fbpx
 
Braided Success: Fostering Native Student Success from High School to College and Career program will link with Tohono O’odham Community College to help foster students enrolling in higher education. Courtesy photo

Charity Offering Native Student Scholarships and College Readiness Programs to Increase Number of Native Americans With A Higher Education

DENVER — The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) has received a $350,000 contribution from AT&T to continue its “Braided Success: Fostering Native Student Success from High School to College and Career” program.

The Braided Success program helps fund high school and college students in the Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Ariz. and the College of Muscogee Nation in Okmulgee, Okla. to achieve their quest for higher education.

AT&T’s contribution will also allow the College Fund to contribute $100,000 to the Braided Success program, providing scholarship support to American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students from Oklahoma and Arizona seeking to attend a tribal college (TCU) or mainstream institution located in their home states.

“AT&T is on the leading edge of engaging best practices supporting career pathways for indigenous students through its support of the College Fund’s student success programming. This partnership builds on our shared vision of helping students achieve their dreams,” Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund said.

The highly successful program, in its first three years, allowed the College of Muscogee Nation to partner with three local high schools, which offered three dual enrollment programs. Of the 157 Native high school student participants, 33 percent took college courses through the dual-enrollment program. Participants also enjoyed college visits.

Similarly, Tohono O'odham Community College partnered with two local high schools to launch its S.T.A.R.T. program—Students Thriving, Achieving, and Rising Together. Thirty-eight percent of all partner high school students are served by S.T.A.R.T., and of that number, 42 percent of the students participated in the dual-enrollment program with the community college. Students also enjoyed after-school programs and tutoring sessions.

The result was that students who participated in the TCU’s programs graduated from high school at rates more than 20 percent higher than Native Americans nationally.

By continuing the strong relationships forged between college the high schools and TCUs, the Braiding Success initiative also better prepares students who transition to college for an easier transition to higher education and employment.

“AT&T has a long history of supporting initiatives that help Native American students graduate from high school and succeed in college and career,” said Tom Brooks, vice president of external affairs, AT&T. “We’re proud to further our commitment to Native communities with this contribution and connect Native youth to educational pathways that lead to careers in the 21st century workforce.”

More Stories Like This

Native American High School Graduate Sues School District for Forceful Removal of Sacred Eagle Plume at Graduation
Little Priest Tribal College Awarded a National Science Foundation Grant
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Donates $2.7 million to Sherman Indian High School for Career Pathways Program
New York Public Schools Banned from Using Native American Mascots
Harvard Kennedy School to Expand Work with Native Nations

Native News is free to read.

We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.

Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps.  Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.

Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you. 

About The Author
Native News Online Staff
Author: Native News Online StaffEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at [email protected].