Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools Kevin Jennings and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Michael Yudin will host a special Urban Indian Education Listening Session for tribal leaders and the Indian community from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The purpose of the Listening Session is to encourage a dialogue between the Education Department and the Indian community to identify strengths, challenges and opportunities for future growth. Officials from the Offices of Elementary and Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, Indian Education and Safe and Drug-Free Schools will participate.
The format will be an open forum with designated tribal leaders and education officials in the morning followed by an open forum for community members in the afternoon. These Listening and Learning sessions in urban Indian communities are a follow-up to a series of 2010 tribal leader consultations that were conducted in Anchorage, AK; Espanola, NM; Shawnee, OK; Pine Ridge, SD; Window Rock, AZ; and Puyallup, WA.
The session will provide participants with an opportunity to voice their thoughts and engage in dialogue with senior officials from the Department. The Department is committed to moving forward in Indian education and anticipates that interactions among tribal and community leaders, Indian education stakeholders, and the Department will create a more effective education policy.
Additional Listening and Learning sessions will be held in Stockton, CA May 6 and Los Angeles, CA May 9.