FACE Program Receives National Recognition by Department of Education

By Joe Morey

News Editor

The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School Family and Child Education (FACE) Program was recently featured in the United States Department of Education’s a Bright Spot. The school is one of the sub-grantee recipients of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) discretionary grant and was invited to participate in a Community of Practice (CoP) to present a Bright Spot to celebrate one of the Bureau of Indian Education’s (BIE) CLSD Subgrantee.

“The school is being acknowledged for their amazing work and successful implantation of the CLSD grant as it pertains to Literacy for Family Engagement,” Andrea Bia, Education Program Specialist with the BIE, told Jessica Hutchison, the school administrator.

Bia also stated the school was noteworthy in implementing the local literacy plan while successfully embedding the Native Ojibwe language and culture with the participation of the family and community.

The presentation was on Monday, Oct. 13 and can be viewed on the BIE at the following link https://www.bie.edu/news-article/us-department-education-bright-spot-featuring-lac-courte-oreilless-clsd-literacy

“It was an honor to work and collaborate with Ms. Monica White (FACE Program) from the school to make this happen,” Bia said. The Lac Courte Oreilles FACE program has been serving parents and children since 1993.

Hutchison said she was pleased to share the announcement regarding the LCO school's FACE program achievements and the national recognition that Monica White and the program are receiving by the US Department of Education.

“The program has been receiving national recognition for several years,” Hutchison stated. “It is a testament to the experience, compassion and high quality instruction of the ladies that work in the FACE program that these accolades continue. FACE graduates tend to begin kindergarten with academic and social/emotional advantages over their peers of the same age. We are extremely proud of Monica and her staff and applaud the work they are doing to engage the community of Lac Courte Oreilles to teach and reinforce traditional Ojibwe teachings and knowledge, while at the same time promoting aggressive academic standards.”

LCO Secretary-Treasurer Michelle Beaudin said Monica has always done a terrific job with this program and deserves this recognition.

“Way to go Monica, we appreciate all that you do for our people,” Beaudin stated.

LCO Vice-Chairwoman Lorraine Gouge, who has also had a long career in local education, went on to say, “It’s always good to see recognition given to our tribe through one of our educational institutions. I am proud of the hard work and dedication given to our children and when it is recognized nationally, I feel it even stronger.”

The BIE CLSD Bright Spot presentation was presented on Monday, October 13th at 12:00 p.m. (MDT). The school shared a strategy that they have implemented to address the growing concern that indigenous languages and their associated cultures are at risk of disappearing without targeted intervention to promote and develop these languages and cultures in younger generations, according to the announcement from Andrea Bia.

“This initiative was a creative partnership between students and their tribal elders. The presentation was recorded by the CLSD Lead Technical Assistance Liaison and a copy of the recorded webinar will eventually be shared on the BIE website.”