Oglala Lakota County School District
Report date
August 2020
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
Oglala Lakota County School District knew that the new high school would need a leader to help begin the process of setting up not only a new high school but a Career and Technical High School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Recruitment began early in the spring of 2019 and culminated in the beginning day with the new high school principal on July 1st. Stephanie Eisenmenger began her first year working for OLCSD by meeting with the state and stakeholders in order to begin the planning and development of the high school concept. Stephanie's ability to communicate her ideas and make them into reality was instantly noticed and soon the momentum of the new school began to take shape in areas of academics, athletics, and recruitment. The support of the Oglala Lakota County School board and Superintendent, Dr. Anthony Fairbanks helped the new principal throughout the busy first year.
The Bush Foundation grant allowed for the principal to have some professional development training throughout the first year. This training allowed our new principal, Stephanie Eisenmenger to travel to some conferences on CTE schools to help her shape the dream of our CTE High School. Stephanie researched best practices in CTE High Schools in our state and used the knowledge gained to plan for her school. As she worked on the idea of what the school would offer, she kept Superintendent Dr. Anthony Fairbanks and the OLCSD School Board up to date on the progress and planning. The concept developed each day as the planning continued. Knowing that staffing could potentially be a hurdle in our area, Stephanie began the recruitment of quality teachers by attending job fairs, visiting college classes, creating a website for applications, and thoroughly seeking the best candidates to help her reach the school dream. By April 2020, all the core teachers were offered contracts for the 2020-2021 school year and the reality of school starting in the fall of 2020 was a dream coming true for the Oglala Lakota County School District.
Knowing that the ultimate reason for the new high school was to give the Oglala Lakota County students a choice in their education that would allow their talents and interests to be tailored to their skills, Principal Stephanie Eisenmenger used the first year to meet the current 7th and 8th grade students in the district. She visited classrooms and shared the dream of the new school. She sought their input and ideas to help with her planning. She conducted surveys and name the school competitions and as a result, the name of the first, public CTE high school became Lakota Tech High School. The mascot was chosen as the buffalo and it was decided to use the Lakota language, so the mascot is Tatanka which in Lakota is buffalo. The website www.lakotatech.net showcases the name, mascot, registration, and goals of the new school. Students can access information from the website and can feel like this reality is coming true. Eighth grade students are registering for the first time ever in a new high school where they can learn and grow in a career and technical environment. As they drive by the construction site, they can see their high school taking shape.
Key lessons learned
Amidst the hiring of the essential teachers needed for Lakota Tech, the national pandemic COVID19 happened. On March 13th, 2020, our school district was closed as we sought the next steps for our students and staff. Virtual conferences with Zoom became the main way of communication and soon the reservation was closed to only essential employees. Knowing that the construction of the school needed to continue, Scull Construction worked with the school district to establish PPE protocols for the construction workers including a temperature check station upon entry. By bringing in these components, the Oglala Sioux Tribe was able to allow the construction to continue. Each worker was issued a badge that would allow travel to the work site for construction of Lakota Tech. Stephanie hosted the final interviews via Zoom conferences. What came as quite a shock to all the Lakota Tech planning and required some quick changes, ultimately resulted in continued progress towards completion. The key lesson learned is to be prepared and able to think quickly to keep the work going. Dr. Fairbanks, Stephanie Eisenmenger, and the OLCSD School Board faced the challenges and found solutions.
Reflections on inclusive, collaborative or resourceful problem-solving
The vision of the new high school began as a dream and developed into a collaborative process with the OLCSD School Board, Superintendent, and administration as a viable plan to begin working on. The dream began nearly two decades ago but has become realized this year because so many entities believed in the power a CTE High School could have on the students in Oglala Lakota County. The resourcefulness of the new principal was key to the success of the project as she worked diligently on all areas of the high school to make sure the dream stayed on course. The community support through surveys, outreach, student meetings, and the website kept the momentum alive and offered another choice for the graduating eighth graders as they planned for their high school careers. The doors of Lakota Tech will open this fall as a testament to the power of an idea coming true.
Other key elements of Community Innovation
Building relationships is the foundation on which the idea and concept took shape. The Oglala Lakota County School Board members took the time to help plan out the steps for the new high school. Each idea was considered and developed. A community survey was held to gain further interest and insight on what students and the community wanted in a new high school. The results were folded into the original idea so that all voices were heard. The details of the classes and course work were designed to meet state requirements but still offer the students a choice in their learning. Athletics and activities were planned so that each and every student would have a place in the school and feel that they were safe and in an environment where they could learn and grow. Each of these pieces is built on the idea that it takes relationships to build success. The ultimate dream is for the Lakota students to be successful and to graduate high school. Oglala Lakota County School District understands that it will take a village to help each and every student reach their potential.
Understanding the problem
When we wrote the grant, we knew that hiring the high school principal one year before the school would open was essential. We knew that the dream needed details worked out and we felt that the principal as the leader of the school would be the best person to design from the ground up the structure of both the inside and outside of the school. We also knew that the principal would need to be a go-getter with the ability to take the concept that we wanted and develop it into reality. As a result of the first year with the new principal, Stephanie Eisenmenger, we are in a great place as we get ready for school to begin. Her ability to work out the details has been the greatest asset to the project. The enthusiasm she has brought to the project for the teachers and the upcoming students is contagious.
If you could do it all over again...
In the planning this year, we included the principal in professional development. Looking back, it may have been a good idea to have sent students to some of the CTE High Schools as field trips so they could better understand what Lakota Tech would be like. In retrospect, this may have increased the initial enrollments. Sometimes hearing about something is great, but often seeing is believing. If we could go back and include students in that step, I think it would have been eye-opening for them and would have helped spread the word of what CTE is to the communities in a more real way.
One last thought
The Bush Foundation's support of the Oglala Lakota County School District's goal of creating the first-ever CTE High School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is very much appreciated. Knowing that the foundation saw the impact this dream could have on the Lakota students in our county and supporting our efforts has been instrumental in achieving great work in this first year. We have found this relationship to be rewarding and instrumental as we look forward to opening our doors for students this fall.