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  • November 2021 - EDI Blog

November 2021 - EDI Blog

  • Fri, Nov 5 2021
EDI Blog

 

November is Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month provides a time to honor and acknowledge the many contributions of this nation’s First People; celebrating the history, culture, contributions, and heritage of Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Alaska Natives. Beginning as merely a week in November 1987 (November 22-28) American Indian Week was designated by President Ronald Regan as a time to recognize the rich history and contributions of Native Americans in the U.S.   In 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed a joint resolution recognizing the month of November as Native American Month, and each sitting president since has signed declarations of this recognition.

 

Community Spotlights 

 

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Kimberly Daingkau-Begay

 

For this month’s first community spotlight, we would like to highlight Kimberly Daingkau-Begay and extend a huge congratulations as she was nominated and elected to serve on the Associate Board of Directors, representing Region 1 (Arizona and Colorado) during the 2021 National Johnson O’Malley Association Annual Conference.

Kimberly Daingkau-Begay is of Kiowa (Tanedooah), Caddo (Kionut), and Pawnee (Chaui) Nations, born and raised in southwest Oklahoma. She received her bachelor's degree in Political Science, with a minor in Pre-Law, from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. As a student, she served as a College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) certified tutor in the Program for Academic Advancement. She also received professional training in Media to assist in the development of the Native American & Indigenous Studies media curriculum at Fort Lewis. Kimberly also studied at the University of Arizona in the American Indian Studies – Law & Policy Graduate Program.

Currently, Kimberly is the Coordinator for the Native American Education Program at Amphitheater Public Schools in Tucson. In addition to her work within her school, she serves on the Arizona Department of Education's Indian Education Advisory Council; on the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence Indigenous Committee; and is currently the President of the Arizona Indian Education Association. She is also active in local Native organizations, including the Native Education Alliance – Tucson. Kimberly and her husband, Derwin, have two amazing children that are currently in college at Northern Arizona University and at Fort Lewis College. Their family actively participates in traditional ceremonies. She has presented and spoken at numerous events of her Native culture, federal Indian law & treaties, and cultural storytelling.

Below is her statement on being elected to serve on the Associate Board of Directors for NJOMA:

“I’m very thankful for the vote of confidence from my esteemed colleagues. I am humbled and honored to serve in this national position, being one voice among many for our Native American children across Indian Country. There is always much work to be done when it comes to Indian Education, and in this capacity, I will continue to advocate on behalf of all our Native American/Alaska Native children. À:hô Dáu:k’í. Hówwih A?ah haayuh. Turahe Atius Tirawahut. À ó:tá:dàu. Tsó:hàu!” – Kimberly Daingkau Begay

 

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Sara Ben Abdallah

 

For our second community spotlight, the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion unit is thrilled to feature one of our student advisors who sits on the 2021-2022 ADE’s Equitable and Inclusive Practices Advisory Council.

Sara Ben Abdallah is a current high school senior at Presidio School in Tucson, AZ. She is passionate about civic engagement, environmental justice, and improving the education system. Sara currently serves on ADE’s Equitable and Inclusive Practices Advisory Council and has previously served on ADE's inaugural Student Advisory Council. She is especially passionate about Trauma-informed teaching, anti-colonial education, and LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools. In her free time, Sara enjoys watching films, cooking vegan meals, and going on walks.

 

Grants

Office of English Language Acquisition Services (OELAS)

  • Funding Updates: Please be sure requests for reimbursement are submitted on a timely and regular cycle. Refer to the GME homepage for important fiscal dates and pertinent information about all your funding applications. Click here to access the GME homepage. If you have any questions related to funding for EL programs, please reach out to us at [email protected]

 

Migrant Education 

  • Important Reminder: The end date for the Migrant Grants is September 30th. make sure that all revisions are submitted by Wednesday, September 22nd, this is to ensure FY21 grants are director-approved in a timely manner. Keep in mind that Migrant funds do not allow for funds to carry over so please make sure you draw down 100% of funding by the project end date

 

Homeless Education

  • In the upcoming weeks, the Arizona Department of Education will be releasing the application for ARP Homeless II funds. We will release a webinar to review the ARP program funds and allowable uses as well as review ADEs state plan for utilizing these funds.  If you have any questions, please join in the office hours that are set up 2 times a month (visit our website for more info). For further understanding of the ARP Homeless Education funding, please see SchoolHouse Connection - ARP HCY Overview. 

 

Upcoming Events

 

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Equity in STEAM

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Equity in STEAM Initiative: Intel and YWCA are partnering to invest in 20 grants ($2,500 each) for projects or programs statewide to increase the representation of women and people of color in STEAM. The winners will then come together for a leadership series to identify the systemic barriers in STEAM and recommend some solutions. The deadline for submissions is November 19, 2021. More information on this initiative and application can be found HERE

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Foster Care Logo

Foster Care Education

AzEDS Portal: Foster Care Liaison: LEA entity administrators will need to assign the ADEConnect Role name of AzEDS Portal: Foster Care Liaison to the appropriate staff directly serving students in foster care, especially the designated foster care point of contact for the LEA. Within AzEDS portal, click on Student Foster Care, then click on FSTR- Student Foster Care Report to view the students in foster care enrolled in the LEA. Now that this report is available in AzEDS, there will be communicated to the field, along with training on how to best use the report. Click on the title of the training below to register for the AzEDS foster care report training.

ADE Foster Care blog: Visit the ADE Foster Care blog to view recordings of the webinars to become fully equipped to support students in foster care. The primary topics covered for foster care education were:

Foster Care Education Webinars:

  • Foster Care Education: Basics
  • Foster Care Education: Transportation
  • Foster Care Education: Best Interest Determinations

Visit the ADE Foster Care Liaison list to ensure the appropriate person is designated to ensure school stability for students in foster care and collaborate with the child welfare agency. Updates should be emailed to both [email protected] & [email protected]

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Homeless Education Program

ADE’s Homeless State Conference will be November 18th - 19th, 2021, and will be held virtually. Below are the links for you to register for 1 day at a time. The agendas and schedule will be available later in October. AZ State Conference

AZ State Conference – link for day 1

AZ State Conference – link for day 2

 

ARP Office Hours reoccurring- 4th Thursday of the Month (October 28th) I will be available online to answer questions you may have about any of the ARP (American Rescue Plan- Homeless Children and Youth) grants. Please leave a voicemail if I cannot answer your call during these hours. Click here to join the meeting Or call in (audio only) +1 480-420-4055,,164604786# United States, Phoenix Phone Conference ID: 164 604 786#

 New Liaisons: If you are a new Homeless Education liaison, please email to schedule a Welcome to MV training session at: [email protected] and check out the NCHE Homeless liaison toolkit, chapters 1 & 2 to start. 

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HOPE Conference 2021 Logo

OELAS

We are thrilled to be bringing back our annual conference as an in-person event! This year’s conference theme, Our Students, Their Agency, exemplifies the vision that educating Arizona’s unique populations is a shared responsibility and that equity is at the forefront of the work we ALL do to ensure every student develops a sense of agency, confidence, and determination to give them the competency to choose their path in life.  We look forward to seeing you in Tucson!

2019 ELP Standards Fall Series This is a three-part series in which participants will gain a deeper understanding of:

  • The structure and content of the 2019 ELP Standards
  • How the 2019 ELP Standards support an intentional focus on the language necessary for ELs to be successful in school
  • How the 2019 ELP Standards are used to support language development in both targeted and integrated

ELD Click here to register.

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OIE Logo

The Office of Indian Education strives to meet the educational and cultural needs of Native American students across the state of Arizona. It is through consistent communication, sharing of resources, and highlighting beneficial opportunities that OIE can serve the greater Indigenous community to the best of our ability. For this reason, our office will report opportunities through this monthly newsletter to you, our community, that will include educational and professional opportunities for students and educational professionals alike. Please, do not hesitate to contact our office with any questions at [email protected]

 

Recently, OIE has revamped and reorganized our Tribal Nations’ COVID-19 Mandates. Feel free to explore our new layout at this link: https://www.azed.gov/oie/stay-home-orders-tracker

 

November is Native American Heritage Month and OIE is very excited to launch our Tribal Flag project! Keep track of ADE on social media for updates!

 

Protect Our Land Winter Youth Camp

Mark your calendars for the upcoming AIEA POL Virtual Winter Youth Camp from December 19-21. The camp is open to Arizona Native American students in grades 7-12.

For more information contact Ms. Jerri Thomas at [email protected]

 

NAU Seeking Administrative Services Assistant

The American Indian Program (AIP) in the School of Nursing at Northern Arizona University is seeking an Administrative Services Assistant. Interested in hiring a person that is familiar with Navajo communities and comfortable with travel.

Click here to learn more!

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Migrant Education

Our Fall State Migrant Parent Advisory Council (SMPAC) event is set for November 17th, 2021 from 9 am – 2 pm. This year it will be hosted virtually by ASU and the Arizona State Migrant Education Program. This Fall SMPAC meeting will include SMPAC Elections! Parents will be voting to elect a new Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary of the State Migrant Parent Advisory Council SMPAC for the term of Fall 2021 – Fall 2023. You can click on the SMPAC Bylaws to review SMPAC and PAC rules and roles to any parents that may be interested. Reach out to [email protected]  if you have any questions or a parent that would be interested!

 

Thank you to our MEP Service Delivery Plan Committee Members for participating in our planning session on October 27th at the Willow Center. This meeting is part of our Continuous Improvement Cycle that analyzes data to assess the needs of our students and the effectiveness of our Migrant Education program. It was a successful collaborative meeting. We will be hosting a second meeting on December 13th at the Willow Center. For those committee members that were not able to join us, we would like for you to join us at our next meeting. Reach out to Didi Roy or Zujaila Ornelas for more information.

 

  

 

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