Reznet

Larry Gauer, acting director of the Graduate Studies Department at Oglala Lakota College Reznet photo by Sandra White Shield

Pioneering Quest

By Sandra White Shield

KYLE, S.D.—Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is making preparations to become the first tribal college in the nation to gain accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

The school's Education and Graduate Studies departments have met preconditions with the council and are scheduled for a site visit in March to continue the move toward full accreditation.

Art W. Fisher, the college's dean of education, said the process has resulted in a tightening of the teacher preparation program and addition of quality educators. NCATE assessment is based on performance but is not standardized so that a school's culture can be a part of the assessment.

A nonprofit, non-governmental alliance of 33 national professional and public organizations, NCATE currently accredits 632 colleges of education and says "nearly 100 more" are seeking accreditation. The U. S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognize NCATE as a professional accrediting body for teacher preparation.

Founded in 1954, NCATE "is one of the oldest, largest teacher accreditation programs," Fisher said.

While NCATE accreditation is not required in South Dakota, NCATE standards and processes are being used in the state, he said.

"Nine reviewers will come in March," Fisher said, "and will interview faculty, alumni, teacher candidates, review course work and assess our system."

Fisher said the goal of the process is to make sure teachers know the subject matter they are teaching and know how to teach effectively. "This has forced us to have criteria in black and white," he added. "All kids have the right to an effective teacher."

Larry Gauer, acting director of the Graduate Studies Department, also has been compiling data to be reviewed by the NCATE visitors.

"NCATE accreditation will help Oglala Lakota College to focus on specific criteria which will help us train more highly qualified administrators," Gauer said, adding that his department "is using most, if not all, of the standards outlined for quality administrators. The NCATE accreditation has helped us to become more aware of those ideals during our pursuit of the prestigious accreditation."

Sandra White Shield, Rosebud Lakota, is a student at Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. She is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's 2006 American Indian Journalism Institute.