Navajo President Says Navajo Head Start is Improving WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly welcomed the opening of a new school year at Navajo Nation Head Start. "We are making progress to make our Head Start Program better than it has been in the past. We are making bold changes and want to make sure our Head Start program complies with all the federal Head Start standards," President Shelly said. Navajo Head Start, a $27 million program, has been trying to stabilize throughout the year after nearly being terminated by Federal Head Start in fall of 2011 and, most recently, the program achieved a feat that has hampered Head Start for years. During this next school year the program will begin its first year of rebuilding in order to improve services. "This has to be done because it is one of the terms that the Navajo Nation agreed to with the Federal Office of Head Start in our government to government consultations to keep the program running," said Dawn Yazzie, presidential staff assistant assigned to Head Start. Yazzie has been working closely with Navajo Head Start since last summer, and now has some pieces in place that are going to be the pillars for the program to continue to rebuild. For the first time in recent history, a licensed superintendent heads Navajo Head Start. Sharon Singer, who has 25 years of teaching and administrative experience in working with rural and urban schools, was hired on at Navajo Head Start in the middle of August. "Early Childhood is vital to the education system, my vision is to provide quality education and services to the students and families of the Navajo Nation,'' says Singer. Transformative leadership that encompasses transparency and accountability is priority for Singer. "I will be visiting your centers," Singer said to Head Start employees before the school year started. Navajo Head Start has enrolled more than 2,100 students for the upcoming year, which is about two thirds of what enrollment was before the 2006 shutdown. Various issues from filling vacant positions to bringing structures into compliance have hindered the program's enrollment potential. "One of our biggest challenges is getting enrollment numbers back to where they used to be due to the programs instability and lack of updated facilities and difficulty in finding credentialed teachers," Yazzie said. When Head Start was suspended in 2006, about 3,600 students were enrolled in centers and home base programs throughout the Navajo Nation. However, another factor plagued the Navajo Head Start. The federal government threatened to cut Navajo Head Start's funding in half from $27 million a year to just below $15 million a year. Then came news of the program being possibly terminated due to non-compliance in correcting issues. "I had to use my political connections to meet with high ranking federal officials to keep the program afloat," President Shelly said. President Shelly met with U.S. Senators and Representatives and told them that Head Start didn't consult with the Navajo Nation on a government-to-government basis. This consultation is required considering that the Navajo Nation has unique differences from other large programs across the United States. "The Navajo Nation has very little infrastructure and very minimal health resources," said President Shelly. All of these issues affect the Navajo Head Start program. The Office of Head Start Director Yvette Sanchez-Fuentes conducted a sight visit in December and agreed to allow the Navajo Nation three to five years to revamp Head Start in order to meet the more than 2,800 regulations. "We have come a long ways since November of last year, but we aren't out of the woods yet. We still have a lot of work to do to make this program successful. I hope everyone gets on board for the changes we must make to keep this program on the Navajo Nation," President Shelly added. The Head Start program received a letter in mid-August from the Office of Head Start confirming that they will receive $26.8 million for fiscal year 2013 to run the program.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Navajo Head Start Improving
development of Grand Canyon Escalade project
Resources and Development Committee listens to Bodaway/Gap Chapter group supporting development of Grand Canyon Escalade project 22nd NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL | Office of the Speaker MEDIA CONTACTS Jerome Clark | 928.637.5603<tel:928.637.5603> Carmenlita Chief | 928.255.3428<tel:928.255.3428> nnlb.communications@gmail.com<mailto:nnlb.communications@gmail.com> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2012 Resources and Development Committee listens to Bodaway/Gap Chapter group supporting development of Grand Canyon Escalade project ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. - As a testament to fairness and equity, the Resources and Development Committee listened to a presentation from developers and a group of citizens from Bodaway/Gap Chapter touting the benefits of developing the proposed Grand Canyon Escalade project. Last month, the committee accepted a report from a separate group of citizens from Bodaway/Gap Chapter that were in opposition to the project's construction, primarily because of its proximity to the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers, a sacred site used for prayer offerings. Shortly after that report, Council Delegate Katherine Benally (Chilchinbeto, Kayenta, Dennehotso) cited that it was only fair to hear what the projects supporters had to say. The presentation in support of the project's construction was led by Albert Hale, former Arizona state senator and former Navajo Nation president, now a partner and legal advisor with Confluence Partners', LLC, the developers behind the estimated $200 million tourist destination project. In his presentation, Hale identified project details, project economics, and its current status, followed by an outline of what the next steps are for advancing the project. The project site, which will be located west of Tuba City and southwest of Bodaway/Gap, is designed to include hotel lodges, specialty retail stores, an RV park, facilities for artists to vend their crafts, restaurants and cafes, a general store, a cultural center and museum, and a tram station connected to gondalas that will carry tourists down to a riverwalk near the bottom of the canyon. According to plan details, the Confluence Partners will primarily develop and manage the project under an operating and development agreement with the Navajo Nation. The developers are responsible for raising the $120 million in private investment funds that are needed to help pay for onsite construction activities. The Navajo Nation, however, will be asked to contribute up to $60 million," said Hale, "which will be used to construct roads and utilities to the site." Hale argued that since the Nation is "obligated" to extend and improve roads and utilities for residents in these areas, it would eventually need to spend millions of dollars in the future anyway to fulfill the need for these infrastructural development and improvement projects. A group of about 30 supporters from the Bodaway/Gap Chapter underscored the importance of the project to bring much needed economic development to the area, which for four decades had been impacted by no-build restrictions imposed under the Bennett Freeze, lifted in 2006. The development would bring jobs that would enable Navajo family members to stay home on the reservation to provide for their families and remain in a setting to maintain cultural identity and knowledge of the Navajo language, the group said. "I'm not against the project. This committee is pro-economic development," said Council Delegate Leonard Tsosie (Baca/Prewitt, Casamero Lake, Counselor, Littlewater, Ojo Encino, Pueblo Pintado, Torreon, Whitehorse Lake), who clarified that the questions and concerns posed by the committee is reflective of the cautious and "harmonious" manner in which the committee is trying to approach the issue. "One thing that worries me is that [the groups are] beginning to approach this committee separately. Last time we had the other group, and now we have the pro-group," Delegate Tsosie added. Delegates Benally and Tsosie both urged the supporting group to work with members of the opposing group, as well as the Navajo Medicine Men's Association, to mediate and address the concerns of both parties. The association had passed a resolution opposing the project. The division within the community of Bodaway/Gap was unsettling and worrisome for Delegate Tsosie, who stated that the negligence of the teaching of k'é was not "the Navajo way." If mediation discussions do not prove fruitful, the committee suggested another solution - that perhaps the issue will have to go up for a chapter referendum vote. Whichever avenue of solution, the committee stressed to all parties to interact respectively with one another and to move toward a harmonious position that will benefit all individuals and families involved.
Gallup Community Health Advocacy Project meeting 09/26 6pm
The
Gallup Community Health Advocacy Project and Ballot Box Coalition are
inviting everyone for a meeting at Gallup UNM, Gurley Hall, Student
Lobos Conference Room on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.
concerning children’s health and education services. Please call
505-399-1491 for more information.
"Navajo Times" news
Published on Sep 21, 2012 by navajotimesvideos
Navajo Nation Council's Naa'bik'iyati'
Committee tables legislation to continue the current 2012 budget with a
vote of 7 in favor and 5 opposed yesterday; U.S. House of
Representatives approved a bill on Sept. 19 that would authorize the
chief executive of a federally recognized Indian tribe to make a request
to the president for a declaration of an emergency or major disaster by
amending the Stafford Act; Navajo Technical College will host a
blessing and groundbreaking ceremonies Monday for its new Center for
Digital Technologies Fabrication Laboratory in Crownpoint and 6th Annual
Monument Valley Blues and Film Festival.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Uplift Community School is hiring Educational Assistants
update 09/26/12
UPLIFT COMMUNITY SCHOOL, an elementary charter school is seeking to add to
their staff. Would like to hire two Educational Assistants and a fourth grade
teacher. Must be willing to work collaboratively and learn Expeditionary
Learning strategies. Check the web site for more information
www.upliftschool.org or call 863-4333. For more information about EL look at
www.elschools.org
--------------------------
Uplift Community School is hiring Educational Assistants to join our team.
Must exemplify initiative and collaboration, and be committed to learning and
implementing the Expeditionary Learning approach.
Submit resume, cover letter and copy of licensure to
director@upliftschool.org
The school is located at 406 NM State Highway 564, Gallup, New Mexico
Uplift Community School
(505) 863-4333
http://www.upliftschool.org/
http://www.elschools.org/
UPLIFT COMMUNITY SCHOOL, an elementary charter school is seeking to add to
their staff. Would like to hire two Educational Assistants and a fourth grade
teacher. Must be willing to work collaboratively and learn Expeditionary
Learning strategies. Check the web site for more information
www.upliftschool.org or call 863-4333. For more information about EL look at
www.elschools.org
--------------------------
Uplift Community School is hiring Educational Assistants to join our team.
Must exemplify initiative and collaboration, and be committed to learning and
implementing the Expeditionary Learning approach.
Submit resume, cover letter and copy of licensure to
director@upliftschool.org
The school is located at 406 NM State Highway 564, Gallup, New Mexico
Uplift Community School
(505) 863-4333
http://www.upliftschool.org/
http://www.elschools.org/
Speak Out Against Hunger This September 21
From:
"Feeding America"
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