District to pursue Dakota language lessons, tutoring and data work in response to American Indian Parent Council requests

The Red Wing Public School District board on March 24 approved an administrative response to a resolution submitted by the American Indian Parent Council that asks the district to prioritize additional staffing, language revitalization, student safety and data sharing.

The board packet included a draft response addressing four primary requests from the council: planning for additional staffing to serve future student counts (including tutoring); prioritizing language revitalization from early childhood through high school; improving safety and cultural-awareness training for bus drivers and other staff; and creating aggregated American Indian student data reports.

Administrators told the board they are already pursuing several of the requested items. The district said it is exploring tutoring capacity for American Indian students in coordination with Prairie Island and identifying fiscal requirements that would be needed if the district added dedicated staff. The district also reported it has received a language-revitalization grant—described during the meeting as about $500,000—that will fund development of Dakota-language lessons and expansion of Dakota language courses at the high school. Officials said the grant must be spent in a condensed timeline because the start date was pushed to June 30, 2026, and the district plans to coordinate work with other grantees to avoid duplicative lesson development.

On safety, the administration committed to working with contracted bus services and drivers to add training tailored to local needs and cultural awareness. For data, the district said Emily, the director of teaching and learning, and the American Indian Education Program director would work with the council to create an aggregated American Indian student dashboard that would provide up-to-date group-level data while protecting individual privacy.

Board members discussed whether the district should commit to new recurring staff positions in the face of looming budget pressures. Administrators said that because the district is working through budget gap options, it could not make firm commitments to new district-funded positions immediately but would evaluate tutoring and staffing needs and collaborate with Prairie Island on potential solutions. The board approved the proposed response and asked administration to follow up with the parent council.

Why it matters: The measures—language programming, tutoring and culturally informed driver training—affect how the district serves American Indian students and reflect commitments to language and cultural preservation in partnership with Prairie Island and other stakeholders.

Next steps: Administration will discuss implementation details with Prairie Island, the American Indian Parent Council and program staff and will report back to the board at a future meeting.