WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to ensure all students attending Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools receive a high quality, culturally appropriate education, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Indian Education Director Dr. Charles ‘Monty' Roessel will visit Choctaw Central High School near Philadelphia, Mississippi on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2014, to discuss ongoing Indian education reform initiatives.
“We know we have a critical need before us to improve educational outcomes for students attending BIE-funded schools,” said Secretary Jewell. “That's why I'm looking forward to spending time with students and teachers at Choctaw Central High School this week to learn about what's going well and to better understand where they may be facing challenges. As we work to transform the way Indian education is delivered, we owe it to Native American youth to provide an academically rigorous and culturally appropriate education while at the same increasing accountability throughout the BIE school system.”
The Choctaw Tribal School System, located in the east central Mississippi counties of Neshoba, Leake and Newton, serves approximately 2,100 students in eight schools, including six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Jewell will visit the high school and meet with school administrators and students to discuss educational strategies and ongoing reform efforts at BIE-funded schools.
In 2013, Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan organized an American Indian Education Study Group to assess systemic issues within BIE-funded schools and to propose a comprehensive Blueprint for Reform to ensure all students attending BIE-funded schools receive a high quality education.
The Secretary's visit builds on her Secretarial Order, released on the heels of President Obama's historic visit to Indian Country earlier this year that seeks to restructure and redesign the BIE, transforming the agency from solely a provider of education into a capacity-builder and service-provider to tribes that will control and operate BIE-funded schools.
WHO:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs
Monty Roessel, Director, Bureau of Indian Education
Rose Davis, Associate Deputy Director, Bureau of Indian Education Grant Schools
Phyliss Anderson, Tribal Chief, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Willa Brantley, Director, Division of Schools
David Germany, Director, Department of Schools
WHAT:
Secretarial visit to the Choctaw School in Philadelphia, Mississippi
WHEN:
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014
8:15 a.m. CDT - Arrival
8:25 a.m. CDT - Shuttle departs
WHERE:
Choctaw Tribal Council Offices
101 Industrial Road
Choctaw MS 39350
RSVP:
Credentialed members of the media interested in covering the visit are encouraged to RSVP HERE by Oct. 28, 201 4, at 5:00 p.m. CDT in order to receive logistical information for the multi-part visit, including a tour, discussions and media availability.
Source: Department of Interior
