The Commission of Indian Affairs places a high priority on the academic success of American Indian students in North Carolina. This is a challenging task, given data that shows persistently higher dropout rates and a population of students who are less likely than their peers to attend college.
These troubling facts are discussed locally year after year, but the difference this year is the increased involvement of federal education officials. It was a pleasure last week to welcome back Kevin Jennings, deputy secretary for Drug Free and Safe Schools with the U.S. Department of Education, who made his second trip to North Carolina to learn more about our urban and rural school needs.
Jennings, a North Carolina native who first met with us in August, spent two full days meeting with students, educators and families, first at the Haliwa-Saponi Triabl School in Hollister; then an evening session at a Wake County Public Schools’ Training Center in Garner; and finally an all-day summit held at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. I believe that he was very impressed with the work being done at our schools, particularly the commitment of our teachers and the desire of our students to achieve more.
Jennings really connected with the unique needs of educators and students served by urban and rural communities, especially bullying and the challenge of funding quality programs within historically tight budgets. He also understands the difficulties faced by parents and caregivers, who want better academic outcomes for their children than they personally experienced.
Jennings made us all more aware of grant resources and other opportunities for which our schools and students may qualify. We send our heartfelt thanks for this positive and productive experience, which will help us plan for an Indian Education Summit to be held in 2011.
