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The focus and goals of our Native American/Alaskan Native Education Program is to increase knowledge and awareness of the Native American culture through specific Native American content integrated into the current curriculum and to bring a sense of belonging for all Native American and Alaskan Native students. When children feel a sense of belonging and a sense of pride in their families, their peers, and their communities, they can be emotionally strong, self-assured, and able to deal with challenges and difficulties. This creates an important foundation for their learning and development.
The Bremerton School District Native American/Alaskan Native Program receives funding through a federal grant from the Office of Indian Education. Our grant funding is based upon the number of Title VI Student Eligibility Certification Forms (506 forms) received for each active student. All students receive services whether or not they submit a certification.
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The Parent Advisory Committee provides parents and families with information and opportunities to express their views and concerns for the Native American / Alaskan Native Outreach program in the Bremerton School District. The Parent Advisory Committee meets with parents and the community three times a year, our next meeting (to be determined).
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OSPI Indian Education Office has a new web-based Tribal sovereignty online curriculum. In 2005, the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1495, which officially recommended the inclusion of tribal history in all common schools.
An inquiry-based approach with five essential questions:- How does physical geography affect the distribution, culture, and economic life of local tribes?
- What is the legal status of tribes who negotiated or who did not negotiate a settlement for compensation for the loss of their sovereign homelands?
- What were the political, economic, and cultural forces consequential to the treaties that led to the movement of tribes from long-established homelands to reservations?
- What are the ways in which tribes responded to the threats to extinguish their cultures and independence, such as missionaries, boarding schools, assimilation policies, and the reservation system?
- What have tribes done to meet the challenges of reservation life? What have these tribes, as sovereign nations, done to meet the economic and cultural needs of their tribal communities?
A place-based approach. Our approach encourages teachers and students to address the essential questions in the context of tribes in their own communities.
An integrated approach. Teachers choose how much time to spend on tribal sovereignty content to complete their units throughout the year. The integrated approach provides three levels of curriculum for each of the OSPI recommended social studies units, each level building on the last. Where appropriate, units build toward successful completion of Content-Based Assessments (CBA).
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