Office of Indian Education reports enrollment, programs and funding; district notes data limits

Anna Brokenleg, supervisor for the Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Office of Indian Education, presented an overview of the offices programs, student enrollment and funding during the board work session.

Brokenleg said the Office of Indian Education supports indigenous students through curriculum, language and cultural programming and case management. "Our mission is to empower our native students by connecting them to their culture, their history," she said.

Brokenleg described program staffing and services. The district has elementary Oceti Sakowin (OSO) facilitators, middle- and high-school OSO teachers that offer stand-alone courses and case management for Native students, two citywide liaisons who split east- and west-side responsibilities, clerical staff and social workers who work with attendance and family needs. She said OSO teachers case-manage every Native student in their building and aim for one to two check-ins per quarter.

On enrollment and reporting, Brokenleg said the count used to determine federal Title VI Indian Education grant funding is lower than the districts full tally of students who self-identify as Native. She said the district had 506 Title VI forms on file and that the count used for Title VI purposes was about 1,756 students; the districts high count last year, including all self-identified students, was 2,202. Brokenleg said Native students are about 9% of the districts K-12 population and close to 10% if pre-K through age 21 are included.

Brokenleg reviewed funding sources. She said Johnson O'Malley (JOM) funds, which flow through a nearby tribe, amount to about $13,500 annually and cover supplies and family vouchers. She said the districts Title VI Indian Education grant award for the year was $407,751 and that those dollars pay for one OSO teacher, one liaison, most of a clerical position (about 0.88 FTE), parts of social-worker staffing (roughly 0.66 of three positions) and stipends for OSO facilitators; district funds cover the remainder of OSO staffing and administrative costs.

Brokenleg listed recurring events and programs the office runs or supports, including an open house where families pick up vouchers and services, a winter solstice community event, an eighth-grade and senior honoring ceremony (recently held at the Washington Pavilion), field trips tied to cultural curriculum, college-visit programs with Augustana and USD, and scholarship and transition supports for older students. She also described professional development including Reclaiming Youth at Risk training for OSO staff and a ribbon project supported by a $5,000 public-school-proud grant.

On data, Brokenleg said district systems make it difficult to disaggregate students who select "two or more ethnicities," which can mask Native students in state and federal reporting. "The deeper we can go as far as being able to pull some of those students out of the two or more ethnicity category, the better picture we're going to be able to get," she said.

Brokenleg said the office also consults with tribal education directors (TEDs) across the state and noted that tribal consultation is required with tribes within a 50-mile radius for certain federal processes; for local distribution of JOM funds the district contracts with Flandreau. She said district staff are exploring possibilities for traditional healing access, smudging protocols and additional professional development for administrators and staff. Board members asked questions about graduation and completion trends and whether the office can produce school-level outcomes; Brokenleg said the office is working to develop more granular reports.

The presentation was informational; there was no board action during the work session.