair, California Center for Native Nations, Native American Educational Program, and Native American Student Programs of UC Riverside.

Marysville starts search for next superintendent

Christopher Andersson, North County Outlook, http://www.northcountyoutlook.com

The Marysville school board has begun the process of finding a new superintendent by contracting with Northwest Leadership Associates to help conduct the selection process.

After nine years of serving as Marysville’s superintendent, Dr. Larry Nyland announced on Jan. 3 he will retire at the end of this school year.

The school board said they appreciated the weight of the decision and that this process isn’t being taken lightly.

“We know this is a major assignment for the school board. It is the one thing we do that matters the most,” said school board member Cindy Erickson.

The board wants to find a replacement who will be as successful for the district as Nyland was during his nine years.

“I hope we only have to make this decision every nine or ten years,” said school board member Tom Albright.

The school board hired Northwest Leadership Associates during its Jan. 7 meeting.

Northwest Leadership Associates is a consulting firm that has specialized in screening and selecting superintendents and other school system leaders since 1999.

“We’re certain that Northwest Leadership Associates is going to deliver on their promise to not only find a great new leader to follow Dr. Nyland but also to involve the community,” said school board member Pete Lundberg.

The school board is anxious for input from the Marysville community about what they want from a superintendent and hired Northwest Leadership Associates in part because of their experience in gathering community opinions.

Lundberg hopes that a full cross-section of the community comes out to express their desire and looks forward to hearing opinions “from people of all walks of life.”

The board has wanted to reach out to the community for more than just the superintendent issue and hopes that this public process will help jumpstart that.

Nyland said he is encouraged that this will help get community members motivated to engage with the school district and hopefully, he said, this will be just the first round of community engagement.

Community relations are important because the superintendent not only runs a school district, but has to maintain and build its relationships with the community, said school board president Chris Nation.

Which is why, Erickson said, the new superintendent needs to be “somebody we believe in that can move the district forward. Someone who can continue to build relationships both within the community, within our school and within our partnerships.”

The school district has been improving steadily over the last decade, said board members, and they want to find someone who can continue that progress.

“We have a lot of things that seem to be headed in the right direction. We have a very motivated staff and it’s important we continue in that direction,” Lundberg noted.

Board members expressed that Nyland will be remembered and that whoever replaces him will have a tough act to follow.

“Larry, I wanted to say, you will be missed. You’ve proven yourself, not just in education, but also in who you are and how you’ve taken things that have not always been easy to take,” said Erickson.

“[Nyland]’s here in the morning. He’s here in the evening. He’s always sending me e-mails about new educational programs he’s found on the Internet. It’s 24/7 to him, and it truly pushes me to do more,” said Nation.

Nyland’s retirement announcement and personal message to the community are available at www.msvl.k12.wa.us.

Northwest Leadership Associates will be conducting surveys and public meetings to collect community opinions over the coming months.

Upcoming meetings:

Meetings will be held at the Marysville School District Service Center Board Room, located at 4220 80th Street NE, Marysville, 98270, on Tuesday, 1/29/13 at 7:00 PM and Thursday, 1/31/13 at 6:00 PM. Both meetings are open to the public.

An electronic survey is available on the district website at www.msvl.k12.wa.us.
For more information on the search process, contact Jodi Runyon at jodi_runyon@msvl.k12.wa.us or (360) 653-0800.

Lushootseed Family Night starts Feb. 5th

Please join us for Lushootseed Family Nights where you can gather with loved ones and learn to speak the words off our ancestors. Scheduled for every Tuesday in February and March 20113 at the Hibulb Cultural Center from 5pm-7pm.

Lessons, Materials, Food and Fun provided!!

WHEN:

Tuesdays

Feb. 5^th, 12^th, 19^th, & 26^th

March 5^th 12^th, 19^TH & 26^th

WHERE:

Hibulb Cultural Center

6410 23RD AVE.

Tulalip, WA

TIME:

5PM-7PM

Contact: Natosha Gobin

RSVP: 360-716-4499

Tulalip Tribes Lushootseed Department

WWW.TULALIPLUSHOOTSEED.COM

Super Kid: Brian McCafferty Blatchford, Tulalip Heritage High

Brian McCafferty Blatchford, a senior at Heritage High School, hopes to join the Coast Guard after graduation.Photo by: Mark Mulligan / The Herald — Brian McCafferty Blatchford, a senior at Heritage High School, hopes to join the Coast Guard after graduation.
Photo by: Mark Mulligan / The Herald

By Gale Fiege, http://www.heraldnet.com

Q: What’s it like to attend Heritage High School?

A: It’s a small school in the Marysville School District with about 100 students. Our teachers are really engaged. They know you and what you are doing. They want you to succeed. Each student gets attention. Like any high school, we have six periods a day of the usual subjects. The only thing different is that we focus a lot on Native American culture. We don’t have it right now, but one of the classes offered is our native Coast Salish language, Lushootseed.

Q: What is your tribal heritage?

A: My dad is Tulalip, my mom and grandmother are Rosebud Sioux, and my grandpa is Alaska Native. I spent a lot of my childhood in Tacoma with my grandparents and went to Chief Leschi Schools, which are operated by the Puyallup Tribe.

Q: Why is cultural education important?

A: For me, what we learn at Heritage is another perspective, another way of looking at the world. We focus on the oral history of native people, not just what you get in classroom history books. I am thankful for the elders who have passed down the stories, and I’m glad we are a culturally active school.

Q: The staff at Heritage say you are very helpful and hard-working. Why is this important to you?

A: I like to take time to help people and it gives me something to do.

Q: What are your regular school-related activities?

A: I like to help in the school office. I’m the ASB treasurer, and I help with concessions at our school basketball games. The money we raise goes to our student body. Basketball is very popular in the community, especially when we play the Lummi Nation School, Muckleshoot Tribal School or Neah Bay High School. Then it’s about pride in our tribes.

Q: Do you have a job?

A: I’ve worked for Tulalip Tribes. This past summer, I got experience working with the Quil Ceda Village grounds maintenance crew. It gave me an understanding of how that department works. And I pulled a lot of weeds from 88th up to 116th Street.

Q: What do you want to do next year?

A: I hope to enlist in the Coast Guard. I would like to make a career of it and hope that I can work in Washington. I’ve already talked to a recruiter. My other idea is to become a member of the State Patrol or the Tulalip Police. Something like that. Just so I can help people. For me, it’s all about giving back to the community.

Q: Have other people in your family been in the service?

A: My dad was in the Marine Corps, my grandma in the Air Force, my grandpa in the Army and my cousin in the Coast Guard. My dad is encouraging me to go into the Coast Guard.

Q: It sounds like your family is important to you.

A: Yes, I help my sister by taking care of my 3-year-old nephew. I take him to the park and stuff like that. We have fun.

Q: What else do you do outside of school?

A: I like to ski, golf, play tennis and basketball and work out at the Marysville YMCA. I played football at Lake Stevens High School when I first moved up here. I miss football.

I also listen to music. All kinds. I like rap, country, classic rock and when I worked as a prep cook in the kitchen at the casino, I learned to like the Mexican music that the Hispanic guys played.

Q: What’s keeping you busy right now?

A: That would be my senior project. We have to answer the questions of, Who am I? Where am I going? How will I get there?

Q: What is your favorite class this year?

A: For me, that’s easy. It’s humanities with my teacher Maria Benally. She pushes me to excel in my work. We’ve been talking a lot about the issue of sovereignty. For example, we learned that Hawaii’s indigenous people were taken over by the United States.

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: It’s “Night” by Elie Wiesel about his experience in the Nazi concentration camps. That was a good book.

Washington Anti-Hunger Groups, Schools, and Non-profit Organizations Seek to Feed More Students When School is Out

The Children’s Alliance

Seattle – January 28, 2013 – Washington afterschool providers came together today with anti-hunger advocates and child nutrition state and regional administrators to learn how to implement and expand the Afterschool Meal Program to receive federal funding to feed children afterschool, on weekends, and during school holidays. Working together, these stakeholders are helping to eliminate childhood hunger in Washington.

At the Luncheon: Eliminating Hunger After School: Expansion of the Afterschool Meal Program for Washington Kids, state and regional program administrators and advocacy organizations:

· Spoke about the connection between nutrition and educational enrichment,

· Presented an overview of the At-Risk Afterschool Meal Program,

· Provided information on how to apply to receive the federal funding available, and

· Discussed current opportunities for implementation and how to make the program work in a variety of settings.

“The Afterschool Meal Program can make a big difference for children in Washington,” said Linda Stone, executive director of the Children’s Alliance. “Many parents are struggling to hold onto jobs, working extra-long or nontraditional hours, commuting long-distances, or trying to get back into the workforce. They need care for their children in order to do that, so it absolutely makes sense to provide afterschool, weekend, and school holiday programs to help parents provide healthy food for their children.”

With its partners, the Children’s Alliance is working to increase the number of sponsors and providers participating in the federal Afterschool Meal Program so that more children in Washington can receive free meals and snacks, participate fully in their afterschool activities, and have access to the nutrition they need outside of school.

“The benefits of afterschool meal programs are boundless,” said Crystal FitzSimons of the Food Research and Action Center. “Access to afterschool meals improves students’ health, mental well-being, and their ability to fully participate and learn in afterschool activities. As a result, schools have higher overall achievement scores, and communities stay healthier.”

Washington’s childhood poverty rate is over 18 percent and the percentage of Washington families experiencing food insecurity has increased in recent years.

The Luncheon was organized by the Children’s Alliance and the Food Research and Action Center in partnership with the Afterschool Meals Workgroup, and with support from the ConAgra Foods Foundation.

2013 Pacific Northwest Weather Workshop

The Pacific Northwest Weather Workshop, the annual gathering for those interested in Northwest weather and climate. will be held on March 1-2, 2013. As usual it will be held at the NOAA Sand Point facility in Seattle. For more information and to register please check the meeting web site: http://www.atmos.washington.edu/pnww/

Abstracts for talks are encouraged and are due by 15 February 2013–see the “Submit an Abstract” web page for more information. Some information on the meeting is also found below. The meeting banquet will be held at the Talaris Center, close to the UW.

DATES: March 1 and March 2, 2013 (Friday and Saturday)

LOCATION: NOAA Western Regional Center, Building 9 Auditorium

TIMES: 1pm Friday through 4pm Saturday (tentative times)

The Pacific Northwest Weather Workshop will be held Friday and Saturday, March 1-2, at the NOAA Western Regional Center, Building 9 Auditorium, at Sand Point in Seattle, Washington. This annual conference, sponsored by NOAA’s National Weather Service, the University of Washington, and the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, covers recent developments in weather forecasting and observational technologies, major weather events of the past year, and topics dealing with western U.S. meteorology.

We welcome talks on all topics dealing with Northwest weather and climate. The meeting will start Friday, March 1, at 1pm and will continue through mid-afternoon on Saturday. Registration will be $30 for regular attendees ($15 for students) and will include Saturday lunch, afternoon and morning refreshments, and a pre-print volume. We will also have a Friday evening banquet (for an additional charge).

This year’s banquet talk title and speaker will be announced in early February.

Pre-registration is requested for all attendees. You can check for the latest information and register on-line via our website at: http://www.atmos.washington.edu/pnww/index.php?page=registration. Please submit abstracts for oral presentations and posters in text, Word or WordPerfect format – no PDF please. ABSTRACTS SHOULD BE RECEIVED BY February 15, 2013. Please include the title, author’s name and author contact information. Poster presentations are welcome and will be displayed throughout the meeting and during a special poster session. Please send abstracts to Cliff Mass, at the email address shown below.

For more information contact: Brad Colman/Kirby Cook, NWS Forecast Office, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 (206.526.6095 x222/224,brad.colman@noaa.gov , Kirby.Cook@noaa.gov), or Clifford Mass, Dept of Atmospheric Sciences, Box 351640, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195 (206.685.0190, cliff@atmos.washington.edu).

Eliminating Hunger After School: Expansion of the Afterschool Meal Program for Washington Kids Luncheon set for January 28

Source: Children’s Alliance

What: Afterschool program providers and administrators of the federal child nutrition programs throughout Washington will attend the Luncheon – Eliminating Hunger After School: Expansion of the Afterschool Meal Program for Washington Kids – to learn how they can implement and expand federally funded programming to eliminate hunger experienced by children after school, on weekends, and during school holidays.

The summit, organized by the Children’s Alliance and the Food Research and Action Center, will provide a forum for current and potential afterschool meal providers to share their successes in bringing afterschool meals to the children they serve in Washington.

When: Monday, January 28, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Where: United Way of King County, 720 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

Why: Washington’s childhood poverty rate is over 18 percent and the percentage of Washington families experiencing food insecurity has increased in recent years.

Extending the reach of the Afterschool Meal Program to all eligible communities throughout the state will ensure that the children of Washington can participate fully in their afterschool activities, while also receiving the nutrition they need and may not have access to outside of school.

See registration page and agenda here.

The Luncheon was organized by the Children’s Alliance and the Food Research and Action Center in partnership with the Afterschool Meals Workgroup, and with support from the ConAgra Foods Foundation.

Notice of Public Meetings for Superintendent Search Process

The Marysville School District will hold two meetings for district parents, Marysville and Tulalip community members and district partners learn about, and provide input, for the new superintendent search process. After serving Marysville schools for nine years, Dr. Larry Nyland has announced his retirement. The search process for a new superintendent begins now and follows a timeline through the search, recruitment, and the hiring process.

The Board of Directors and consultants, Dr. John Fotheringham and Dr. Wayne Robertson, of Northwest Leadership Associates, are committed to providing an open and transparent process in the search for a new superintendent. Your participation and input is important and will assist the board in selecting a new educational leader that will continue to take Marysville to the next levels of success.

An electronic survey is available on the district website at www.msvl.k12.wa.us.
For more information on the search process, contact Jodi Runyon at jodi_runyon@msvl.k12.wa.us or (360) 653-0800.

Marysville School District Superintendent, Dr. Nyland to retire

Marysville School District No. 25

4220 80th Street NE

Marysville, WA 98270

p. 360-653-0800 f. 360-629-1990

January 18, 2013

Dear Parents and Guardians,

After serving the Marysville School District for 9 years, Dr. Nyland has announced his decision to retire effective June 30, 2013. Although we are saddened by his departure, we personally want to thank him for his many great accomplishments.

To assist in our upcoming superintendent search, the Board of Directors has hired the consulting firm, Northwest Leadership Associates based in Washington. They provide years of knowledge and a network of individuals that will enable us to recruit the most qualified candidates for this important position.

The Board realizes the importance of this outcome and will make every effort to allow for our parents, staff and members the Marysville and Tulalip communities to participate in the selection of our next superintendent and to provide a search that is “open” and as “transparent” as possible. As part of the process, we will be collecting stakeholder input from a variety of means by conducting or attending over 25 community and staff forums over the course of the next several weeks and providing opportunities to fill out written and electronic surveys to assist us in choosing a new educational leader.

Please join us at the upcoming forum for all parents: Tuesday, 1/29/13, 7:00 pm, Marysville School District Service Center Board Room, 4220 80th Street NE. Your participation is a very important part of this process and we look forward to seeing you. We also invite you to complete an electronic survey: Superintendent Profile Survey. This survey will provide you with an opportunity to have your voice heard during our search process. For more information visit the district website at http://www.msvl.k12.wa.us/.

On behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to thank you for your time in this important process.

Respectfully,

Chris Nation, President

Retired NBA Coach Phil Jackson Sponsors Campaign for One Lucky Donor to Spend Day with Him

AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND

8333 Greenwood Blvd. Denver, CO 80221
Toll Free: 800.776.3863 Phone: 303.426.8900

January 22, 2013

Retired NBA coach Phil Jackson will give one lucky fan and a friend the opportunity to spend a day with him in Los Angeles learning his basketball coaching secrets.

Jackson has teamed up with online fundraising company Omaze for a fundraising campaign to support the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) to raise money for Native student scholarships.

Donors can complete entries here for a chance to meet Mr. Jackson. The campaign is currently slated to end on Feb. 8. Airfare and hotel are included in the trip. Donations are not required to enter for a chance to meet Mr. Jackson.

As part of the experience, Mr. Jackson, a longtime supporter of the Fund who has also conducted basketball clinics in Indian Country, will show game tape of past championship series and explain how he prepared champion players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Mr. Jackson will also detail how he developed his well-known Triangle Offense and other strategies that helped him coach his teams to win 11 NBA championships, the most in basketball history. Mr. Jackson retired from coaching in 2011.

“The American Indian College is delighted that Mr. Jackson has donated his time and energies to illustrate the need for financial support for American Indian college students,” said Dr. Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. “Not only is Mr. Jackson helping to raise money for scholarships, but he is also providing Native students with the valuable knowledge that he believes that with an education, they are all winners.”