- Details
- By Rich Tupica
CROWNPOINT, N.M. – As the pandemic looms over Indian Country, educational institutions are continuously revamping their courses in order to accommodate stay-home protocol and protect students and faculty. One of those schools, Navajo Technical University (NTU), switched to an emergency distance education model after the COVID-19 spiked back in March.
Now, months later, the university’s summer programs have also switched to online, including the annual Leadership, Enrichment, Advancement Program (L.E.A.P.) and the Summer STEM and Skills Program. Each program has been in operation for the last several years and targets high school students and recent graduates. “This is our first virtual L.E.A.P.,” said advisor Sherietta Martinez Brown, noting that 12 of the program’s first 13 participants successfully completed their first year at NTU. “We are hoping that we are able to prepare students for the upcoming fall semester as much as possible with a limited time.” Now in its second year, L.E.A.P. was designed for recent high school graduates. The program, which runs June 15 to July 17, functions as a summer bridge program that eases students into college coursework. Students can earn up to eight credit hours in the program, which covers reading and writing skills, intermediate algebra and college success skills. Both the Summer STEM and Skills program and L.E.A.P. are free to students with tuition, books and fees covered by NTU, however students are required to have access to the Internet and a computer for each program. Students participating in L.E.A.P. will be provided with a computing device. Registration for each program is currently open. Orientation for L.E.A.P. is June 12 from 8 a.m. to noon.
Launched in 2018, the Summer STEM and Skills program introduces dual credit students to the fields of construction, welding, culinary arts, baking, automotive technology, pre engineering, and business. While previous years emphasized experiential education within a four week learning period, this year’s entirely-online program spans six weeks, from June 15 to July 24. High school students can earn up to 9 credit hours if they complete the program. For more information about L.E.A.P, contact Sherietta Martinez Brown at NTU. For questions regarding Summer STEM and Skills enqueries, email Freda Joe.
More Stories Like This
American Indian College Fund Selects Nebraska Indian Community President, Dr. Michael Oltrogge,Tribal College & University Honoree of the YearNavajo Technical University Receives a Tank Truck from Marathon Petroleum for Its CDL Program
BIE Announces Selection of Dr. Tamarah Pfeiffer as President of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Q&A: Darren Lone Fight, founding director, Center for the Futures of Native Peoples at Dickinson College
Spokane Tribal Citizen Selected Out of 900 for Prestigious Foreign Services Fellowship
12 years of Native News
This month, we celebrate our 12th year of delivering Native News to readers throughout Indian Country and beyond. 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 this month to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and to tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
