New School Building to be Occupied by Waadookkodaading

Waadookodaading is an Ojibwe language immersion school chartered by the Hayward Community School District located on the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation. Although PreK to 5th grade enrollment at Waadookodaading is small, program impact continues to strengthen efforts to preserve and promote an endangered language. Currently, 51 young language learners now attend Waadookodaading, and as this number of learners increases, so does the likelihood that Ojibwe language will survive well into the future.

There are many struggles involved in operating any school in this day and age, but an indigenous immersion school has a special set of challenges — a shortage of licensed teachers with the requisite language abilities, a dearth of reading materials written in the Ojibwe language, and continuing professional development to grow language proficiencies of instructors. Among many other needs, the most significant challenge overall is lack of space.

Since its inception twelve years ago, adequate classroom and office space for Waadookodaading has been a continuous struggle. The school started at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School (LCO), and from there, to the Hayward Community School, and back to the LCO Ojibwe School where it has once again outgrown its available space. The school has not been able to grow beyond 5th grade without additional classrooms.

Waadookodaading has occupied two modular buildings, one classroom and one office at the LCO K-12 School for the past three years. For the 2013-2014 school year, Waadookodaading will have 61 students and will need six classrooms. Only four classrooms within the modular buildings will be available. Additional office space is also needed because three administrative staff share on small office. The LCO School has been generous but now needs more space to meet its growing classroom needs.

A community meeting held on April 29th at the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Office discussed plans to meet short-term needs. Some suggestions included utilizing several FEMA trailers, building a structure near the modular classrooms, adding rooms on to the WOJB radio station, and renovating a part of the old Boys & Girls Club building.

Waadookodaading met with Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board on May 20, 2013 and asked for the Tribe's help. Also in attendance were Dennis White, Craig Euneau and Terry Barber of the LCO K-12 School. The Tribe approved construction of a 76 x 42 building which will belong to the LCO Schools, to be utilized by Waadookodaading until they can move into their own building. During the summer, tribal crews have been laboring away in the hot sun to finish the project by the beginning of the school year. Staff and families of Waadookodaading sincerely appreciate their hard work.

Waadookodaading is not supported by annual allocation of contract dollars, nor receives state aid for education.

The school receives some pass through dollars from the Hayward Community School district, but must raise its own operating funds from federal grants, private foundations, and other miscellaneous donations. To build its own school building, Waadookodaading must undertake a capital campaign to raise approximately $8.3 million dollars.