Not so long ago, a small Native American community took a big jump into the future and opened the doors to the very first Indian casino. It was a huge risk and a momentous occasion. Since then, that very same tribe has expanded its business enterprise to include two casinos, hotel, restaurants, golf course, a community college, and most recently, our own native educational facility for our tribal youth. The native school, which once resided in our community, has been reopened to the public.
Our community has become self-sufficient in so many endeavors. We are grateful to the leaders and visionaries who planned for the future. With education at the forefront, our tribe is prospering! Today, we offer a Head Start through community college educational opportunity.
Beginning September 2006, we will again enhance educational opportunity by adding a middle college program. The program closes the gap between high school completion and higher educational attainment. It will begin in the junior high years which stairsteps into a middle college program. Our school will focus exclusively on these crucial years of development. Statistics show that only three in five Native Americans will graduate from high school, and of those, less than three percent will go on to earn a college degree. Education beyond high school is critical for participation in today's global economy.
Our Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter School is excited to move forward with our very own middle college program. Our school is designed to prepare and require students for a dual enrollment experience. Our high school curriculum requires college coursework as a requirement for graduation! Students will be required to earn credits, which are counted towards a college degree and high school diploma. Students will gain the confidence and discipline needed to successfully compete in higher education. Strict requirements of rigorous coursework and planning will be accomplished by careful planning with resourceful academic advisors and successful completion of soft skill training. Program success will be measured by student success as demonstrated by the numbers successfully earning college credit and a high school diploma.
There are currently 180 early college high schools being established and funded by such providers as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the coordination of the Jobs for the Future program. Within this national framework, a secondary Indian education consortium is working to establish at least 18 early colleges solely to increase the graduation rates of native students. We are not the first to implement this innovative program, but will nevertheless prosper as we continue to promote the development of our youth and increase the quality of life for our community.
Space is limited and enrollment is restricted to 17 students per room. Please contact the Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter School for more information at 248-2530.
Kathleen VanHouten is the program faciliatror at Ojibwe Charter School.
