Message from the
Managing Director, Robert Cook
I'm an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Lakota Tribe of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. For over twenty years I was a teacher and school administrator in tribal schools in South Dakota. Native children experience some of the highest levels of poverty in our country, which greatly impact their academic and life options. I joined this movement to ensure that there would never again be times when our students start the school year without great teachers.
In 2010, Teach For America launched the Native Achievement Initiative to deepen our partnership with Native communities. Currently, over 400 corps members are teaching more than 15,000 children from Native backgrounds.
Through the work of the South Dakota, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Hawai'i regions and the NAI Native Advisory Council this initiative will:
- Provide an Additional Source of Effective Teachers
We will grow our presence in Native community schools to over 1,400 corps members by 2015. This will triple our annual reach to 52,000 Native children per year (nearly 10% of Native students in the United States). We will also focus on recruiting more American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian corps members, and by 2015 we will be one of the top national recruiters of Native leaders into the education field. - Advance Student Achievement
Our teachers will work relentlessly to help their students reach their full potential. We will continue to strengthen our training and support so that more corps members become transformational leaders. - Foster Culturally Responsive Teaching
We will build examples of outstanding culturally responsive teaching. We hope to serve as a national model for the implementation of such teaching. - Partner with Native Organizations and Governments
We will bring strong partnerships with Native organizations and governments to raise awareness, collaborate on teacher recruitment and training, and accelerate our collective impact. - Build an Alumni Leadership Pipeline
Teach For America alumni have already begun to effect large-scale change in Native communities. We will build an increasing force of leaders to advocate for Native education equity.
We are excited and empowered by this work and encourage you to learn more and join us.
— Robert Cook,robert.cook@teachforamerica.org
Teach for America is an awesome resource for isolated educational institutions. They helped us fill certified teaching positions at our high schools. Our teachers understand the importance of education, and help to advocate and promote education within the school environment.
Barry L. Mann, St. Francis Indian School Administrator, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota
