FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jamila Reeves
[email protected]
708-997-0005
TEACH FOR AMERICA–SOUTH DAKOTA FORGES FORMAL
PARTNERSHIPS WITH TRIBAL NATIONS AND RED CLOUD INDIAN
SCHOOL
New Partnerships Aim to Recruit More Native Teachers and Expand Educational Opportunities for
Native Students
M IS S IO N, S . D. , Dec em b er 18 , 20 1 5—Teach For America–South Dakota announced today that
the tribal councils from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Rosebud Sioux Tribe have respectively
approved new partnership agreements with the organization to recruit more Standing Rock and
Rosebud tribal members to teach in Native communities throughout the state. Additionally, Teach For
America–South Dakota forged a partnership with Red Cloud Indian School to recruit more of the
school’s alumni into its teaching corps. These strategic partnerships will help allow Teach For
America–South Dakota to increase its recruitment outreach efforts at tribal colleges to encourage
more Native college graduates to teach in indigenous communities and provide more professional
development on culturally-responsive teaching methods.
“Human capital is crucial to nation building. We want to encourage more of our young people in
college to come back home to help our people. Teach For America is one great pathway to have an
impact,” noted Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II
Teach For America recruits and prepares top college graduates and professionals to teach for at least
two years in urban and rural communities, making meaningful differences for their students, and
develops them as life-long leaders in education and other fields. Additionally, the organization’s
Native Alliance Initiative works hand-in-hand with tribes and Native communities to expand
educational opportunities for their students in South Dakota, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Minnesota,
Hawai’i, and Washington.
“Lakota educators have the power to create change in our community,” said Scott Herman, vice
president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. “Our partnership with Teach For America will encourage our
emerging Lakota leaders to consider teaching as a way to give back to our youth.”
In 2004, Teach For America joined the South Dakota education community with 17 corps members
teaching on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations. The organization aims to support its tribal
partners in providing a high-quality education that equips students with the skills necessary to reach
their full potential and help cultivate the next generation of community and tribal leaders. This school
year, nearly 100 corps members and alumni remain steadfast in their commitment to expand
educational opportunities across sovereign Lakota Nations that often face extreme teacher shortages.
Teach For America–South Dakota aims to recruit more corps members that identify as Native by 2020,
with at least a third being South Dakota tribal members. The formal partnerships with the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and Red Cloud Indian School advance the organization towards
this goal.
"We want our alumni to positively impact the Pine Ridge Reservation. Our new collaboration will
support efforts to bring more employment opportunities to our community as well as support our
students," said Robert Brave Heart, Sr., executive vice president of Red Cloud Indian School.
As Teach For America welcomed its 25th corps into the country’s highest-need classrooms this fall, it
also ushered in 790 teachers working across six states, including South Dakota, Hawai‘i, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Washington, that have significant Native student populations—
communities that have been severely impacted by educational inequity. Teach For America remains
one of the country’s most-studied educational leadership development organizations, with a growing
body of research indicating the positive impact of corps members and alumni in classrooms, schools,
and communities.
“Every child deserves access to an excellent education, where students and their families have a voice
in defining excellence,” said Jim Curran, executive director of Teach For America–South Dakota.
“Teaching is a tremendously challenging yet rewarding job. In order to advance our education system
to meet the needs of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and Red Cloud Indian
School, we must creatively and assertively recruit the next generation of leaders into that effort. We
want to be partners in ensuring that local students can come back to their home reservation and have
an impact on their younger relatives.”
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity
for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits
and develops a diverse corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial
two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to
end educational inequity. Today, 8,600 corps members are teaching in 52 urban and rural regions
across the country while more than 42,000 alumni work across sectors to ensure that all children have
access to an excellent education. Teach For America is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national
service network. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us
on Facebook and Twitter.
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