Digital Equity:
Training Future Teachers to Bridge the Divide

Sisseton-Wahpeton Community College
2000 Implementation Grant
Sisseton, SD
Annual Education Degrees Awarded: 1 in the first year
PT3 abstract - PT3 website
Project Contact:
(605) 698-3966 x714

"Growing Our Own" - How a Tribal Community College Built A Tech-Infused Teacher Preparation Program From the Ground Up

Forget e-mail. Before PT3, very few faculty at Sisseton-Wahpeton Community College (SWCC), a small tribal college of 250 students in northeastern South Dakota, even had computers. They didn't have a para-professional program in education, either, but the community had a strong need for native American teachers who knew the culture and traditions of the Dakota Sioux people, and who could serve as role models for tribal children. It also had a need for teachers and para-professionals who were trained in the appropriate integration of technology in the classroom. Jeanette Gravdahl, the grant's project director, says that what the tribal college wanted was to "grow their own" native American teachers for tribal schools, a saying which has since become their motto.

In 1999, SWCC applied for and received a one-year Capacity Building grant from the new PT3 program to study the possibility of beginning a two-year pre-education program with an emphasis on technology that could merge seamlessly with an accredited certificate program at a state university. The initial grant also gave SWCC the opportunity to obtain hardware, software and connectivity for faculty and classrooms.

In 2000, SWCC was awarded a three-year implementation grant project to build the new program, with the goal of attracting a cohort of 30 students by the end of the grant. The program received a boost in 2002 when the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act established new requirements for paraprofessionals working in programs supported by Title I funds, mandating that they either: complete two years of postsecondary study, obtain an associates degree (or higher), or demonstrate their knowledge and ability to assist in instructional reading, writing and mathematics through a formal state or local assessment.

As designed, SWCC's grant program features two parallel associate-level tracks:

• a para-education degree program that meets the new teachers' aide requirements, with an emphasis on developing expertise in the use of educational technology, and
• a pre-education track designed for more seamless articulation into upper-level teaching certificate courses.

Educational technology is infused across course offerings for both programs. Faculty model technology use in their own teaching, and provide specific instruction on technology uses in elementary education. Preservice teachers are required to create electronic portfolios demonstrating their work, and to use presentation software for classroom presentations. Student assignments often involve web research.

In the Spring of 2003 the first SWCC student to complete the requirements for teacher certification will graduate from Northern State University. The following Fall, she will begin a new career as a teacher in one of the reservation schools, fully prepared to integrate educational technology in the classroom.

In many ways, this first graduate is a prototypical SWCC student: she's pursuing a life-long dream of teaching after serving many years as an aide in the local tribal school. She has shared her special knowledge of Dakota culture, language and traditions as an instructor for SWCC faculty and fellow students. And as with many of her fellow students, she's had to overcome numerous obstacles to make her dream come true. When scheduling problems prevented her from taking the required upper-level courses on the reservation, she made the 180-mile round trip to Northern State University weekly to make up the classes.

The challenges SWCC faced and continue to face are enormous. Many of SWCC's students are the first in their families to attend college and they find college-level work challenging. Most are also non-traditional students; older, working full- or part-time, and often with family obligations. Together, these forces can work against all but the most driven student's desire to pursue a degree. Extra effort is often required to succeed, and family members might not understand the sacrifices sometimes required in higher education or support the student's efforts.

SWCC built certain features into its program to accommodate the special needs of its students, and modified other aspects of the program as issues became apparent.

• Instituting stepping stones. Gravdahl and her staff have found that the para-professional program is more attractive to their students than the pre-educational program. The para-professional program culminates in a degree in two years that meets the new teachers' aide requirements, and the ceremony is something that the student and his or her family can celebrate. In short, it might be more achievable for students who would otherwise be intimidated by a longer program. After whetting their academic appetite, para-professional graduates might be more willing to tackle the more challenging pre-educational courses.

• Accommodating work schedules. One of the central features of the program is the delivery of upper-level education courses directly to students on the reservation. Driving 90 miles to attend upper-level classes at Northern State University, SWCC's consortium partner, is more of a burden than most of SWCC's students can handle. So instead, the faculty from Northern State travel to SWCC. As the program has evolved, so has the schedule: a block of classes Friday afternoon and Saturday works best for the students.

  At this point SWCC doesn't believe that distance education would be a viable substitute for bringing in faculty from Northern State. "Our students are very people-oriented," Gravdahl says. "They want to see the faculty and have the opportunity to interact in person on a one-to-one basis." SWCC expects this program feature to be self-sustaining as enrollment grows; participating faculty have been receptive to the arrangement and projected course fees will cover costs.

  Likewise, SWCC schedules its pre-education courses in the late afternoons and summers to accommodate the working schedules of its students, many of whom work as teachers aides. Still, competing obligations have forced a number of students to drop out or discontinue studies for a time.

• Providing extra tutoring. Students wishing to make the leap to upper level classes at Northern State University must first pass the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST), but SSWC's students were having difficulty passing all three parts of the test. Special workshops and study groups weren't as helpful as hoped, so SWCC came up with a new plan: students are now given a pre-test, which they must pass before traveling the 150 miles for the test. After passage of the pre-test, SWCC pays for the examination fee.

• Recruiting students. Initial thoughts that "if you build a much-needed teacher education program, students will come" have yielded to reality. Recruiting students into the program has taken more time than anticipated. There are currently 15 students enrolled in either the 2-year para-professional program or the full four-year bachelor's degree program. SWCC has paid for advertisements on local radio and in the local newspaper with the message that "Teachers help people; Help your people; Be a teacher." Staff and faculty are also visiting with local schools, administrators and guidance counselors to promote the program.

As the program evolves and attracts more students, it is SWCC's goal to make it self-sustaining. The need to "grow their own" is certainly there; with patience and ongoing assessment, SWCC should be able to fulfill that promise.