OLYMPIA, Wash.
The Partnership for Native American College Access and Success received $292,000 from the Gates Foundation and $195,000 from the Lumina Foundation to strengthen postsecondary curriculum for Native students and create a clear pathway to a bachelor's degree for Native Americans in Muckleshoot and Tulalip communities, Evergreen State College announced.
The partnership is a collaboration of five Washington state higher education institutions: Antioch University, Evergreen State College, Grays Harbor College, Muckleshoot Tribal College, and Northwest Indian College.
Grants from the Gates Foundation and the Lumina Foundation will support the two-year effort, which began in June 2008.
A report on Indian education in Washington will be produced for wide distribution under these grants, the college said. Among other things, the new report will provide up-to-date information on programs available to serve Native students across the state.
According to Michelle Aguilar-Wells, co-director on the grants and director of Evergreen's Reservation-Based Community-Determined Program, the project represents an unusually deep partnership between institutions. "What brings us together," she says, "is our commitment to high-quality education for Native students."
Officials said Northwest Indian College and Grays Harbor College will provide the foundational lower-division coursework with Grays Harbor College emphasizing online courses. Evergreen provides a program that prepares students for various careers in public service. Antioch University plans to expand graduate programs for education at Muckleshoot Tribal College in fall 2008.
