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18 sophomores (g boys, g girls), 18juniors (11 boys, 7 girls), and 11 seniors (4 boys, 11 girls).
Big freshmen class triggers enrollment cap at NCS School starts with 28 freshman; 76 total students MISSION — With a huge incoming class of freshmen, Nixyaawii Community School has set a cap on enrollment and started a waiting list for students that want to come to the charter school on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. On the first day of school there was a total of 76 students — 29 freshmen, 18 sophomores, 18 juniors and 11 seniors. Ninety percent of the students are Native Americans. There may be room for a few seniors since that is the smallest class but "absolutely no more freshmen" and any new sophomores and juniors will be determined by an eligibility committee, according to NCS Principal Ryan Heinrich. The current school building, once a matrix of small offices and cubicles, is bursting at the seams now and a new Education facility is at least four or five years away. There has been talk from planners about the school moving into the old Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center once the new clinic is operational, but Heinrich would rather hold out for a "real school" that students and the community can identify with. In at least one way, though, a big enrollment is a good problem to have. The school's budget was based on 55 students so the additional 20, based on state school funding per-student formula, means an additional $140,000. The school was able to hire a half-time
teacher and expanded instructional aid hours from 4 to 7.5 per day. Extra money will also be used to increase technology. More students means the need for more Chrome Books, the laptop-style computers assigned to individuals. The building was renovated three years ago to create larger classroom spaces, but it's not enough to handle all the extra bodies this year. So, another wall is being removed to make the computer lab and a storage room into a larger classroom. "That's the last wall we can remove," Heinrich said. The new classroom will need new technology in the form of another Promethium board, projector and document camera. The increased number of students has been a "scheduling nightmare," Heinrich said. NCS Administrative Assistant Carrie Phinney, who prepared the schedules, readily agrees. "It was a challenge to create enough classes to divide the freshmen in half so we didn't have 29 freshmen in one class. We can't fit 29 students in any of our classrooms," she said. "We juggled to create two freshmen classes of everything so there are two core classes most periods that freshmen can take. Before we were able to keep all the freshmen, all the sophomores, and all the
Confederated Umatilla Journal
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Nixyaawii teachers and classes MISSION — In addition to the core classes — language arts, math, science and social studies — the Nixyaawii Community School (NCS) curriculum includes a variety of other courses and electives. Key among them are Native language classes, which are coordinated through the Education Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation . This year there are two beginning and one intermediate Umatilla classes and two Nez Perce classes. Headquartered at the Nixyaawii campus, Fred Hill will teach Umatilla language and tribal history, as well as dancing-and-drumming, which this year has 14 students — a dozen boys and two girls — signed up. Other language teachers include Mildred Quaempts, beginning Umatilla; Syreeta Azure, Nez Perce; and Willie Sigo, Ichishkin. The NCS faculty includes: Chelsea Hallam (enrolled Klamath) - a new instructor who will teach language arts and communications; Zack Brandsen - social studies, financial literacy and construction (new class to focus on basic woodworking activities such as building maintenance, hanging pictures and white boards, helping a contractor remove an interior wall, building picnic tables, etc.); Jewel Kennedy - science and horticulture; Zach Gaulke —math and computer science (Gaulke is introducing drones into his science class); Ken Mayfield —Physical education; Michelle Van Pelt —ASPIRE (college prep for juniors and seniors), Careers (exploratory for juniors and seniors), Success 101 (financial and budgeting basics for all sophomores), art, and Crow' s Shadow printmaking, and; Seanne Perkins — hired to teach afternoon classes to accommodate the large enrollment.
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.. The monthly newspaper for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
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46411 Timine Way Pendleton, OR 97801 Phone 541-429-7005
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Fax 541-429-7005 Email cuj@ctuir.org www.ctuir.org
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Confederated Umatilla Journal
September 2017