Education
Education within the Chickasaw Nation
is a key component to improve the overall quality of life of the Chickasaw people. From Head Start to adult learning, the Chickasaw Nation provides opportunities to advance learning skills to enhance the future of all Chickasaw students.
In FY 2008, 52 public schools and 7,821 Native American students were served through the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program, spending more than $367,000 on school supplies, tutoring, specialized materials and cultural education. The Chickasaw Nation JOM program provides educational programs and supplies for Native American students attending participating public schools.
The tutoring reimbursement program is designed for students living at-large and is available for students needing help in core subjects regardless of their grades. Through this program, parents are reimbursed up to $600 for tutoring. In 2008, 23 students received services.
Eighteen Chickasaw students participated in literary arts workshops and creative writing contests through the after school arts program conducted at the Ada, Ardmore and Purcell area offices. Due to multiple requests, additional workshops will be developed in the new fiscal year and the Chickasaw Children’s Village will be added as a new location.
Through the Chickasaw Honor Club, participating Native American students have the opportunity to receive recognition for good grades, perfect attendance and outstanding achievement in academic and extracurricular activities. During the 2007-2008 school year, more than 1,700 Perfect Attendance awards were presented along with more than 8,000 Grade Incentive awards and 56 Outstanding Achievement awards. Students are awarded with a certificate and a Wal-Mart gift card.
During FY 2008, smoke detectors were installed in 50 homes, along with 10 carbon monoxide detectors, as part of the Sleep Safe program grant. Through the Sleep Safe program, the key goal is to reduce the rate of fire and burn injuries among American Indian children ages zero to five years enrolled in tribal Head Start centers. In collaboration with the Child Care department, the Sleep Safe program is one of 17 Head Start programs selected nationwide, being the only one in Oklahoma. In the past four years, more than 330 smoke detectors have been installed throughout homes within the Chickasaw Nation.
The Chickasaw Children’s Village in Kingston, Oklahoma, served 91 children during the 2007-2008 school year by providing a stable and secure home life in a residential setting conducive to academic, social and emotional growth. The children’s village implemented an agricultural education program offering students the opportunity to maintain raised bed vegetable gardens, learn about equine care and riding, raise and care for a variety of livestock and participate in school programs.
Through higher education initiatives, the Chickasaw Nation awards several doctoral, graduate and undergraduate Chickasaw students each semester. During the 2007-2008 school year, the division of education awarded more than 8,600 students with scholarships, grants, incentives and other assistance totaling more than $7.7 million.
Chickasaw Clemente Humanities courses were again conducted at East Central University and Murray State College. These courses focus on Chickasaw history, language and tradition. Development of an online Clemente course for long distance learners is in discussion for the future.
The division of education placed 17 student interns through the internship program in FY 2008. This program allows Chickasaw students to gain actual on-the-job experience in a career field of choice. Selected students are provided a six-to-eight-week internship opportunity, a weekly stipend, one round-trip airline ticket to the intern site and housing accommodations.
In FY 2008, education services created a new program to highlight the importance of science, technology and math within elementary through high school students. Through this program, a robotics team was developed with a national organization called For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST).
The mission of FIRST is to inspire students to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs. Through the robotics team, students gain science, engineering and technology skills, as well as self-confidence, communication and leadership skills.
As the first Chickasaw Nation robotics team, Metal Mayhem, Ada area high school students and mentors worked together to build a robot in six weeks. Using a kit of parts and a set of rules, the team built a robot and entered the robot in regional and national competitions. As part of the competitions, the team also designed a website, wrote essays, worked on safety issues, completed community service projects and created a video.
During the robotics team inaugural year, the team won the Rookie All Star award during the FIRST Oklahoma City Regional tournament in March of 2008 and received the National Rookie All Star award during the FIRST National Championship tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2008.
To expand younger student opportunities within the science, technology and math program for the 2008-2009 school year, education services added a FIRST LEGO League team for 10 to 14 year olds and a Junior LEGO League team for six to nine year olds.
In January 2008, construction was completed and operation began for the new Sick Child Care Center in Ada. It is the only sick child care facility in Oklahoma. The purpose of the center is to protect the health, safety and well being of well and mildly-ill children while parents remain at work. The Sick Child Care Center is open to the public and was successful in serving 240 children.
Construction for the new Child Development Center in Ada will be completed in the summer of 2009. The facility is estimated to accommodate child care for 250 children.
The new center will continue to enhance and promote the highest quality of care for children.
The center will consist of classrooms for children birth to five years of age, a cafeteria and full kitchen, media room, aerobic room, indoor play areas, developmental screening rooms and much more. The center will be a state-of-the-art facility to make learning fun for all ages.
Other accomplishments:
- The clothing grant program provided 7,622 Chickasaw children with a $200 Visa card to purchase shoes or clothing for school.
- The arts in education department provided services to more than 5,000 Native American students and 110 educators during the 2007-2008 school year.
- In FY 2008, more than 270 adults received GED assistance through the adult learning program.
- The vocational rehabilitation department served approximately 300 Native Americans with disabilities in FY 2008.
- Through the school-to-work program, the Chickasaw Nation provided 100 students with a 40 hour-a-week paycheck and employee benefits while the students pursued their GED, degree or vocational certification.
- Forty-nine Chickasaw Foundation scholarships totaling $71,200 were awarded for the 2007-2008 academic year with four of those awards being newly established scholarships.
- During the 2008 fiscal year, the career technology and training development program provided services to 368 adult students spending more than $470,000 on tuition, fees, books, supplies, licenses and certifications.
- During the 2007-2008 school year, the division of education awarded more than
8,600 students with scholarships, grants, incentives and other assistance totaling
more than $7.7 million.