Red Lake School Board members and staff attend National Indian Education Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida - Set 2 - P17

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - On Wednesday, October 4, 2017, five Red Lake School Board members and staff attended the National Indian Education Association Annual Conference.

The 2017 NIEA Convention took place from October 4-7, 2017 at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.

According to news reports, there was no damage to the Caribe Royale from the recent hurricane to impact the region. The Convention took place as scheduled.

This year's Convention theme: "Building Education Nations by Amplifying Innovative Voices," recognized the role educators and communities play in shaping the future leaders of Native education. The three-day convention included innovative participatory workshops, research presentations, poster sessions, and keynote addresses by prominent educators and advocates.

The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was formed by Native educators in 1969 to encourage a national discourse on Native education. For 47 years, NIEA has hosted an annual convention to provide a forum for collaboration.

NIEA adheres to the organization's founding principles-

* to bring Native educators together to explore ways to improve schools and the education of Native children;

* to promote the maintenance and continued development of Native languages and cultures;

* and to develop and implement strategies for influencing local, state, and federal policy and policymakers.

Red Lake Board members attending were Michael Barrett, Barb Thomas, Roy Nelson, Chris Jourdain and Tina Stately. Other staff attending included Sharon Kingbird, Don Kingbird, Rose Barrett, Mark Bensen, Alea Richards, Brianna Hurlburt and Melinda Crowley.

A Red Lake presentation on Thursday titled, "Improving Attendance and Graduation Rates through Collaboration & Cooperation: Family and Community Engagement and Empowerment," was presented by RLMS Principal Mark Bensen, Red Lake Law Enforcement Officer Alea Richardson, Red Lake High School Liason Brianna Hurlburt and Red Lake Tribal Court Prosecutor Ogema Neadeau.

An exceptional presentation, the Tribal Truancy Court Project was implemented just recently on the Red Lake Indian Reservation to improve outcomes by students in strengthening partnerships between agencies within the sovereign Red Lake Nation and the public school district. The combined efforts of representatives from law enforcement, numerous social service agencies, the court system and public school district, resulted in dozes of truant students return to school, and improved attendance and graduation rates.

For further information on NIEA, visit their website here: http://www.niea.org/