Current clients include:


• Mid-Central Educational Cooperative, Platte, SD – GoTeach South Dakota (GoTeachSD) program

• South Dakota Department of Education, Pierre, SD – GEAR UP State Grant (GUSD)

• South Dakota Department of Education, Pierre, SD – South Dakota College Access Challenge Grant (SDCACG)

• American Indian Institute for Innovation, Platte, SD – Woonspe Tiospaye program

• American Indian Institute for Innovation, Platte, SD – Wakan Gli program

• Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, SD – Creating Synergy in Science and Education (CSSE)/ Yuowanca program

• Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV – GEAR UP Partnership Grant (FSUGU)

Mid-Central Educational Cooperative, Platte, SD – GoTeach South Dakota (GoTeachSD) program

In September, 2009, the US Department of Education awarded twenty-eight new five-year Teacher Quality Partnership grants to improve instruction in struggling US schools.  The Mid-Central Educational Cooperative (Mid-Central), a local education agency authorized by the State of South Dakota, was awarded one of these grants for the South Dakota Partnership for Teacher Quality program (renamed the GoTeach South Dakota program, or GoTeachSD).

GoTeachSD is an unprecedented partnership effort in the State of South Dakota to:

1) Develop highly qualified teachers, and place and retain these teachers within high-need elementary and secondary South Dakota schools, and

2) Develop and implement an innovative collaboration between an Institute of Higher Education, high-need Local Education Agencies (LEA’s), and the rural communities served by these LEA’s.

GoTeachSD is structured into three consecutive phases: a pre-baccalaureate component, a one-year clinical education component, and a two-year induction program component.  It will prepare a total of 75 teachers to serve in 49 high-need South Dakota schools.  Forty-one of these schools are elementary and middle schools, and 8 are high schools; nearly half are located on 6 American Indian reservations.  Sixteen undergraduate students have been recruited into GoTeachSD since February of 2010.

Key to this program’s success is a diverse group of partners who are committed to working together and providing the necessary resources to achieve the program’s goals.  Partners include the Mid-Central Educational Cooperative, the University of South Dakota, the Rural Learning Center, the American Indian Institute for Innovation, and BC Kuhn Evaluation, LLC.

South Dakota Department of Education, Pierre, SD – GEAR UP State Grant (GUSD)

GEAR UP State grants are competitive, matching grants awarded to a designated State agency.  Unlike Partnership grants, State grants may serve either a grade-level cohort of students or a priority group of students.  Programs must also offer scholarships.

In 2005, the South Dakota Department of Education (SDDoE) received a six-year, 6.9 million dollar GEAR UP State grant for the GEAR UP South Dakota (GUSD) program.  GUSD’s goal is to increase the number of first generation, low-income Native American students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.  The program follows four objectives:

1) Increase the academic performance and preparation for post-secondary education of participating students;

2) Increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in post-secondary education of participating students;

3) Increase the educational expectations of participating students and parents, as well as student and family knowledge of post-secondary education options, preparation, and financing; and

4) Strengthen educational resources and infrastructure at GEAR UP schools.

GUSD currently serves 5,313 primarily 7th through 11th grade students in 37 schools.  The majority (74%) of students are Native American, and GUSD is applying a blended approach so that these students are given priority.  The GUSD program’s effectiveness is based on it’s strong team of partners, who include the SDDoE; Oceti Sakowin Education Consortium; Mid-Central Educational Cooperative; participating schools; and BC Kuhn Evaluation, LLC.

South Dakota Department of Education, Pierre, SD – South Dakota College Access Challenge Grant (SDCACG)

Funded by the US Department of Education in 2008, the South Dakota College Access Challenge Grant program (SDCACG) works with a diverse set of partners to provide authorized activities to South Dakota students and families who are living below the poverty line.  The SDCACG program strives to meet two goals:

1) Increase students’ and parents’ knowledge of post-secondary education options, preparation, and financing, and

2) Increase the number of students who enroll in post-secondary education within one year of high school graduation.

The former Governor of South Dakota, M. Michael Rounds, designated the South Dakota Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education as the agency responsible for administering the SDCACG program.

The SDCACG program focuses on five authorized activities:

1) Provide information to students and families on post-secondary education benefits, opportunities, planning, and career preparation;

2) Conduct outreach activities for students who may be at risk of not enrolling in or completing college;

3) Assist students in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);

4) Implement professional development for guidance counselors at secondary schools to improve their capacity to assist students and parents; and

5) Offer need-based grant aid to students.

SDCACG program activities include college and career counseling; advising and mentoring; college visits; and workshops on postsecondary options, preparation, and financing.  The SDCACG program also offers a need-based scholarship component.  Program partners include various offices within the South Dakota Department of Education, the Mid-Central Educational Cooperative, and 7 institutions of higher education (comprised of 3 Tribal colleges and 4 technical institutions).  In addition to federal funds, SDCACG partners provide scholarships as match.

American Indian Institute for Innovation, Platte, SD – Woonspe Tiospaye

In 2010, the US Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded a four-year demonstration grant to the American Indian Institute for Innovation (AIII) for the Woonspe Tiospaye program (a Lakota term that means ‘learning communities’).  The goal of Woonspe Tiospaye is to improve the educational opportunities, achievement, and post-secondary enrollment of Native American students in South Dakota.  To accomplish this goal, the program follows 5 objectives:

1) Increase the academic achievement of Native American students at target high schools with an emphasis on gatekeeper math and science course work.

2) Increase the rate of high school graduation for Native American students at target high schools.

3) Increase the number of Native American students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.

4) Integrate hands-on, math and science focused problem based, and culturally relevant content into target high school curriculums using community centered experiential learning opportunities.

5) Ensure program integrity, accountability, and management through reliable evaluations, using best practices and national models already established.

American Indian Institute for Innovation, Platte, SD – Wakan Gli

The American Indian Institute for Innovation was also awarded a four-year demonstration grant in 2009 for the Wakan Gli program (a Lakota term that means ‘sacred movement’).  Wakan Gli’s overarching goal is to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Native American students in high school, preparing these students to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.  The program currently serves a cohort of 434 11th grade students, who attend 10 high schools located on or near South Dakota reservations.  Wakan Gli infuses Lakota culture and language into the classroom; provides mentoring, tutoring, and other support services, including personal, social, academic, and career development; provides access to more rigorous academic coursework; and offers personal learning plans for students.  Program partners include AIII, the Mid-Central Educational Cooperative, the South Dakota Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education, the 10 participating high schools, and BC Kuhn Evaluation, LLC.

Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, SD – Creating Synergy in Science and Education (CSSE)/ Yuowanca program

Oglala Lakota College (OLC) is a tribally controlled and community-governed institution of higher education located on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  Pine Ridge is the second largest reservation in the United States with over 2 million acres and approximately 19,000 residents (US Census Bureau).  OLC’s primary mission is to provide programs of study that meet the needs of the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation, and to serve the reservation community.  OLC is chartered by the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) to coordinate all higher education on Pine Ridge, and the college focuses on providing the OST with educated and trained human resources and personnel; presents Lakota language, culture, and philosophy in the curriculum; and assists with the developmental needs of the reservation’s districts and communities.  OLC offers 2-year, 4-year, and graduate degree programs; approximately 1,750 undergraduate and 75 graduate students were enrolled in the fall of 2010 (NCES).

The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides grants to tribal colleges as part of the Tribal Colleges and University Program (TCUP).  In 2009, OLC received a 3-year grant for the Creating Synergy in Science and Education (CSSE)/Yuowanca program.  This program builds on the successes of the previous NSF funded TCUP Magakata Woslolye Oaye (Cultivating Science into the Future) Phase I and II programs.

The CSSE/ Yuowanca program aims to strengthen science leadership at Tribal Colleges.  The program is expanding prior TCUP initiatives by “cultivating scientific curiosity through collaborative undergraduate research and educational initiatives between mainstream Universities, Tribal Agencies and the K12 classroom” (NSF).  The program’s goals are to:

1) Improve the quality of undergraduate STEM education through developing OLC faculty and educational resources with the purpose of delivering hands-on, place-based STEM instruction for undergraduate students;

2) Strengthen partnerships within OLC, Tribal resource programs, and outside academic institutions; and

3) Broaden the pipeline of future STEM undergraduates at OLC.