Meeting the Challenge in Rural America

1
Meeting the Challenge in Rural America

• South Dakota
• Melody Schopp, Director
• Accreditation and Teacher Quality

2
Statewide Demographics

• State population - 775,933 46th ranking
• 77,129 square miles
• 9.9 people/square mile - 46th ranking
• 89 of cities in South Dakota have less than 3000
  people
• 13.2 of the population is below the poverty line

3
Ethnic Makeup

• The racial makeup of the state is
• 88.0 White
• 0.6 Black
• 1.4 Hispanic
• 8.3 Native American (Third highest in the
  continental U.S.)
• 0.6 Asian
• 1.3 Mixed race

4
DemographicsPublic Schools

• 168 public school districts
• 74.4 districts have less than 600 students
• 26.1 districts 200 or less students
• 48 districts 201-600 students
• 25.5 districts 601 or more students
• Two largest districts account for 26.8 of public
  school students

5
DemographicsPrivate Tribal School Systems

• Non-public school systems 49
• BIA school systems 20
• Poverty rates can be as much as four times the
  state average
• Unemployment rate on some reservations surpasses
  70 percent.

6
Changes in Population

• 121,000 K-12 students in 2004-05
• Enrollment has declined 4.3 since 2000
• All grades have dropped or remained steady with
  the exception of Kindergarten

7
Personnel

• Classroom FTEs has remained steady over past 5
  years
• 30 FTEs fall in the over 51 age group
• 17 FTEs fall in the 20-30 age group
• Average teacher salary 34,039 ranking 50th
  nationwide
• Average years of experience 15.1

8
Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining

• Rural
• Wages
• Isolation
• Lack of Support
• Necessity for teachers in small, rural schools to
  be able to teach multiple subjects and grades
• Long distances from colleges and universities

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Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining

• Tribal School
• Wages
• Isolation
• Lack of Support
• Necessity for teachers in small, rural schools to
  be able to teach multiple subjects and grades
• Long distances from colleges and universities
• Shortage of Native teachers and principals who
  understand tribal language and culture

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Strategies to Address Needs

• The Dakota Corps Scholarship
• Designed for high school and college students in
  South Dakota to provide full tuition to selected
  qualified applicants. The program was created to
  encourage students to
• Obtain their postsecondary education in South
  Dakota
• Remain in the state upon completion of their
  education
• Contribute to the state of South Dakota and its
  citizens by working in a critical need occupation
  

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Indian Education Grant for Teachers

• Oglala Lakota College will assist 20 Indian
  individuals to complete a bachelor's degree in
  elementary education.
• After participants graduate, OLS will provide
  one-year of induction services which includes
  visits from the coordinator, mentors and a
  mid-year networking conference for the
  participants, mentors and faculty.
• The graduates will be placed in schools with
  significant Indian student populations on the
  Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and in Rapid City,
  SD.

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Indian Education Grant for Administrators

• Oglala Lakota College is the only tribal college
  with a Master of Arts program.
• The college will train 25 Indian individuals as
  school principals in the Lakota
  Leadership/Management Educational Administration
  project.
• A consortium has been formed with Sitting Bull
  College, Si Tanka University and three
  reservation schools to tie best practices to
  theory and Wolakota values to increase the
  quality of school principals for schools serving
  Indian children.

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PRIME Promoting Reflective Inquiry in
Mathematics Education

• Promoting mathematics for all students in Rapid
  City Schools with a particular goal of reducing
  the achievement gap between Native American and
  non-Native American students
• The 5-year project provides 100 hours of
  professional development

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Title II, Part B - Math Science Partnership

• The MSP provides grants to partnerships between
  K-12 schools and higher education institutions
  through the Department of Education (DOE)
• Seeks to actively boost K-12 achievement in math
  by improving and upgrading subject area
  professional development, encouraging and
  advising teacher training and recruitment, and
  strengthening challenging subject-area
  curriculum.

15
Governors 2010E Initiative

• Goal 4 By 2010, South Dakota will build its
  educator base through targeted recruitment,
  retention and training.- Increase the number of
  certified teachers teaching in high-need areas by
  25 percent

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State InitiativesFunded through Teacher Quality
Enhancement Grant

• Mentoring with focus on high needs schools
• Governors New Teacher Academy
• Advanced degree support
• National Board Certification support
• Mentoring and stipends
• Creation of Native American Teacher Training
  Program

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Other Statewide Efforts

• Implementation of Praxis II testing
• Tutoring support groups
• Math/Science Specialist Masters Degree
  implementation
• Alternative Certification Partnerships
• Transition to Teaching
• Troops to Teachers
• Western States Certification Consortium
• Teach for America

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Statewide Technology

• All public K-12 and higher education institutions
  wired in 1998
• Private and tribal schools allowed to access
  system
• Statewide internet access, email, student
  information management system, two-way
  audio/video conferencing abilities paid and
  supported by the State
• Allows for equitable statewide access for classes
  and events for teachers and students

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New Initiatives for 2006-07

• Pilot laptop program for high schools grades 9-12
• Virtual High School
• Gear-Up Grant for Native American Students

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More Information.

• Governors 2010 Initiative - http//www.2010educat
  ion.com/index.htm
• Indian Education Professional Development grants
  for B.A. and M.A. programs at Oglala Lakota
  College 2005 http//wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/gr
  antaward/detail.cfm?detail_id2367461
• Math Science Partnership project funded by the
  National Science Foundation http//prime.mspnet.or
  g/
• Dakota Corps Scholarship http//prime.mspnet.org/
  
• Teacher Leadership Conference http//www.capjourn
  al.com/main.asp?SectionID2SubSectionID2Article
  ID13798

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• New Math Initiative http//doe.sd.gov/octa/title/I
  Ipartb/index.asp
• South Dakota Board of Regents awards Improving
  Teacher Quality State Grants http//www.sdbor.edu/
  grants/nclb/
• ESEA Consolidated State Application, September 1,
  2003 outlining goals to meet needs in high-needs
  areas http//doe.sd.gov/ofm/grants/esea/part2.asp
  5b
• Alternative Certification Programs
  http//doe.sd.gov/oatq/teachercert/alternativecert
  .asp

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Contact Information

• Melody Schopp, Director
• Office of Accreditation and Teacher Quality
• South Dakota Department of Education
• 700 Governors Drive
• Pierre, SD 57501
• 605-773-5232