View Content #707
| Contentid | 707 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | U.S. Department of Education Elevates Office of Indian |
| Body | From: U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Education Office of Public Affairs, News Branch 400 Maryland Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20202 FOR RELEASE October 14, 2003 Contact: Elaine Quesinberry or Jo Ann Webb (202) 401-1576 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ELEVATES OFFICE OF INDIAN EDUCATION Reorganization reflects the importance of Indian education programs The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Indian Education has been elevated to report to the Office of the Under Secretary, Secretary Rod Paige announced today. Until now, the office had been housed within the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The change was made to reflect the importance of the department's Indian education programs to improving the achievement levels of American Indian and Alaska Native students. Tribal leaders and national Indian organizations have all expressed support for the organizational change. "The U.S. Department of Education is committed to providing opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native children to achieve educational excellence," Secretary Paige said. "The elevation of the Office of Indian Education to a higher reporting level reflects its responsibilities for policy formation and coordination in all department programs affecting Indian education, so that no Indian child or adult is left behind." The Office of Indian Education was created in 1972, and it currently administers the Indian Education Program of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 -- President Bush's sweeping education reform law -- which establishes policies and provides financial and technical assistance to support local education agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions and other entities in meeting the special educational and cultural needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. OIE administers approximately 1,300 formula and discretionary grants each year. The office's appropriation for fiscal year 2003 is $121.6 million. Funding includes recently awarded formula grants totaling nearly $100 million to help 1,200 local education agencies improve education opportunities for approximately 470,000 Indian students and the competitive demonstration grants totaling about $5 million for professional development, college preparation and early childhood education. The budget also includes funding for American Indian Teacher Corps and American Indian Administrator Corps programs, as well as research, evaluation and data collection activities. Secretary Paige also recently announced a six-year $30.4 million Reading First grant to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to improve reading achievement, using scientifically proven instruction methods, for Indian students in kindergarten through third grade. The Reading First program reflects President Bush's emphasis on the importance of reading for all students. OIE directly administers only a fraction of the total department resources for Indian students, but consults on policy matters with all department programs affecting Indian children and adults. Director of the Office of Indian Education Victoria Vasques is responsible for establishing policies and providing leadership and coordination for all Department of Education activities that relate to Indian education. She also serves as the Designated Federal Official to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education, which is appointed by the president. More information about the Office of Indian Education is available at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/oie/index.html. |
| Source | UN DOE |
| Inputdate | 2003-10-17 16:26:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2003-10-17 16:26:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | Not set |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
