
- Details
- By Darren Thompson
Washington, D.C.—On Wednesday, President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona hosted the Council of Chief State School Officers’ 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year ceremony to honor some of the country’s top educators at the White House.
A winner from each of the 50 states, as well as the Department of Defense’s education program were included in the ceremony.
Three of those recognized either teach on Indian reservations or are American Indian.
Bill Stockton teaches on the Flathead Indian Reservation and works to incorporate Tribal culture in high school science. Deanne Moyle-Hick is an elementary teacher on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation; and Jerad Koepp is a member of the Wukchumni and currently serves as the Native student program specialist for North Thurston Public Schools in Olympia, Washington.
“It’s a really exciting time for Native education,” said Koepp told Native News Online at the White House. “The work that’s being done speaks to the needs of our people.”
According to Koepp, just 0.7 percent of teachers in the state of Washington are Native American. “We need representation in the classroom,” he added. His school district requires Native civics and history courses that also provide college credit to students. “We want our students to see our knowledge and what they are learning in the classroom as an asset,” he said.
He also helped co-write legislation that requires all administrators and teachers in Washington to understand government-to-government relationships with Tribes.
Dr. Biden, who also teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College while serving as First Lady, applauded the work of teachers, saying, “right now, someone out there is a better thinker because of you. Someone is standing a little taller because you helped her find the confidence that she needed. Someone is working a little harder because you pushed him to try. Someone is a little kinder because you showed her what that meant. And someone is braver because you helped him find his courage.”
This year’s National Teacher of the Year is Kurt Russell, from Ohio, spoke briefly after the First Lady. Russell teaches history and developed a course on race, gender, and oppression. “It's important that my students see themselves as I see them: With unlimited potential and full of gifts,” said Russell. “School is where dreams come alive.”
The ceremony was hosted amid a Republican-led effort nationwide to restrict lessons related to sexual identity, gender and race nationwide.
“I’m here today, because someone taught me,” Presiden Biden said. “American teachers have dedicated their lives to teaching our children and lifting them up. We ought to stop making them a target of the culture wars. That's where this is going.”
Biden closed by pledging support for education and stating that First Lady Dr. Jill Biden fully supports teachers and education in America.
More Stories Like This
Native American High School Graduate Sues School District for Forceful Removal of Sacred Eagle Plume at GraduationLittle 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.