Wayawawicakiya Waste (Good Teacher) STEM Teachers of Excellence Education Program (STEEP)

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The main goal of the Oglala Lakota College Wayawawicakiya Waste (Good Teacher) STEM Teachers of Excellence Education Program is to increase the number of highly qualified reservation based certified math and science secondary teachers in rural school systems. Statistics indicate there is a severe shortage of quality teachers in secondary schools across reservations in South Dakota (SD). Oglala Lakota College (OLC) has begun to address this problem by creating a composite secondary baccalaureate degree program in Physical Science. Graduates earning this degree are certified to teach secondary chemistry and physics in South Dakota, and endorsements exist in math, biology and earth science. The Wayawawicakiya Waste program builds the capacity to graduate 25 new secondary teachers and sustain a pipeline of future teachers. OLC has the infrastructure and expertise in place to offer degree programs at distance to students across South Dakota. In addition, the program offers face-to-face summer sessions designed to engage students in methodology techniques, hands-on experience in science, opportunities to practice teaching and constructive evaluation sessions. To properly address the problem in reservation school systems, a project must include in-service K-12 teachers. The Wayawawicakiya Waste program extends the collaborative relationships between OLC and partner K-12 schools by providing professional development opportunities in math and science for K-12 teachers and administrators. Increasing the number of high quality secondary teachers and improving in-service teacher skills makes a broad impact in South Dakota school systems dominated by Native American students. Partner K-12 systems enroll over 14,000 students, approximately 90% of which are Native American.