Welcome
Education Faculty:
Welcome to the Education Department of Sinte Gleska University! Now more than ever, the world needs teachers. A career in education is one of the most fulfilling paths you can take in your life, touching generations to come. Sinte Gleska University offers Associate of Arts Degrees in Elementary Education, Early Childhood, and Special Education. Bachelor of Science Degrees include K-8 Elementary Education with concentrated areas in Early Childhood, Lakota Studies, and middle school. We offer a dual major in K-8 Elementary and K-12 Special Education. Our online graduate programs offer Masters in Education certifications in Educational Administration, Curriculum and Instruction, and Early Childhood Special Education. Thank you for considering Sinte Gleska University and a career in education. As the new department chair, I have some pretty big shoes to fill. I will do everything in my power to maintain, and hopefully even grow, the quality of our programs in order to support the future of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate.
Education Department Chair
Aimee Schrader
605-856-8158 aimee.schrader@sintegleska.edu
Aimee Schrader
Department Chair
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aimee.schrader@sintegleska.edu
Direct Line 856-8158 ​Ext 8438
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M.B.A., American Indian Entrepreneurship, Gonzaga Un
Mission Statement, Vision, & Goals:
The Education Department of Sinte Gleska University improves the learning process of ALL children through the development of effective facilitators of knowledge, understanding and values. This mission includes planning that relates to understanding of the past, its connections to the present, and the implications for the future. The mission contributes to tribal autonomy and cultural strength. It also contributes to individual development that is characterized by reflective thought, self-development, and a life-long seeking of wisdom. The mission of the Education Department contains four main strands: One addresses the need for effective facilitators of a journey of the wakanyeja (children). This includes an understanding that, even as shown in the terminology, children are sacred. Therefore, in the early years of learning, there will be a pedagogy that is grounded in the Lakota culture and leans to a life-long search of the ultimate goal, woksape (wisdom). Graduates in education will be committed to the Lakota wisdom of looking ahead for seven generations. Consequently, planning is based on this tradition, especially as it affects children. This includes looking to the past so that the traditions and values of today are understood and transmitted to the future. The pedagogy espoused by the Education Department is respectful of the values of the Lakota and are based in past tradition and are requisite for the future. The Teacher Education Program will assist Sinte Gleska University in strengthening tribal culture and government. This includes the teaching of the four Lakota virtues: Woksape (wisdom); Woohitika (bravery); Wowacintanka (fortitude); and Wacantognaka (generosity). Educators in reservation classrooms will promote the ideals of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Graduates of the Education Department will model and promote the concept of life-long learning so that young children will see it as a value. This includes a reflective approach that will lead to self-development and is in keeping with the Lakota value of seeking woksape, a journey that takes most of one’s life.
Accreditation Statement
Sinte Gleska University has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1983, making SGU the first tribally chartered college in the nation to become accredited at both the associate and baccalaureate levels. All SGU Education Programs are aligned with the following: State of South Dakota Standards (ARSD) National Specialty Professional Association (SPA) Standards Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Competencies To ensure quality programs, the Education Department is reviewed by state and national accrediting agencies. Sinte Gleska University’s Education Department is accredited by: South Dakota Department of Education (SDDOE), Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA, College Level) South Dakota Department of Education Accreditation Statement: Sinte Gleska University’s Educator Preparation Program (EPP) was fully accredited for seven years through the South Dakota Department of Education following an on-site review in October 2018. This is the link for the complete report: https://doe.sd.gov/oatq/teacheredprograms.aspx
Conceptual Framework
The Education Department’s conceptual framework was developed in 1990 by department faculty members, local educators, many who were graduates of the SGU education program, respected elders, and students in the program. After developing a new mission statement for the department, it was decided that a visual representation would better explain the constructivist approach that the department was going to pursue. Based in part on the research by Martin Brooks and Jacqueline Brooks and the wisdom of the elders, the conceptual model and mission statement provided a strong foundation for the education of future teachers. By placing the student in the center of the framework, one must realize that the knowledge, skills, and beliefs that students bring to the program must be honored. By building on the students’ prior knowledge and experiences, future teachers are provided a culturally-relevant model that will allow them to pass this honoring on to the students that they will teach. Culture is the second component of the framework. Through an understanding of one’s own culture, other cultures can be respected. Modeling culturally-relevant pedagogy in the Education Department’s courses is a key factor to the satisfaction and success of Sinte Gleska University graduates. When the idea for a conceptual framework was being considered, it was understood that there had to be a specific process that reflected the Lakota culture and values in the development of the program, the teaching of the courses, and the field experiences and internships that students would be required to complete. The content was expected to be culturally-relevant and based upon the traditions of the past, their connections to the present, and the implications for the future, as is stated in the department’s mission statement. This meant that cultural values and teachings had to be incorporated in traditionally western European thought taught in textbooks. By looking at a process in which students would be held responsible for their own learning, for modeling the Lakota values, and for the realization that learning is a life-long journey, the constructivist model of education was chosen. Nearly twenty years later, this conceptual framework and mission statement have proven to be a strong foundation upon which the program was structured.
Funding
Grants & Initiatives:
Indian Professional Development Project: The Indian Professional Development Project was funded to serve twenty Native American students in earning either a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Education and obtaining state teacher or principal certification. Goals of the project are: 1) To provide Native American students, who are enrolled tribal members, with educational, financial, and personal support in attaining a Bachelor of Science degree and state teacher certification or a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and state principal certification in a three-year period; and 2) to provide a one-year induction service for completers of the Indian Professional Development Program who are hired as certified teachers or administrators. Head Start Partnership Grant: The Head Start Partnership Grant was funded to create a partnership with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Head Start Program to implement an educational curriculum that would assist Head Start Paraprofessionals in attaining degrees at the Associate and Baccalaureate levels and state teacher certification upon completion of the degreed program. Dakota Assets: The Black Hills Special Services Cooperative/Technology and Innovation in Teaching (BHSSC/TIE) received funding from the Department of Education under the Dakota Assets Transition to Teaching (TTT) Project. This funding enabled a partnership with Sinte Gleska University’s Education Department to implement enhancements that will strengthen the recruitment and placement efforts of SGU graduates as teachers within identified South Dakota High Needs Schools. The Center of Excellence in Minority Health and Health Disparities The Center of Excellence in Minority Health and Health Disparities is a partnership between the University of South Dakota, Sanford Research/USD, Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Health Board and Sinte Gleska University to address health disparities among Native American people in the Aberdeen Area and facilitate health disparities research through training and education. The Center of Excellence is funded by a grant from the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities. As part of the initiative to promote the health care profession, Sinte Gleska University hosts an annual Health Careers Day in March.
