Countywide : Hearing Set for Indian Education

Officials of the Ventura County Indian Education Consortium, a partnership of seven school districts that provides American Indian studies in the classroom, will hold a public hearing Thursday to discuss plans for the new year.

The consortium, founded in 1974 by officials in the Ventura Unified School District, receives a federal grant each year to support its Indian education program, said Floyd O. Beller, coordinator of the consortium. This year, the consortium will receive a grant totaling $117,000, Beller said.

School districts participating in the consortium include Ventura Unified, Simi Valley Unified, Conejo Valley Unified, Fillmore Unified, Oxnard Elementary and Oxnard Union High School.

The program seeks to ensure that American Indian history and culture are incorporated into school curriculum, Beller said. It also offers tutoring services to American Indian students in various subject areas, promotes career awareness and helps prepare them for college, he said.

The consortium’s parent committee is required under federal law to hold meetings periodically to inform the public about how the program addresses the special education and culturally related needs of American Indian students. There are an estimated 800 American Indian students in the county’s 20 school districts.

The December meeting is also intended to take ideas and suggestions about how existing programs can be improved.