Posts Tagged ‘Fort Peck Indian Reservaton’

12
Oct

Board hears complaints about reservation school principal under fire for treatment of struggling students

   Posted by: admin    in Uncategorized

There’s a minor update in Tuesday’s front page Missoulian story on the Poplar middle school principal who is accused of taking failing students aside and berating them. Poplar Public Schools, District 9/2B, is the second largest public school system on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Sixty percent of students at Poplar Middle School are Native. There were five suicides and 20 attempts at the small school last year. Parents, among other things, are worried the alleged segregation may hurt the healing of the students. Principal Patricia Black said she was trying to talk with students about “high expectations.”
Today’s Associated Press story details the complaints about Black heard by the school board. A decision on punishment could come Thursday.

    HELENA – A Fort Peck tribal council member says the Poplar School Board met in executive session to hear complaints about a middle-school principal who called out dozens of failing students during a school assembly.

    Dale DeCoteau says angry parents who believe principal Patricia Black unnecessarily shamed the students packed Monday’s school board meeting. He says six parents spoke to the board behind closed doors.

    DeCoteau, who was in attendance as an observer, says the school board will decide on Thursday whether to hand down any punishment.

    Black declined comment on Tuesday, saying she could not speak about what happened in the meeting. She has previously said she segregated the students at the end of a Sept. 27 school assembly to talk to them about how to improve their grades.


Jenna Cederberg

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4
Aug

Grants to two tribal youth programs; more stimulating news for 2 Montana reservations

   Posted by: admin    in American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Rocky Boy's Reservaton

A couple of announcements came over the transom today with good news for Montana’s tribes.

From Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s office, the news that nearly $1 million in federal grants will go to two tribal youth programs.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Salish Kootenai College will use a $359,667 grant to place 250 students in grade school to high school in service learning projects focusing on protecting the environment and preserving Native language and culture.

Hopa Mountain Inc. is a nonprofit organization that invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders who are working to improve education, ecological health and economic development. Its $580,000 grant will go to the Youth Leaders in Service program that fosters civic engagement for 11- to 17-year-olds.

The grants are from Learn and Serve America, a program administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Also, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s office announces that two northern Montana reservations could benefit from the latest chunk of federal stimulus change proposed for the state.

The Fort Peck-Dry Prairie Rural Water System would receive $14 million. The rural water system serves the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, as well as Valley, Daniels, Sheridan and Roosevelt counties. Once completed, the project will deliver treated water from the Missouri River through 3,200 miles of pipeline to 31,000 people in northeast Montana.

The Rocky Boy’s-North Central Montana Regional Water Authority would receive $16 million to deliver clean, safe drinking water to more than 50,000 people who live across north-central Montana. The project will eventually deliver treated water from Lake Elwell to the Chippewa Cree Tribe and 22 public water systems. Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation is currently experiencing severe shortages of clean water.

The Senate has approved the legislation funding the projects; now it goes to a conference committee to work out differences between the House and Senate versions.

And remember, here’s where you can check the flow of stimulus money into Indian Country.

Gwen Florio

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