As You Ask Hard Questions Concerning the Abysmal Achievement Levels for American Indian/ Native American Students at the Minneapolis Public Schools, Be Aware of An Event This Week (Thursday, 17 November 2016) at Which You Can Pose Your Queries While Offering Your Support: Native American Family Involvement Day (NAFID)

In conducting my research today into the inner workings of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), I ran across a posting at the website for the MPS Department of Indian Education that should be of interest to all of you interested in the lives and academic outcomes for all of our precious children.


In recent articles, I have given revelatory data and asked hard questions pertinent to the abysmal achievement levels for American Indian/ Native American Students at the Minneapolis Public Schools, as recorded in data from spring 2016 for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and the Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR).


You have an opportunity looming this week (Thursday, 17 November 2016) to ask hard questions at any MPS school that is giving recognition to Native American Family Involvement Day (NAFID), cited at the MPS Department of Indian Education Website as follows (with a few grammatical corrections of the kind that I often find necessary, an ongoing source of irritation to me in viewing websites at MPS) :


Native American Family Involvement Day (NAFID) is Thursday, November 17th 2016.


We invite each MPS school to celebrate NAFID, engage Native parents, and recognize Native people in education and in our community.


The official hashtag for this year's events is #NAFIDmps16 NAFID.


School Event Ideas


• Community speakers & presentations
• Drum groups & dance exhibitions
• Resource Fairs
• Native film screenings
• Share a meal with families
• Invite parents into the classroom
• Storytellers NAFID Activity Ideas
• Check out Minnesota Anishinaabeg game featuring Minnesota Ojibwe language and culture from our department.
• MPS staff can visit the Indian Education Resource Library on Destiny.


There are hundreds of great books, DVDs and CDs available to MPS staff to borrow.


• Organize a classroom activity along with a lesson.


Examples include the following:   beading workshops, moccasin making, creating tobacco pouches, dreamcatchers, etc.


Other Educational Resources


• Smithsonian Museum Education Website
• Classroom Activities about the Buffalo
• National Museum of the American Indian
• Phillips Indian Educators Classroom Resources
• More Info about Beadwork


Please contact Deanna StandingCloud at 612.668-0612 for further community resources and ideas to plan your event.


When your school has finalized its NAFID program, please email plan details to us at IndianEd@mpls.k12.mn.us




Apparently, members of the well-staffed (15 people [see my article as you scroll a few entries down this blog]) at MPS Indian Education did not themselves do anything to stage an event at any school.  One wonders, then, if this event is as much ignored as is Martin Luther King Day at MPS sites.


If there are any events at a school of your interest, by all means attend, enjoy the celebration, and absorb as much Native American culture as you can.


This would also be a superb opportunity to ask those hard questions about abysmal academic performance levels of American Indian students---  and if respect for Native American culture should not be expressed by giving these precious young people an education of true excellence.