American Indian Youth Summer Institute (education/opportunity)

Opportunity for Native American HS students who are eligible to attend the American Indian Summer Institute at California State University, Sacramento. The institute is from June 24-28, 2012.  Below is the information:

The American Indian Summer Institute is a free, 5 day, residential program at CSU, Sacramento. Students will be provided with housing in the CSU Sacramento dorms as well as meals and snacks for the 5-day stay at the AISI this year. We will have the students focusing on developing leadership skills as well as becoming comfortable in a college type setting. There will be different activities for the future higher ed. students including visiting college campuses, white water rafting, listening to presentations by Tribal leaders, and a ropes course.

Eligibility:
  • The student must be currently enrolled as a sophomore or junior high school student for the current 2011-2012 school year (student will be a junior/senior in Fall 2012)
  • The student must be enrolled in a tribe (enrollment will be verified)
  • The student should have a desire to continue on to a college or University after graduation
  • The student must complete the online application and submit the necessary materials by the deadline: May 4, 2012 (you will be notified of any deadline extensions)

It is very important for you to fill out every section of the application, even if you’re not totally sure how to answer some of the questions. This year the application is online but you will have to email or fax some documents.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for assisting us with this educational endeavor. If you have any questions, please contact Ricardo Torres, Faculty Counselor, CSU Sacramento, torresr@csus.edu or visit the website by clicking the following link at http://webapps2.csus.edu/saseep/aisi/Flyer.asp to answer any questions you may have.

Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills (education)

Home » News » Students News » Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills

Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 9, 2012

Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal SkillsProblems with visual attention before a child is able to read may lead to a later diagnosis of dyslexia, according to a new study published in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

“Visual attention deficits are surprisingly way more predictive of future reading disorders than are language abilities at the pre-reading stage,” said Andrea Facoetti of the University of Padua in Italy.

The researchers believe that the findings not only end a long-term debate on the causes of dyslexia but also pioneer a new approach for early identification and intervention for the 10 percent of children who will struggle with extreme reading difficulties.

For a period of three years, the researchers studied Italian-speaking children, from the time they were pre-reading kindergartners until they entered second grade. The team evaluated pre-readers for skills in visual spatial attention—the ability to filter relevant vs. irrelevant information—in which the children were asked to pinpoint specific symbols among distractions.

The children were also tested on syllable identification, verbal short-term memory, and rapid color naming, followed over the next two years by measures of reading.

The findings revealed that kids who initially had difficulties with visual attention were the ones to struggle later with reading.

“This is a radical change to the theoretical framework explaining dyslexia,” Facoetti said. “It forces us to rewrite what is known about the disorder and to change rehabilitation treatments in order to reduce its impact.”

He emphasizes that simple visual-attention tasks should help identify young children at risk for dyslexia. “Because recent studies show that specific pre-reading programs can improve reading abilities, children at risk for dyslexia could be treated with preventive remediation programs of visual spatial attention before they learn to read.”

Source:  Cell Press

Mother and boy looking at book photo by shutterstock.


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APA Reference
Pedersen, T. (2012). Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 9, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/04/09/dyslexia-begins-with-visual-spatial-p...

 

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via psychcentral.com

Udall Scholarship (education scholarship)

Three Dartmouth students have been granted scholarship awards from the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, which recognizes college sophomores and juniors who either intend to pursue careers related to the environment, or who intend to pursue careers in Native health care or tribal public policy and are Native American or Alaska Native. Jason Curley ’13 was one of 80 students nationwide to be awarded a Udall Scholarship, and Nicole Kanayurak ’13 and Montana Wilson ’13 were two of 50 honorable mentions.

Jason Curley ’13 was one of 80 students nationwide to win a scholarship from the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation. Curley’s plans for the future include earning a postbaccalaureate degree, attending medical school, and then returning to the Navajo Nation to practice medicine and develop more effective health care policies. (photo by Eli Burak ’00)
Assistant Dean for Scholarship Advising Kristin O’Rourke, says this was the most competitive year to date for the Udall scholarship program, which saw a large increase in the number of applications. “To have one winner and two honorable mentions during the most competitive year shows how strong our students are,” says O’Rourke.
Curley, a Native American Studies major and digital arts minor from Ganado, Ariz., received an award of up to $5,000 from the Udall Foundation. He plans to earn a postbaccalaureate degree following graduation and then attend medical school. A Navajo/Diné, he intends to return to the Navajo Nation after completing medical school, to practice medicine and develop more effective health care policies.
“I’m very honored to have received this distinguished award because it recognizes something I’ve always aspired to, which is service, and more importantly service to Native Americans,” says Curley, who is a member of Casque & Gauntlet Senior Society and Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity, and who received the Office of First Year Students’ annual prize for outstanding male student.
Curley has also served as the undergraduate resident assistant for Dartmouth’s Native American House. “Being awarded a Udall Scholarship confirms to me that other people have faith and trust in me and think that I’ll do good work for my people.”
This spring, while on a D-Plan leave term, Curley will continue community health outreach in the Navajo Nation, work which he had started with Partners in Health the summer after his first year at Dartmouth.
“Community health outreach and policy-making that has to do with the holistic and individual wellbeing of people are the things I’m very much interested in,” says Curley, who is also a member of Occom Pond Singers and has served on the Dartmouth Pow-Wow Committee. “And having been a part of this community health outreach program, I feel that there’s no one better to address the health needs of my people than one of our own.”

Nicole Kanayurak ’13, a Udall Scholarship honorable mention, is interested in Arctic environmental policy issues pertaining to oil, gas, and natural resource development on the North Slope of Alaska. (photo by Eli Burak ’00)
Kanayurak, an environmental studies major from Barrow, Alaska, plans to “be a leader in Arctic environmental policy issues pertaining to oil, gas, and natural resource development on the North Slope of Alaska.” The daughter of a whaling captain and subsistence hunter, she is considering law school and hopes to “help alleviate the tension and dichotomies of different groups involved with Arctic issues as we experience environmental changes in our communities. I would like to help the Inuit people cope with these changes.”
A James O. Freedman Presidential Scholar and an Occom Scholar, Kanayurak is working with Professor Xiahong Feng in the Department of Earth Sciences, analyzing tundra soil samples from Greenland. “It’s good to have the opportunity to learn about the Arctic all the way over here and get a new perspective, and also to be learning things that I can potentially apply back home,” says Kanayurak, who is also a member of Native Americans at Dartmouth, Smart Women Securities, and the Dartmouth Council on Climate Change.

Montana Wilson ’13, a Udall Scholarship honorable mention, plans on becoming a professor and educating students “on tribal governance, sovereignty, and political theory.” (photo courtesy of Montana Wilson ’13)
Wilson is a government and Native American Studies double major from Poplar, Mont. A Gros Ventre, whose people are enrolled in the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana, Wilson plans to pursue a PhD in government focusing on tribal administration and public policy. His goal is to become a professor and educate students “on tribal governance, sovereignty, and political theory. Simultaneously, I will be an advocate for underrepresented Native American people and tribes in the development of tribal public policy.”
A Dartmouth Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, as well as a Gates Millennium Scholar and an Occom Scholar, Wilson is a member of Casque & Gauntlet, Alpha Theta coeducational fraternity, and president of the Dartmouth Pow-Wow. He also works as a Dartmouth admissions intern.
For more information on the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation Scholarship, see Dartmouth’s National Scholarships/Fellowships website.

Language & College Retention (language)

Language preservation helps American Indian students stick with college - The Sacramento Bee
www.sacbee.com
Michael Murphy was a self-described %22troublemaker%22 who wasn't sure about leaving the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians' reservation for college. He filled out only one application, to nearby California State University, San Marcos.


Súva Nik /So Long, See You Later
André Cramblit
, Operations Director
Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) 
(
http://www.ncidc.org
) 707.445.8451

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Reducing Stress (education)

Edutopia: What Works in Education. The George Lucas Educational Foundation
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February 29, 2012   (Happy Leap Day!)
Reducing Stress and Preparing Students for Learning
Students in auditorium meditating

New Schools That Work:
Using Meditation to Reduce Student Stress
See how one middle school in San Francisco implemented a Quiet Time program that's reducing truancies and suspensions -- and preparing students for learning.

Risking Peace at a Troubled School
Edutopia's David Markus takes you behind the scenes of a remarkable middle school to show how they took a bold step to reduce student stress.

How to Set Up a Meditation Program at
Your School
Learn why training, consistency, and trust are keys to successfully implementing a school meditation program.

Most Popular Blogs Last Week

Check out our latest package on reducing student stress on our Facebook page! Download a resource and watch the video.

This week, two lucky winners will receive passes to the ASCD Annual Conference on March 24-26, 2012 (up to a $165 value!). Enter by Sunday for a chance to win.

March 2: Read Across America

Blogger and teacher Elena Aguilar shares her strategies for creating engaging literature circles that motivate students to read. She explains how you can lay the groundwork and teach the protocol for discussions.

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Cafeteria man serving lunch with a full plate on the counter Video Spotlight
Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California, serves up a healthy school lunch with nutritious and delicious food kids love -- some of it locally grown in the school's own garden.

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--Helen Pettiford
parent of two SFUSD students and school district administrator

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NCAI Education Newsletter(edu/information)


NCAI Education Newsletter
January 23, 2012
Edition 4

Table of Contents

First in Series of Four Tribal Leader Education Roundtables Held Last Friday in Rapid City, SD

Over 150 tribal leaders, educators, and community members met in Rapid City, South Dakota, last Friday, January 20, to attend the first in a series of four tribal leader education roundtables hosted by the Departments of the Interior and Education. While comments covered a number of issues, the most frequently topics addressed fell into three broad areas: 

1.       Increasing support for language programs;
2.       Inadequate funding of all Bureau of Indian Education programs; and
3.       More direct involvement of tribes in the decision making process.

Please find more detailed notes on what was discussed at the roundtable attached to this email.

Also please find attached testimony submitted by the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association.

Click here to read the Rapid City Journal’s news coverage of the event.

Next Three Tribal Leader Education Roundtables to be Held in Norman, OK; Albuquerque, NM; and Seattle, WA Call for Notes and Comments

If you will be attending any of the upcoming Tribal Leader Roundtables, NCAI would greatly appreciate if you would share your notes and comments with us so we can distribute the information to tribal leaders and other stakeholders. Please email your notes to Katie Jones at kjones@ncai.org.
Other Information

At the Rapid City Tribal Leader Roundtable, there were many questions and comments about the Bureau of Indian Education’s administrative expenses. If you would like to raise this issue on behalf of your tribe and would like more information, please click here for the Department of the Interior's Budget Justifications and Performance Information for FY 2011.

Dates and Locations of the Upcoming Roundtables

  • January 23, 2012: Norman, OK - Embassy Suites
  • January 25, 2012: Albuquerque, NM - Sheraton Uptown
  • February 16, 2012: Seattle, WA – TBD
These one day events are open to the public and scheduled opportunities for in-person and teleconference public testimony will be made available. Participants will also be able to submit their testimony via mail or email. The roundtables will also be webcasted.
 
There is no registration fee for the event. To receive teleconference and webcast information, you may register immediately online at  MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "r20.rs6.net" claiming to be http://triballeader-roundtables.indianeducation.org/. You will also find on the website the Executive Order 13592, lodging and travel information, and additional reports.
 
Click here to download the "Save the Date" announcement.
 
For additional information, contact Ahniwake Rose, Human Resources Policy Director, at arose@ncai.org or 202-466-7767.

Bureau of Indian Education Begins Search for Green Ribbon Schools

Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded schools can now apply for the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon School program (ED-GRS), which provides national recognition for schools using outstanding environmental programs and techniques.

Interested schools can access the online application on the BIE Green Ribbon School website at: http://www.bie.edu/greenribbonschools/index.htm. Applications are due by February 24, 2012. The BIE will review and select up to four nominees to the ED-GRS. Awardees will be announced in April 2012 and are expected to receive their awards in May 2012.

The BIE joined the recently launched national Green Ribbon School program and launched a nationwide search across Indian Country to find outstanding environmental schools that meet its standards. Many BIE schools are actively saving energy, reducing costs, promoting environmental literacy and providing healthy environments for students, faculty and staff. Those schools will now have the opportunity to be recognized nationally.

States and other education agencies have also been invited to participate in the Green Ribbon Schools program, which is patterned after the long running Blue Ribbon School Program. The new federal program encourages schools to:

·         Implement energy conservation measures that pave the way for reduced environmental impact, cost savings, and job creation;
·         Undertake environmental and behavioral changes in schools that ensure the health, wellness, and productivity of students, teachers, and staff, and;
·         Promote environmental education that supports students’ strong civic skills, environmental stewardship, and workforce preparedness.

As part of this effort to promote a comprehensive approach to creating a healthier school environment in all BIE-funded schools, the Bureau committed to the Let’s Move! in Indian Country (LMIC) initiative in 2010 and encouraged all BIE-funded schools to sign up to become Team Nutrition Schools. The LMIC website (http://www.letsmove.gov/indiancountry) includes information about resources, grants and programs available to assist schools in becoming healthier places of learning.