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JANUARY 15, 2021
5
General Council briefed on Tribe’s education efforts
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals staff writer
Education Department Manager
Angela Fasana briefed Tribal mem-
bers on the department’s various
programs and accomplishments
during a Sunday, Jan. 3, General
Council meeting held via the Zoom
video conferencing application.
During the meeting, Fasana dis-
cussed the changing methods and
challenging aspects of delivering
services during a global pandemic.
“This year has been challeng-
ing and humbling for our staff in
responding to our families,” she
said. “Since March, it has all been
a COVID response plan. We im-
mediately had to shift and make
changes.”
Fasana said that the Education
Department’s response plan is
available on the Tribal website at
www.grandronde.org.
“We’re also working on a re-open-
ing plan,” she said. “We had to do
a lot of research and sift through a
lot of federal policies to see how to
safely re-open.”
Fasana said that the technology
assistance grant, which provided
$500 for a laptop, tablet or desktop,
was a huge help to both students
and Elders. The grant, which was
funded from federal CARES Act
dollars, originally expired Dec. 31.
In total, 563 students and 341 El-
ders were able to access the grant.
Fasana said that this year was
also a time to work on creating con-
sistency and cohesiveness within
the Education Department.
“We’re trying to create more ef-
ficiency in how we run the depart-
ment,” she said. “There are lots of
individual silos within it. One of
the main things I ask is are we
providing the best services we can?”
She said that holding regular vir-
tual community
input meetings
has been help-
ful in answering
that question.
Fasana also
provided an
overview of the
early childhood,
Angela Fasana
youth and high-
er education
programs, as well as an update on
library services during the pan-
demic.
Some of the highlights include:
• There are 59 students in five
preschool classrooms and 39
students in the home-based
program. Current instruction
includes virtual learning with
packets of materials dropped off
to families and meals delivered,
socially distanced events, student
assessments conducted outdoors,
and home visitors providing
virtual and socially distanced
events.
• The Chinuk language program
has provided virtual/limited
in-person instruction and class-
rooms for preschool through
high school students, as well as
a virtual community class, videos
and socially distanced parades
and graduation. There are nine
students in the preschool class,
13 in the kindergarten to third-
grade class, 15 in the middle/
high school classes and 13 in the
community class.
• Youth Education serves 127
students who utilize virtual ac-
ademic coaches or guided study
classes. Additionally, the hihi
lakhaset (fun boxes) activity proj-
ect continues to serve hundreds
of students locally and out of the
area. Youth Education employees
have created a YouTube channel
with a variety of videos and also
have partnered with Youth Em-
powerment and Prevention.
• Higher Education currently has
95 students in bachelor degree
programs, 41 in graduate degree
programs, 87 in community col-
lege programs, eight in non-credit
classes, nine enrolled in GED
programs, two in early college
enrollment and 38 enrolled in
Families Working with Education
& Family Partnerships. There is
virtual tutoring offered during
the pandemic, and virtual events
such as financial aid nights, ca-
reer coaching and student sup-
port.
• The library served 96 partic-
ipants during its fall literacy
program, is providing curbside
check-outs for books and DVDs,
virtual book reads by Librarian
Kathy Cole, and will soon have a
mobile library program for those
who cannot do curbside pickup.
Fasana said that re-opening the
Education Department programs
to full, in-person learning and ac-
tivities will be a gradual process.
“We have a lot of policies in place
and have drafted numerous plans,”
she said. “Our goal is a gradual, safe
re-opening. As vaccines roll out, that
will dictate what the road ahead
looks like. I’m very proud of our staff
for everything they have done.”
Fasana took seven questions from
the online audience. Tribal Council
Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy
said the presentation was “very
informative.”
“I know during COVID a lot of
the students have struggled with
online learning and continue to do
so,” Kennedy said. “I know that the
Education program will continue
to evolve to meet the needs of stu-
dents. I want to say thank you to
your team for taking the initiative
to do different things.”
In other action, it was announced
that the next General Council
meeting will be held at 11 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 7, via Zoom with a
program report from the Health &
Wellness Department.
Door prize winners were Leroy
Good, Veronica Gaston, Esther Fos-
ter, Karen Page and Debi Anderson,
$50 each; and Fae Smith, Elaine
Robertson and Robert Wiggs, $100
each.
The meeting can be viewed by
visiting the Tribal government’s
website at www.grandronde.org
and clicking on the Government tab
and then Videos.
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2020: A YEAR IN REVIEW
Applications accepted September 1, 2020
Smoke Signals shares the photos
and videos that captured the year.
Purpose: Tribal Funding allocated to assist families with high costs of child care
through a partial reimbursement program through the Social Services Department.
This is a first come first serve program
Full applications and supporting documents must be received to process application
Approved applicants will receive the reimbursement September 1 through August 31 of the
Viewable on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
current year
Each household will receive up to a $100 monthly reimbursement per eligible child
Social Services will maintain a waiting list based on date/time of application in the event
that approved applicants become ineligible at any point during the current application year
Eligibility:
The child receiving childcare must be a Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) member
and 12 years old or younger
Child must attend a Certified Licensed Childcare Facility
Parent (s) / Guardian must be currently employed at least 20 hours per week or more and /or
attending school as a part-time student minimum
Two parent/guardian household, both parents/guardians must be working or attending school
Household must meet the income criteria of 185% of Federal Poverty Level
Documentation required:
Completed Application
Verification of child(s) residence or custody agreement (ie. 2019 Taxes, Rental Agreement, Snap
report etc.).
Copy of childcare facility license
Release of Information for the childcare facility
Copies of wage stubs for the past 30 days and current classroom schedule. For two parent/
guardian households, both parents must provide documentation
Contact Social Services at (503) 879-2034
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