WASHINGTON - President Obama today signed an executive order to improve educational performance and options for Native American and Alaska Native students from early education up until Tribal Colleges and Universities. Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, and Dan Boren (D-Okla.), the Ranking Member of the Committee's Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, praised the Obama administration for its dedication to improving education in Indian Country.
"The Obama administration is stepping up efforts to keep more students in Indian Country from dropping out, and indeed thriving in educational settings," said Rep. Markey. "From Newtonian calculus to Native culture, the educational system in tribal communities must better serve the scholars of the future, and this initiative should help."
"I was very pleased today at the President's announcement that he will implement the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education," said Rep. Boren. "This is an important advancement in fulfilling our commitment to our tribal communities. This focus on tribal education is needed now more than ever. American Indian and Alaska Native students have a dropout rate higher than any other racial or ethnic group in America. This is a trend we need to reverse, and the new education initiative is a step in the right direction."
