WARM SPRINGS, OREGON MAY 13, 1977 PAGE 5
New Superintendent Has Demonstrated
Concern For Warm Springs
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While assistant and then
acting superintendent for the
Jefferson County 509-J School
District, Darrell Wright has
kept an ear open to Warm
Springs. Now that he has been
chosen as the new superintend
ent, taking the place of George
Bowers who resigned in Feb-
ruary, Wright intends to work
with the Tribal Education
Committee and parent advisory
committees to address this
community’s concerns.
In recent years, Wright has
been filling seats on both the
Johnson-O’Malley and Title IV
parent committees which moni
tor and evaluate the programs
made possible by those funds.
Wright has also been the
chief school district contact for
the Title IV Part B Teacher
Intern Program at the high
school. He helped develop the
project when the funds were
first awarded to the Tribes.
In 1972 Wright worked with
Deni Leonard on the feasibility
study which led to the North
west Reading and Language
Program in the Warm Springs
and Simnasho grade schools.
Materials developed as a result
of this are presently being field
tested by the Northwest Reg-
ional Education Lab.
More recently Darrell
Wright participated in the Ore
gon Indian Education Confer
ence in Salem, April 27-29,
where he presented 509-J’s Ti
tle IV tutoring program.
He has also taken an ac
tive interest in the proposal
now before the School Board
for collaborative action plan
ning between the Tribes and
the School District. “I’m in
favor of collaborative planning
as a concept. The idea is
really exciting and essential
for getting the cooperation we
Meetings
For long time
there have been meetings
of many men
for many days.
At the meetings there is talking
talking
talking.
Some this way
Some that way.
In the. morning
when my father
leaves for meeting
he says to us
"When I come here again
then I will know
if it is best
to have many sheep
or few sheep,
to use the land
or let it sleep,"
But
when my father
comes home from meeting
he does not know
which talking-way to follow.
Tonight
when my father
came home from meeting
he just sat, looking
and looking
My mother gave him coffee
and bread and mutton
but my father just sat,
looking.
Then my mother spoke to me
She said,
"A meeting is like rain.
When there is little talk,
now and then
here and there
it is good.
It makes thoughts grow
as little rains make corn
grow.
But big talk, too much,
is like flood
taking things of longstanding
. before it."
My mother
said this to me,
but I think
she wanted my father to hear it.
(From LITTLE JiERDER IN THE SPRING
by Ann Clark)
need,” said Wright.
However he feels that the
Tribal Council and School
Board may want to make some
modifications to cut down on
cost and adapt the model
which has been used elsewhere
more specifically to Warm
Springs and 509-J.
Wright commented on dis
trict support of special pro
grams for Indians by saying,
“The school district should in
clude as much in its general
budget as is necessary for the
success of the students.” Any
special needs of Indian stud
ents are best met with the
federal funds that are avail
able, he said. When Title IV
Part A funds were threatened
to be cut this year, however,
Wright was in favor of the
district budget absorbing the
Title IV positions that had to
be dropped.
Tribal Education Director
Jody Calica remarked when
asked about the choice of a
Superintendent, “I am very
encouraged at the thought.” He
went on to say, “The commun
ity has been able to develop a
pretty close working relation
ship with Darrell.”
Wright has been with the
509-J district for 20 years. He
started as a music teacher in
the elementary school in 1957
and later became vice princi
pal and then principal of Mad
ras Grade School.
He then took the job of
junior high principal and was
hired as assistant superintend
ent in 1970.
After being appointed act
ing superintendent, Wright was
considered for the superintend
ency along with 50 other appli
cants. The School Board made
its decision after second inter
views with the two finalists on
May
Indian Education Conference
For the second year in a
row people from all over the
state gathered in Salem to
discuss the subject of Indian
education. This time the com
mon interests were crystalized
in an organization—the Oregon
Indian Education Association—
and plans were made to hold
the third annual conference at
Kah-Nee-Ta.
The new association is
headed up by former Warm
Springs Tribal Education Di
rector Morrie Jiminez. Jody '
Calica, who currently occupies
that position iff Warm, Springs,
has been recommended for a
slot on the OIEA Board of
Directors.
Several people from Warm
Springs—school staff, commit
tee members and even a stud
ent—attended all or part of the
conference which focused on
Title IV, or the Indian Educa
tion Act.
Participants received good
news from the D.C. office. Lee
Antell, director of Title IV
nationwide, informed the group
that Title IV funds which had
been cut 30 percent have been
restored for school year 1977-
78. However, commented Cali-
ca, “the future of Title IV
after 1978 is questionable.”
In School District 509-J Ti-
tie IV Part A provides for
counselors and tutoring for In
Focuses on Title IV
dian students at all levels and
a community liaison at the
high school.
Darrell Wright, newly se-
lected superintendent of 509-J,
sat on a panel which discussed
tutoring programs, He com-
mented later on the diversity
of programs through the state,
some of which employ students
while others are intended as
cultural enrichment. Tutoring
in 509-J is done by both certi
fied and non-certified teachers
for the purpose of improving
the basic skills of remedial
students and challenging ad
vanced students.
Pat Sanders, teacher aide
at the Warm Springs grade
school, also remarked on the
variety of ways in which Title
IV funds can be spent. She
sees the need for greater fam
iliarity with all parts of the
Indian Education Act as well
as other funds available to
Indians so that they can be
used to full advantage.
Other needs that Pat dis
covered as the result of the
Salem conference were greater
involvement of parents and
students in the parent commit
tees and the development of
bicultural as well as bilingual
curriculum.
Jody Calica found the con
ference to be quite beneficial
in that “it gave us access to
people who are more know
ledgeable about programs, al
lowing us to do better planning
and evaluating of programs
we’re involved with.”
Calica also received assis
tance while he was there on a
proposal he’s writing for Title
IV Part B funds “to meet the
social and emotional needs of
Indian students through a
school social work program.”
An extension of the counseling
and liaison programs, a social
work staff would provide com
munity-based, family-oriented
assistance beyond the school
centered work with students
and parents that exists now.
The Education Department
is also considering application
for funds under Part C of Title
IV which provides for adult
educating.
Also contributing to the
Salem conference were Muni
cipal Manager Rudy Clements,
who gave a rousing keynote
address, and Dakotah Soules,
director of early childhood edu
cation in Warm Springs, who
discussed the Head Start and
Day Care programs on the
reservation.
fi
Lillie Heath’s group entertained the Sunday afternoon crowd at Kah-Nee-Ta village on May 8. Tina
Spino, Celia Berry and Kathy Danzuka performed the Butterfly dance to the accompaniment of
Lillie and Ellen Squiemphe^. The money they earned from Kah-Nee-Ta will go toward funding the
HeHe huckleberry feast in‘August. (“So we can buy huckleberries,” Ellen joked.)
CDS Photo