Lac Courte Oreilles Receives $1.2M U.S. Dept of Education Grant to Train Native Teachers

HAYWARD, WI – The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe was one of 10 recipients nationwide awarded a Professional Development Grant for Indian Education from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant application, entitled “Future Indian Teachers,” was developed by Dr. Stanley Roy Jonjak and submitted by the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College. The four-year, $1.2 million dollar grant will be used to train 15 students to become teachers for the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe K-12 School and the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Immersion School.

The Future Indian Teachers (FIT) project is a consortium between the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe, the LCO Ojibwe Community College and the University of Wisconsin to train and certify teachers with bachelors’ degrees in Elementary Education. The teachers will serve Ojibwe youth attending tribal and public schools on or near the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation.

Consortium partners will analyze and use data through the Equity Scorecard Process, academic and non-academic records, and dual-culture support systems to drive decision-making. An additional goal is to support five participants to receive advanced training in Ojibwe oral fluency and immersion pedagogy so that the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Immersion Charter School will increase its capacity to serve three more grade levels.

Eligible participants must be able to complete their education and serve a one-year induction period within the four-year timeframe.