Partners for Success

The U.S. Department of Education has granted Cook Inlet Tribal Council $2 million for one year to launch Partners for Success, a program to improve the educational outcomes of Alaska Native and American Indian students in eight middle and high schools within the Anchorage School District. The program is a partnership among CITC and the Anchorage School District, student participants, and their parents.

The need to improve educational outcomes for Alaska Native students in Anchorage is significant, as evidenced by the following facts taken from the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 Anchorage School District Profile of Students:

• Native students scored 25-30 percentile points lower than non- Native students in academic achievement.
• The Native student dropout rates are nearly double that of the average district dropout rate.
• The Native student mobility rate is higher than any other group of students in the district with one out of three moving in and out of the district annually.
• The mean grade point average for Native students is 2.06, compared to 2.61, the district mean.
• Native students consistently earn one fewer credit hours each year than Caucasian students.
  

The design of the Partners program draws on both national and state research focused on Native populations, coupled with CITC's experience serving Natives in the education field, spanning 19 years. The Partners program focuses on six strategies identified as the "best ways to improve the quality of Alaska Native education," from the seminal study, Alaska Native Education Study (First Alaskans Institute, 2001). These educational strategies align with and confirm CITC's own experience and include parent involvement, teacher improvement, increasing Native teachers academic enhancement, and Native culture classes and communication with teachers.

Program services are both school-based and home-based and will be delivered to the eight middle and high schools in the Anchorage School District with the largest Native populations. Partners will build the foundation for educational success for Native students. The Partners for Success program will begin in the spring of the 2002/2003 school year.

CIHA Halloween Carnival Unites Youth and Elders

Witches, ghosts and goblins mingled with nurses, princesses and pirates last month at Cook Inlet Housing Authority's Senior Housing Halloween Carnival held at Salamatoff Heights, Cook Inlet Housing Authority's 120-unit elder housing facility. More than 100 elder housing residents, Cook Inlet Housing Authority staff and their children and grandchildren attended the Oct. 30 evening event. The event provided a venue for elders and youth to play side-by-side. Old-fashioned Halloween fun was the focus. There were cookies and candies galore and activities ranging from a jack-o-lantern bean-bag toss to "creepy eyeball" soup. Ages two to 82 were delighted with the spooky decorations, silly games, tasty prizes, and warm camaraderie. "It was our most well attended event to date," said Cook Inlet Housing Authority Resident Services Coordinator Nichole Fanning.

Cook Inlet Housing Authority employee Teresa Anseth with her niece Giavanna.

Cook Inlet Housing Authority senior housing staff typically hosts at least one small event, such as a tea, each month and one major activity, such as the carnival, each quarter.

"Our events provide a venue to bring together the residents of our elder housing facilities," said Fanning. "Many of our elders don't have any family and they spend a lot of time alone in their apartments. The events promote a spirit of community and offer residents a reason to get out of their homes to socialize."

The next major event is a craft bazaar to be held on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Salamatoff Heights, located at 9131 Centennial Circle in Anchorage. The event is open to the public and will offer entertainment as well as a great chance to get some holiday shopping out of the way. There will be music throughout the day, and a special presentation by a local country-line dancing troupe.

Anyone interested in booth space at this event should contact Nichole Fanning at (907) 338-2314.

Alaska Native Education Summit

First Alaskans Institute, in partnership with ANCSA Education Consortium and Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, is hosting the Alaska Native Education Summit on Dec. 9 and 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Egan Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage. The summit will gather Alaska Natives to discuss education and provide an opportunity for Alaska Natives to share views on how to improve education.

The summit will feature speakers from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education; Brigham Young University's Native American Educational Outreach Program; and tribal leaders, elders, and students.

This summit will draw together Native communities to develop plans to fit various situations and draw on experience of what works and what does not. The summit is open to the public and people are encouraged to come and express their thoughts and perspectives. Pre-registration is required and scholarships are available.

For more information, contact The CIRI Foundation at (907) 263-5582, toll-free at (800) 764-3382, or by fax at (907) 263-5588 or check out the summit's web site at www.firstalaskans.org/project.

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