February 3, 2021: Updates and Resources
- Wed, Feb 3 2021
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Arizona Department of Education Updates and Resources
New: $1 Million in funding for the Office of Indian Education
During Superintendent Hoffman’s State of Education address, she announced the Arizona Department of Education will dedicate $1 Million of new federal aid to the Office of Indian Education.
These dollars will be used to help advance OIE’s strategic plan, including:
- Provide students with culturally responsive resources
- Increase pathways for Indigenous educators
- Strengthen the communication and collaboration between districts and sovereign tribal nations in the tribal consultation process.
Read her full announcement below.
Indigenous, Latino, and Black communities have seen some of the highest rates of COVID-19 in Arizona. Multiple times over the course of last year, the Navajo Nation and the White Mountain Apache tribal nations had the highest rates of COVID-19 in the entire country. Across the state, Indigenous, Latino and African American students are overrepresented in schools that have not been able to open for in-person learning due to the disproportionately high spread of COVID-19 in their communities.
Our state must make sure the communities hardest hit by this virus have all the support they need to recover -- and that starts with investing in and supporting their schools.
To start, the Arizona Department of Education has partnered with Governor Ducey’s office to launch Acceleration Academies, which use socio-economic indicators and public health data to determine schools most severely impacted by COVID-19. By providing these funds to schools most impacted, we can help students and families recover from the devastation of this virus.
And with the newest federal recovery package, our Department is committing $1 million dollars to our Office of Indian Education, which is dedicated to serving students from all 22 federally recognized Tribal Nations.
While the Department is statutorily required to support an Office of Indian Education, it has never been funded by the state. With many Tribal Nations facing the worst effects of the pandemic, this funding is critical to building a strong foundation to provide students with culturally responsive resources, increase pathways for Indigenous educators, and strengthen the communication and collaboration between districts and sovereign tribal nations.
Read the full text here: https://www.azed.gov/communications/full-text-superintendent-hoffmans-2021-state-education-address
Resources and Update from OIE Partners and Stakeholders
GCU: AZ Paraprofessional Pathway to Teacher Webinar
Wednesday, February 10th at 4pm – Registration https://gcu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcpduigqD0pGt3RKMnp2TmFqDZVZQgl8Sfp or Thursday, February 11th at 4pm: https://gcu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJArdOGpqj8uHNwc13E2FRLqyy2N-IeNYpxK
In an effort to support Arizona paraprofessionals, Grand Canyon University is offering a complimentary webinar to help them further their education and meet their goals of becoming licensed teachers. There are two webinar options in February.
UArizona: Conversation with U.N. Special Rapporteur Jose Francisco Cali Tzay
Monday, February 15, 2021 at 01:00 PM – Registration https://arizona.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpcO-oqT8rH9I70KOePZ58kbZWuxu4vNz6
The Haury Program invites you to join a conversation with U.N. Special Rapporteur José Francisco (Pancho) Calí Tzay, Regents Professor and Arizona Law IPLP faculty co-chair Robert A. Williams, and Haury Program Interim Director Toni Massaro.
You will have the opportunity to listen to Mr. Calí Tzay's vision regarding best practices and the implementation of international standards concerning Indigenous peoples' rights. We will open a Q&A session after the conversation.
2021 College Student Summer Internships: Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals
Spend your summer working with tribal organizations to address tribal environmental issues. The internships have a technical, educational or policy focus. We are offering at least 8 positions in air quality. The internship program provides each student intern with a $4,800 stipend. We are planning for internships to be remote, so most interns will work from their home or school site. Host sites are selected from tribal environmental organizations, government offices, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and others.
To view eligibility requirements and register, visit nau.edu/itepinterns. The deadline is February 26, 2021.
Information on Tribal Sovereignty
General information on Tribal Sovereignty offered by the Apache Nation Chamber of Commerce. Read HERE.
