'Let's Get Ready to Work Even Harder' for Indigenous Students

• Published in: The learning professional Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 46 - 49
• Main Authors: Sovo, Casey, Berg, Jill Harrison
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Learning Forward 01.06.2021; National Staff Development Council
• Subjects: Access to Health Care; American Indian Education; American Indian Reservations; American Indian Students; Capacity Building; Classrooms; Collaboration; Community Relations; Cooperative Learning; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Culturally Relevant Education; Disease transmission; Distance Education; Distance learning; Educational Change; Educational Quality; Equal Education; Faculty Development; Federal Legislation; Indigenous Populations; Instructional Improvement; Multicultural education; National Standards; Native students; Obesity; Opportunities; Pandemics; Partnerships in Education; Peer Teaching; Peers; Principals; Professional development; Professional Training; School Closing; School Districts; School Readiness; Staff Meetings; Teachers; Teaching; Tribally Controlled Education; Tribes; Urban Youth; North Dakota; Turtle Mountain; New Mexico; United States > US
• ISSN: 2476-194X

Within weeks of school building closings in spring 2020, it became clear to many educators that the fear and isolation experienced by students and educators would force changes to schooling in ways that will reverberate for a long time to come. Many educators were particularly concerned about students and communities of color that were already marginalized. In her conversations with education leaders, Jill Harrison Berg began asking: If change is inevitable, what can we do to ensure the change is for the better, especially for the students who haven't been well-served by schools? She wanted to learn how equity-minded education leaders are using this crisis as an opportunity to establish structures and create a culture that supports all students to get what they need to thrive. Among these inspiring conversations were several with Casey Sovo, a member of the Comanche Nation, 20-year educator, and Bureau of Indian Education program administrator in northern North Dakota. In discussion, Sovo made a strong case that now is the time for growing accomplished teachers by strengthening partnerships, making space for peer-led professional learning, and other strategies. He shared why these efforts are vital for Indigenous communities and how he is encouraging them in schools on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians reservation. This article consists of excerpts from these conversations.