JUNE 15, 1990 EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Page 3
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New Learning Center planned
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Early Childhood Education has long been a priority for
the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. These "pods'
of learning will accomodate up to 460 reservation
youth. The new Learning Center will employ
approximately 70 people. Cost of the new
facility will be $5 million, with $1,225
coming from tribal funds via a referendum
last year. Balance of construction costs will
be attained through contributions from
corporations, foundations, interested
individuals and loans from lending
institutions. Actual building is
anticipated to begin this year
with construction expected
to take a year. The
Learning Center will
be located just south
of the Agency
Longhouse.
Early Childhood Education Center
Education funding requires careful management for effective programs
The Confederated Tribes of money came, for the first time ever,
Warm Springs budgeted $425,000 from the interest gained on a $6
for higher education and vocational million trust fund established in
education students in 1990. That 1986. Steps must be taken to en-
Education offers happiness
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Bagley expresses his feelings regarding education in composition
submitted in contest.
Warm Springs Elementary fifth grade student Willis Bagley has
ome definite feelings about education. In a compostion he
submitted to the Trailblazers Avia Scholastic Improvements
Concepts contest, he relates some of those ideas, receiving an
honorable mention certificate and a dictionary set tor his essay
Bagley's essay reads:
Education is important to me because I want a long happy life!
and a good job. Education will give me a lot of choices, like where I
want to live and what I want to do. Right now I just want to be as
smart as I can be. In school I can make lots of friends and I can get
better at all kinds of sports. School will keep me out of doing!
drugs. When I get a good education I will get a good job. When I go
ear through college I am going to have a nice house and a new
car. I could help my family, tribe, and country. Education will give
me good health, happiness, and a smart quick thinking brain, and
hat s just what I need when I grow up and start my own family. I
hope my family will have just as good an education as I have right
now. I nave a good luture waning ior me. i warn to neip ome,
people. I'm going to be a scientist. I want to help people with AIDS
or cancer.
sure proper management of those
funds, says education director
Julie Mitchell.
"Solid policies and guidelines
must be set for managing the trust
fund," she says. Those guidelines
and policies will hopefully be solid
ified by September I. Proposed
recommendated changes to be con
sidered may include using the funds
for full-time students only and that
the trust fund not be used for reim
bursements. Such policies would
be "advantageous to the Tribe and
students, as well," says Mitchell.
The changes would help make the
money last as long as possible.
"The trust fund must be spent with
the original intent to assist stu
dents with their higher education
needs."
Tribal education services, dur
ingthe 1989-1990 school year, pro
vided funding for 68 tribal members
to attend four-year colleges, com
munity colleges or vocational edu
cation programs. By year's end,
20.5 percent, or 14, had dropped
out. The combined average dro
pout rate was 30 percent.
Statistics show that university
students have higher grade point
averages and complete at a higher
rate than their counterparts attend
ing community colleges. The aver
age GPA among university stu
dents during the 1989-1990 year
was 3.0; the average GPA among
community college students was
2.0
Of the 17 university students,
five completed, all were in good
standing; none were on probation
and three had dropped out. Of the
38 community college students, one
completed, 30 were in good stand
ing, eight were on probation and
six had dropped out.
Of the nine vocational technical
students attending courses during
the 1 989-1 990 year, five completed,
eight were in good standing, one
was on probation and five dropped
out.
The average cost per term to
send a student to a university was
$2, 145; average community college
cost per term was $1,985. The
average voctional technical course
cost was $4,250. Vocational train
ing is the most expensive because
of its short-term, high intensity
nature.
One student gained non-tribal
funding totaling $2,000 during the
1989-1990 school year. To take
some of 'the burden off the Tribe,
"students should take advantage of
other funding," says Mitchell.
The Tribe contributes heavily to
a student's education. The Tribe
pays all tuition and book costs at
the state level. The Tribe also pays
80 percent of the living costs, based
on the state level. Students are
required to pay 20 percent of their
living expenses.
During the 1989-1990 school
year, student ages ranged between
1 9 and 42. Twenty-one of the 40 female
students, or 53 percent, were single
andor single with children. Stu
dents received a monthly $200 sti
pend per dependent child while
attending classes. Dependent costs
averaged $42,000 per year. Approx
imately 38 percent of all students
were married.
A large percentage of education
funds are expended on voca
tionaltechnical training which
shows low completion and high
dropout rates. It has been recom
mended that students be screened
and assessed prior to funding to
ensure success and reduce the dro
pout rate.
Students tend not to receive a
college preparatory high school
education, thus they spend much
of their time doing developmental
coursework when they enter college.
Students are encouraged to improve
in these areas before heading off to
campus by taking courses offered
by the Warm Springs office of Cen
tral Oregon Community College.
SMILE encourages math, science careers
Childcare needed for students
"It's difficult to find good child
care," says Teen Parent Program
coordinator Lisbet Hornung. "It's
frustrating, not only for young
parents who need child care, but
for educators who want to see stu
dents in school."
The Teen Parent Program, in
operation since 1987, continuously
has to overcome hurdles, says
Hornung. The major obstacle now
is finding reliable child care for
students who want to attend school.
Hornung points out that one
Warm Springs student who, last
year, wants to go to classes can
greatly benefit from child care ser
vices. Several students who are
pregnant will need babysitters alter
their babies are born while
attending school. "We have a pro
gram,"says Hornung, "but we can't
provide the services, resources are
lacking."
Caretakers who watch the child
ren of Teen Parent Program partic
ipants are on contract with School
District 509-J. They must be screen
ed, passing a health and safety
checklist. Caretakers receive $1.25
per hour for each child.
Hornung would like to hear from
anyone interested in prov iding child
care to the Teen Parent Program.
Call her at 473-7263.
Upon first hearing about all the
exciting things happening in the
Science and Math Investigative
Learning Experience program,
people frequently comment on the
desirability of having such enrich
ment programs enhance the educa
tion of an even larger percentage of
students. But the program's tar
geted population, traditionally under-represented
in college and in
dustry, are minority students. For
participation students must express
an interest and hold a 3.00 grade
point average.The enrichment ex
ercises through SMILE are focused
on encouraging the students to
enter math and science fields.
The science and math program is
sponsored by the Office of Aca
demic Affairs and the College of
Science at Oregon State University
and is funded by a number of large
firms.
The SMILE program "provides
teachers with the opportunity,
means, and incentive to develop
nd implement alternative teach-
ng strategies, says Madras Jr.
High science teacher and SMILE
advisor David Vick.
The structure of the weekly after
school meetings is ideal for both
teachers and students to investi
gate new ideas together. Students
are limited by time and they are
there because they want to be. Vick
states, "What a joy it is to be able to
teach in an environment closer to
the humanistic ideal where the focus
is on the process of an activity, not
on the end product of a grade."
One of the features of the progrim
allows teachers to experiment with
many ideas before sharing them
with students in the conventional
classroom setting.
The SMILE program provides
computers for students' use. Vick
feels that with the computer stu
dents will be more literate and as a
teacher he can better provide cus
tom education, lab activities and
assessment tools for students.
Held trips are an integral part of
the SMILE program. MJH stu
dents have taken several trips and
are planning others.
Students visited the headwaters
of the Metolius River in the fall
and discovered why it received this
Indian name. "Metolius" means
stinking fish. Before the dams were
built on the Deschutes River, this
tributary had a large salmon run
and the dying spawners would lit
ter the banks of the river. The stu
dents also visited Wizard Falls
Trout Hatchery.
Another field trip involved a
visit to Pine Mountain observatory
which houses three telescopes.
After conducting investigations
involving electricity, students
toured Portland General Electric's
Pelton-Round Butte Projects. The
hydroelectric dam has three gener
ators with 50 foot diameters that
are capable of producing over 300
megawatts of electricty, enough to
supply a city the size of Portland.
At thee High Desert Museum in
Bend students saw otters, a presen
tation on birds of prey and explored
200 years of regional history which
includes the lives of local tribes and
today's cattle ranches.
On April 7 the field trip was to
Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry where SMILE students
saw the planetarium show on
NASA's Voyager flight to outer
planets of this solar system.
Planned field trips include a visit
to Mud Springs where Madras
High School Forestry students are
doing stream rehabilitation work.
The Soil Conservation Service is
also planning a field trip for the
students.
Students excitement about
SMILE are shown through com
ments: Marcella Brunoe states,
"SMILE has encouraged me to
think ahead about college. SM ILE
is important to me because I can
learn more about science and math."
Sunmiet Minnick comments.
"SMILt has helped me a lot in
science. It has also made me think
about college. Even though law
school is my first choice, I'm going
to think about OSU."
The MJH SMILE students in
clude: Jesse Anstett, Marcella
Brunoe, Nathan Dexter, Danica
Green, Sharon Jones, Sunmiet
Minnick, Andrea Moroyoqui, Terri
Philpot, Rhea Pierre, Louie Smith,
Jason Suarez, Jennifer Tufti, Chet
VanPelt, Mindy Walker and Aaron
Wilson.
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Jo De Goudy, eighth grade, works on elecricity project during after'
school SMILE class at Madras Junior High.
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