Department of Education Announces $11 Million in Funding

The U.S. Department of Education revealed new grants exceeding $11 million for the inaugural Native American Language Resource Centers (NALRC), the Native American Teacher Retention Initiative (NATRI), and the State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP). Collectively, these funds aim to bolster Native American language preservation in educational settings, back Native American educators, and facilitate collaborations between Tribal Educational Agencies and state and local entities.

"Our efforts to Raise the Bar for academic achievement and support multilingual learners in tribal communities must include strengthening and revitalizing Native languages, and supporting the recruitment, retention, leadership, and empowerment of Native American educators," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "These grant funds will provide Native American students with greater opportunities to learn in inclusive environments that uplift their cultures, revitalize their languages, and ultimately, promote their academic success and wellbeing. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring Native American students have access to an inclusive and culturally affirming education that's also reflected in the teachers in their schools."

The NALRC initiative aims to champion the conservation and implementation of Native American languages in classrooms nationwide. These funds will cater to centers in three key regions: Central, Northwest, and West. Additionally, a national center will cater to the needs of all states and regional beneficiaries. These hubs will offer technical guidance in areas such as resource creation, research propagation, leadership nurturing, capability enhancement services, and fostering immersive, hands-on learning environments.

According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' "Broken Promises" report, there exists an educational opportunity gap for Native American students, especially concerning access to culturally attuned educators in Indian Country. Addressing this, NATRI, a pioneering initiative, will tackle the dearth of Native American teaching professionals and encourage their retention. This will be achieved by carving pathways for these educators to ascend to leadership positions in their academic institutions. Funded projects under this initiative encompass a myriad of measures like the formation of professional learning groups, carving out leadership roles, building extensive expert networks, mentoring schemes, establishing leadership paradigms for Native educators, task force inception, and provision of continuous education credits across several states, influencing a multitude of Tribal Nations.

Concluding the announcements, the Department has designated $1.6 million to bolster the STEP initiative. These grants are earmarked to uplift projects emphasizing Tribal autonomy, and fostering synergy between tribal, state, and local education bodies, all in an effort to cater to the distinct requirements of Native learners. Among the financed projects are endeavors to foster inter-agency data exchange agreements; enhance culturally attuned identification methodologies for Native American students; and streamline systemic transformation in domains such as college preparation, vocational training, and familial participation.