Joining Forces
Education program works to bring collaboration among area schools

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Members of the Kellogg Leadership for Community Change presented information Tuesday night on the program that involves community members from the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna to the Grants-Cibola County school board.

Dr. Shelley Valdez told the board that in phase II, the schools on the east side of Cibola County, Laguna-Acoma Middle/High School, Acoma's Sky City Community School, St. Joseph's Elementary School in San Fidel, have students in programs learning leadership skills.

"We want to bring all the school boards on the east side of Cibola County together for the kids' benefits," Valdez said.

Citing an agreement that the area school boards signed previously, she told the board the Kellogg project will continue supporting the school districts and boards by starting collaboration of teachers and school administrators.

"We want to echo continuance of that process by working together as board members," she said.

The Kellogg representatives are making presentations to all the participating school boards in September and October in an effort to get people involved in the education process.

Valdez said there is an open invitation for people in education and the community to join the Kellogg program as "fellows," and that groups will be trying to reach every person in Eastern Cibola County to inform them of how to get involved in education for their children's sake.

"For every student that excels academically in school, there is a parent standing behind them," Lloyd Felipe, school board president said.

Continuing to work to establish a radio station at LAHS, implementing the curriculum process, supporting youth development programs and the development of a Department of Education for the Pueblo of Acoma are goals the Kellogg group will continue to pursue, she said .

There are four committees that work together: Youth Leadership, Communication, Curriculum, and the Pueblo of Acoma Department of Education, said Marilyn Cheremiah, a Grants-Cibola school district administrator and a member of the Kellogg group.

Through these committees, developing youth leadership, establishing a network of youth programs and activities that provide a base knowledge about Kellogg, drafting a Website and a brochure, creating a common process for curriculum development at the schools and creating school administration and staff dialogues will help develop some common programs at the schools, Cheremiah said.

"We are asking the four boards to get our administrators together and eventually down to staff to talk to each other and see what things the schools need," she said.

If one school is doing something that works and another school isn't, these administrators and teachers can have a dialogue and start using these successful programs so they will all have them in common, she said.

"We are trying to get all the students on the same page from the feeder schools to the middle school," said Rita Suazo, a Kellogg fellow and immediate past school board president.

In other business, the board approved travel to the National Indian Education Association for 11 students, aides, counselors and chaperones to attend the conference on Oct. 5-9 in Denver Colo.

Attending will be LAHS students: Elieen Lewis, 11th-grade; Craig Cheresposy, 12-grade; and counselor Debbie Sanchez.

GHS students and staff attending will be: Ty Saadra, 12th-grade; Coredarrell Tso, 11th-grade; Smraa Saidi, 11th-grade; Gabrielle Brown, 11th-grade; Gerald Pedro, counselor aide; and Vicki Gonazales, counselor.

Title VII Education Assistants attending will be: Deirdre Natseway, Seboyeta Elementary School; and Carmel Keyope, Mt. Taylor Elementary School.

Felipe is also planning to attend the conference.