Three years ago, Valeria Atanacio urged state lawmakers to pass a bill aiming to increase Indigenous families鈥� access to early learning and child care programs.

When the Oregon Legislature embraced the proposal 鈥� called the Tribal Early Learning Hub 鈥� she considered it a victory.

鈥淭hat was really impactful because it was delivering on a promise,鈥� said Atanacio, who was the tribal affairs manager for Oregon鈥檚 Early Learning Division in 2021. The promise, she said, was to empower tribes to shape how those state resources and services would be delivered.

The Legislature tasked a tribal advisory committee, composed of representatives from all nine of the state鈥檚 federally recognized tribes, with designing the hub. Oregon already has 10 such hubs, which are regional subagencies of the early learning department that shape early learning strategies in their local communities. The tribal hub would focus solely on tribal communities instead. Lawmakers allocated $601,000 to , with another $626,000 in 2023. Atanacio was promoted to tribal affairs director in 2022, ran the meetings and served as a key liaison between state officials and the tribal committee members.

But in October 鈥� after 14 months of meetings and nearly $2 million in state and federal funds allocated 鈥� the committee scrapped plans for the early learning hub entirely, saying it had found no way to structure it in a way that would honor each tribe鈥檚 sovereignty. The committee put its funding toward grants distributed among the tribes, but those decisions were made in meetings that were not open to the public, possibly in violation of Oregon鈥檚 open-meetings laws, InvestigateWest found. And Atanacio, who said she received little support in her role leading the early learning division鈥檚 work with tribes, was demoted suddenly in July 2023 and then resigned. For six months after, all three of the early learning department鈥檚 tribal affairs positions remained vacant.

鈥淚t was getting to that point where it felt my values no longer aligned with this system,鈥� Atanacio said. 鈥淚 felt like I was being put in the position to pacify the Native community.鈥�

However, the Tribal Early Learning Hub remains required under the law passed in 2021, and Alyssa Chatterjee, director of the Department of Early Learning and Care, said the statute must be amended to allow the committee to permanently stop working on it. But the department is bringing no proposed fix forward during the 2024 Legislative session, saying tribes need more time to work out an alternate plan.

鈥淲e have to remember we鈥檙e talking about nine individual nations, and so it takes time to coalesce around a shared idea,鈥� Chatterjee said. 鈥淎s the work evolved over time and over the last six months, there was a lot more clarity about which direction to go.鈥�

The lawmakers who created the early learning hub haven鈥檛 publicly expressed much interest in the committee鈥檚 progress or how the money was spent. When InvestigateWest reached out to the 10 members of the legislative committee overseeing the early learning department, only one, Rep. Anna Scharf, responded, saying that she was 鈥渂asically unaware鈥� that the tribal committee even existed.

Meanwhile, tribal representatives on the committee said their rejection of the hub doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e not fulfilling their mission 鈥� they鈥檙e just approaching the same goals a different way.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 OK if there has to be a change in direction,鈥� said Sandy Henry, education director for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and co-chair of the tribal advisory committee. 鈥淲e just keep our eye on the prize and keep walking forward.鈥�

Others, however, have some lingering doubt that tribes will be able to get what they need from the early learning department without the hub that tribal leaders fought for for years.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to wait and find out if that鈥檚 true or not, and if not, hold people鈥檚 feet to the fire,鈥� said Julie Siestreem, who represents the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw on the committee. 鈥淚鈥檓 in a constant state of prayer, a constant state of alertness. The primary concern is that our children are served, and that鈥檚 the bottom line.鈥�

Addressing entrenched struggles

Education leaders from several Oregon tribes have argued for years that the state鈥檚 rules sometimes prevented Indigenous providers from caring for children according to their own cultural knowledge. For example, Oregon required an exemption with a physician鈥檚 signoff for a licensed child care provider to use a cradleboard as an infant sleep setting, as is common in some tribal cultures.

And though the state increased its investments in child care and early learning, tribes haven鈥檛 had clear pathways to access those funds while honoring their government sovereignty, Atanacio said.

The Tribal Early Learning Hub was supposed to be the entity to bring all the tribes and the state together to solve those obstacles.

The brain develops most rapidly during the first few years of life, research has shown. The ethos of early learning is to set children up to thrive as they enter the K-12 system.

Although Oregon has little data on Indigenous families鈥� access to early learning and child care, as children grow up, data lays bare the educational inequities they face.

About 21% of all American Indian and Alaska Native third graders were proficient in English language arts in 2023, compared with 39% of third graders statewide, according to state assessment data. In 2023, 68% of American Indian and Alaska Native seniors graduated from high school, compared with 81% of all Oregon students.

鈥淲e continue to see trends with Native American youth that they鈥檙e just not as successful in those Eurocentric environments as they could be,鈥� said Henry. 鈥淭hat starts in early childhood education. That starts with our babies.鈥�

Boosting support for tribes鈥� early learning programs is about more than academic achievement, however, Henry said.

鈥淭he other thing that鈥檚 important is that culture and language are incorporated into the early learning environment for our kids,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an important piece for their identity, and it鈥檚 important that we recognize that and honor that.鈥�

Tribes nationwide don鈥檛 receive much federal money to support their early learning and child care programs 鈥� less than $600 per child on average each year through the federal child care subsidy, according to by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Some also receive Head Start funding and run home visiting programs for at-risk families. In Oregon, only a handful of the nine federally recognized tribes participate in state-subsidized programs, such as Preschool Promise.

As part of a broader goal to make early learning more accessible statewide, lawmakers created regional early learning hubs in 2013. They bring together local educators, physical and mental health providers, and other professionals to form strategies to serve families with children under 5 in their own community. The hubs also manage enrollment in early learning and child care programs.

However, not all tribes have a good relationship with their respective regional early learning hubs, Henry said. That鈥檚 what prompted some to push for a hub that would serve tribes exclusively.

鈥淢y particular tribe has enjoyed a really solid relationship with our early learning hub,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y understanding is that has not been the case throughout the state.鈥�

During the tribal advisory committee鈥檚 first two years, it tackled some of the barriers that interfered with their cultural practices, such as the cradleboard issue. At the advisory committee鈥檚 recommendation, the Early Learning Council, which sets early learning system rules, removed the exemption requirement. State-licensed child care providers can now use cradleboards if a parent prefers without having to seek an exemption.

Yet, despite being a public body subject to public meetings law, the tribal advisory committee didn鈥檛 often operate as one, including when it decided in 2022 how to allocate the funding it received. As with most of the tribal advisory committee meetings, the department did not make the agenda, minutes and recording public until more than a year later.

The Early Learning Division combined the state funding with another $650,000 in federal funds, bringing the total that the committee allocated to $1.2 million.

The committee agreed to split the money evenly between the tribes in $190,000 grants, with broad allowable uses. Tribes spent the money in various ways, including training for early childhood educators, a youth needs assessment, and cultural items and Indigenous literature for preschool classes, according to the early learning department.

It鈥檚 not clear how much of the funds, if any, has gone back into the committee鈥檚 work to structure the hub.

Bumps on the road

Personnel conflicts and prolonged vacancies also factored into the committee鈥檚 struggle to make the early learning hub work.

Atanacio was not renewed in her position as tribal affairs director in July, a decision she said was conveyed to her without warning or explanation. Because she had been in a probationary period as the director, she was returned to her previous position of liaison to the committee members.

A member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde with an educational and professional background in early childhood education, Atanacio had first joined the Early Learning Division in 2020, when it was still part of the Oregon Department of Education. She was its first tribal affairs manager. After she was made director in 2022, she helped oversee the distribution of the early learning grants to tribes, serving as a point of communication and coordination for the committee鈥檚 work.

It鈥檚 not clear what led to Atancio鈥檚 removal as director in July. Chatterjee declined to discuss the action, citing personnel confidentiality. While Chatterjee did say that the committee鈥檚 failure to comply with public meetings law happened on Atanacio鈥檚 watch, Atanacio said she was never notified about it. Her personnel record, which InvestigateWest reviewed, contained no indication that she was disciplined or put on an improvement plan before her supervisors determined she was 鈥渦nwilling or unable鈥� to perform the necessary functions of the tribal affairs director role.

Atanacio said she received little feedback from Chatterjee while in the role. Without clear answers, she has speculated that her demotion was related to her defense of tribes鈥� rights to self-govern, which put her at odds with the state鈥檚 priorities at times.

鈥淎s one of the only Native American people employed by the agency, there wasn鈥檛 any support. There wasn鈥檛 a safe space for me as a person,鈥� she said. What disappointed her was 鈥渏ust the disposability piece of it.鈥�

Atanacio left the department in August, resigning from the liaison position. She continues to work on early learning issues through other channels.

鈥淚 feel very much validated in my decision to leave when I did,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 still am in this work, and I want to keep moving progress toward more tribally inclusive services and programming.鈥�

After her departure, all three positions within the early learning department鈥檚 newly created Tribal Affairs Office remained vacant for the next five months. In January, Paulina Whitehat, a Navajo educator and researcher with expertise in special education, started as the new tribal affairs director. She declined to comment on this story.

Success plan

The tribal advisory committee is now crafting an Indigenous student success plan, similar to one created by the Oregon Department of Education in 2020. The Education Department鈥檚 plan lays out goals such as increasing accurate data on Indigenous youth, improving graduation rates and reducing overrepresentation in school discipline.

The committee has not specified how long it will take to create its own student success plan or to approach the Legislature about changing its role in statute.

鈥淚 think a really common theme is (tribes) don鈥檛 want to be pressured into a timeline,鈥� Chatterjee said.

The months since the committee set aside its work on the Tribal Early Learning Hub is 鈥渘ot enough time to have a legislative concept that each tribe could have vetted through their government structure,鈥� she said.

In the Legislature, the House Early Childhood and Human Services committee is new to dealing with the early learning department, said Scharf, the Republican lawmaker from Amity who serves as one of the committee鈥檚 vice chairs.

In the 2023 session, legislators were concerned with bigger changes as the Early Learning Division became the Department of Early Learning and Care. Primarily, they focused on the state鈥檚 employment-related child care subsidy, which moved from the Oregon Department of Human Services to the new early learning department last July.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of any reports or information we have received, and was basically unaware of there even being a Tribal Advisory Committee,鈥� Scharf said.

Scharf said she believes that the early learning department should be assigned its own House committee separate from human services so that both can get enough attention from legislators.

Tribal committee members, meanwhile, said they are keeping their focus where it belongs as they make new plans.

鈥淚 feel like a lot of really good work has been done,鈥� said Henry. 鈥淲ould we have liked to be further down the road than we are now? Yeah, we would. But it鈥檚 also important that we stay true to our goal and true to the tribal citizens that we serve.鈥�

InvestigateWest () is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Reach reporter Kaylee Tornay at kaylee@invw.org. This story was produced with support from the Investigative Reporters & Editors鈥� .

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on and .

Growing up in Albuquerque, high school junior Brook Chavez, who is Din茅, never had a Native American teacher until last year, when she took a Navajo language and culture class. 

There, the 16 year old learned more about her culture and connected with other Din茅 youth, coming away prouder about who she is. She felt understood by her teacher, David Scott, also Din茅, in ways she hasn鈥檛 always in the classroom. 

鈥淚 learned a lot about my clans, my stories,鈥� Chavez said, adding that at the end of the first semester, she and her classmates performed at Native American Winter Stories, an Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) event. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of my fondest memories because I got to dress up traditional with all my friends.鈥�

Chavez just wishes she hadn鈥檛 had to wait so long. 

There鈥檚 consensus among advocates and education officials that it鈥檚 important for teacher workforces to be representative of student populations, which research shows is linked to better student outcomes. Same-race teachers can act as important advocates and role models.

But Chavez鈥檚 experience is one that many Native American children attending school in Albuquerque are unlikely to have in the classroom, at least in the near future. 

While parents of nearly 10% of APS students report they have tribal affiliations, only 1.2% of teachers the district employed during the last school year were Native American, according to district data. 

The state Public Education Department identified increasing racial diversity among teachers as a priority in its  released in May in response to Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico, a 2018 court ruling that found the state has failed to provide an adequate education to Native children, among other student groups. 

And district officials in Albuquerque say they鈥檙e working to hire more Native American teachers. As part of that effort, they鈥檝e started a state-funded pilot program this school year. 

But challenges stand in the way, including increasing living costs in the city and a less-than-robust educator pipeline.

鈥淢any of our children will never see a Native American teacher in their entire school career and that鈥檚 simply because the pipeline is not there to support Native Americans as they come out of high school,鈥� said Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, who for the past several years has sponsored legislation aimed at improving education for Native children. 

Diversity gaps 

There is a sizable Native American population in Albuquerque, New Mexico鈥檚 largest city and home to one of the largest school districts in the nation, with 73,346 students as of the last school year. 

A significant number of those students are Native American.

When parents enroll their children in Albuquerque Public Schools, they report their children鈥檚 race and ethnicity to the district. During the last school year, 5.2% of students were recorded as being Native American, but 9.8% of students were reported by their parents as having tribal affiliations. 

The latter figure is more representative of the actual number of students identifying as Native American, said Philip Farson, senior director of the district鈥檚 Indian Education Department.  Many students are multiracial, Farson said, and end up being recorded as a race other than Native American despite their tribal affiliations. 

A student census shows students from over 100 tribal nations and communities, the Navajo Nation accounting for the majority, with about 57% of Native students. There are significant populations from Laguna and Zuni Pueblos and a large number of students from tribes outside of the U.S., mostly in Mexico and Canada, according to the district. 

In total, 7,192 students reported tribal affiliations. Meanwhile, the district employed 65 Native American teachers during the last school year. That means that for every Native teacher, there were about 110 Native children. 

That gap has only slightly narrowed over the past decade. In the 2011-2012 school year, for every Native teacher, there were 117 Native children. 

Having enough teachers that share the same race or ethnicity of students isn鈥檛 just a struggle involving Native students. 

There are also significantly fewer Hispanic teachers than students 鈥� with 28% of teachers identifying as Hispanic compared to a student population that is two-thirds Hispanic. 

鈥淚 think this is an unfortunate theme across the nation, really,鈥� Lente said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just in the Albuquerque public school system, it鈥檚 not just in New Mexico, but it鈥檚 across the nation.鈥�

Indeed, gaps in racial diversity between teachers and students, as Lente pointed out, are both state and national trends. 

During the last school year, 10% of students in New Mexico public schools were Native American while 3% of teachers were Native, according to the state education department. White students made up 23% of the overall population, while 59% of teachers were white. 

Nationally, about 79% of public school teachers identified as non-Hispanic white during the 2017-2018 school year, while only 47% of students were white, according to a  last year. 

The importance of representation

Education officials, advocates and students alike agree that closing those diversity gaps is crucial in improving students鈥� overall experiences and boosting their academic achievements. There鈥檚 a substantial body of research that backs that up. 

For instance, Black students are 13% more likely to graduate high school and 19% more likely to enroll in college if they had at least one Black teacher by third grade, according to a 2018 National Bureau of Economic Research . 

Researchers say there are likely a combination of factors that explain why teachers鈥� race, as well as their gender, matters, the New York Times , including that same-race teachers may introduce new material in a way that鈥檚 more culturally relevant. 

Teachers who understand where their students come from can act as advocates, said Dr. Glenabah Martinez (Taos Pueblo/Din茅), a professor in the University of New Mexico鈥檚 (UNM) Department of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies.

As an example, Martinez cited Native American students possibly needing to be absent for a number of days to participate in ceremonies in their tribal communities. 

鈥淚f a teacher is from that same community, that teacher completely understands why that student needs to participate and how that student isn鈥檛 just missing the white man鈥檚 school, the Western school, but they are getting a different type of education that is intensive in terms of the cultural knowledge,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淎 Native teacher understands that and they can therefore advocate for that student.鈥� 

She also said it鈥檚 important for school districts to have Native American administrators who can guide the creation of culturally relevant curriculum and policies. 

For Chavez, who鈥檚 in her junior year at La Cueva High School, having a Native teacher meant that she felt a level of support and acceptance she rarely felt in earlier grades.

She remembers other kids calling her 鈥淚ndian鈥� and 鈥淧ocahontas鈥� in elementary school, and the climate at her high school 鈥� where 4.7% of students have tribal affiliations, according to district data for the last school year 鈥� isn鈥檛 much better, she said. Teachers sometimes single her out, turning to her during lessons that feature Native American cultures or historical figures 鈥� regardless of whether they have anything to do with the Navajo Nation 鈥� and asking her to weigh in.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l say, 鈥極h, you鈥檙e Native, you should tell us more about it,鈥欌�� said Chavez, who鈥檚 a member of the Native American Student Union at her school. 

Scott鈥檚 class was a reprieve. Two days a week, Chavez and a handful of other students from around the city rode buses to the classroom. She became close with some of her peers, who she stays in touch with despite no longer sharing a class.

鈥淢y students said they felt better coming in,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淭hey felt like they belonged, as opposed to when they were at their school they were kind of ridiculed and ashamed to say who they were鈥 told them, you just have to stand your ground but be proud of who you are.鈥�

Scott shared with his students that as a boy, he stayed with his aunt in Texas for the summer and other kids asked him how long it took him to set up his tipi. In college, his peers assumed he was getting a monthly check from the casino, he said.

鈥淚 just told them [his students], prepare yourself, educate them,鈥� he said. 

Chavez wouldn鈥檛 have had Scott as a teacher had she not made the effort to take a Navajo language course, which involved traveling to another campus twice a week. 

Scott is one of six Navajo language teachers that APS employs. 

To meet the language programming needs of the roughly 4,000 students affiliated with the Navajo Nation, Farson said the district would need to hire up to 100 Navajo language teachers over the next few years.

As of late August, about 200 Din茅 students are enrolled in language classes, according to district spokeswoman Monica Armenta, and 40 Zuni students are enrolled in language classes taught by the two Zuni language teachers the district employs. 

Chavez desperately wants to keep learning the Navajo language, but there鈥檚 not a higher level class she can take this year. She worries she鈥檒l never be fluent. 

Part of why she opted to take Scott鈥檚 class was because it meant 鈥渒eeping the culture alive.鈥� Her grandma, who was sent to  as a child, is the last fluent Navajo speaker in her family, and her sister and cousins aren鈥檛 interested in learning, Chavez said. 

The federal government, beginning in the early 1800s, removed Native children from their families and sent them to schools designed to strip them of their cultures. Abuse ran rampant and hundreds of children died, according to  the U.S. Department of the Interior released in May, although the department expects that number could rise to the tens of thousands with continued investigation.

鈥淢y grandma didn鈥檛 want to teach her kids Navajo because of what happened to her,鈥� Chavez said. 鈥淪he talks about it now but she still says she鈥檚 a little scared. She鈥檚 really traumatized by the boarding school.鈥� 

Not enough

Albuquerque district officials said they recognize hiring more Native teachers is important but they鈥檙e drawing from a limited supply.

鈥淭he district could declare that 5% of our positions have to be filled by Native American educators but they鈥檇 run into the reality that there aren鈥檛 enough Native American educators to go around,鈥� Farson, APS鈥檚 Indian Education Department director, said. 

The department also struggles with retention because the pay, at least for leadership positions, isn鈥檛 competitive, Farson said. 

鈥淲hen we find qualified talent, how do we keep it? That鈥檚 our challenge.鈥�

Some Native teachers the district does employ echo Farson, pointing to a lack of affordable housing in the city.

鈥淚 was looking but rent is so high and teachers鈥� pay is not enough to cover it, to even survive on,鈥� said Scott, who began teaching the Navajo language in Albuquerque last year. He commuted the entire school year from Naschitti, which is north of Gallup. It鈥檚 more than a five-hour round trip. 鈥淎 couple times, probably three times, I just slept in my vehicle.鈥�

Mildred Chiquito, who teaches Navajo at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, lives in Torreon, about 85 miles northwest of the school, with her elderly parents and her 17-year-old daughter.

She wishes there was teacher housing in Albuquerque.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard paying for electricity, water and stuff in the city,鈥� Chiquito said. 鈥淪ome teachers are single parents and they鈥檙e just trying to make ends meet鈥 told my parents if I had teacher housing in Albuquerque, I would take them there and they would stay with me three days out of the week or something and then we go home, back on the reservation.鈥�

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies鈥�  for 2022 indicates double-digit increases in Albuquerque area rents. 

Some school districts across the country, including in  and , have recently asked parents to temporarily house teachers. One district south of San Francisco recently  a 122-unit apartment complex for teachers and staff on district property.

Chiquito said that while she would like to live in the city on weekdays, the drive is worth it. 

鈥淚 love what I do and I love just giving back to the school and I don鈥檛 mind the sacrifices of driving,鈥� she said. 

She began over a decade ago when she received a certification that allows people who are experts in the language and culture of a specific tribe or pueblo but don鈥檛 necessarily have a college degree to teach in K-12 schools. In March, the Legislature  establishing equal pay for Native language teachers such as Chiquito.

When it comes to recruiting Native teachers, there鈥檚 also somewhat of an urban and rural divide.

Martinez, the UNM professor, is heading up  that aims to help Native people become teachers and work in their home communities. 

鈥淲e can鈥檛 forget that we need teachers who are committed to their own Native communities, to a Native community because they care about the community and it鈥檚 located in an area that鈥檚 maybe not close to the malls and the 24-hour coffee shops,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淚 think we need teachers all over the place, rural and urban, but we鈥檙e doing a more concerted effort to recruit Native teachers to be teachers in their own communities so they don鈥檛 have to move to Albuquerque.鈥� 

Pipeline focused on Native students doesn鈥檛 exist, yet

Earlier this year, APS received a $200,000 grant from the state education department鈥檚  to place a teacher with experience working with Native students along with a coordinator for three years at Mission Avenue STEM Magnet School, where about 20% of students are Native. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 trying to take an in-depth look at, not only how are students connected and represented within the curriculum of the school, but the staffing of the school,鈥� Farson said, adding that by the end of the program, the school is expected to have a staff that鈥檚 representative of the student body. 鈥淢y hope is that in that process we鈥檒l really be able to surface the real issues and challenges and a plan for how to address them across the district and not just at one school.鈥�

The district recently hired a teacher who鈥檚 set to start later this month. The coordinator position is still vacant. 

In his experience with similar grant-funded programs, Farson said the first year 鈥渋s always a bit rough鈥� but the district eventually fills the positions. 

Rather than trying to recruit teachers from around the state, Farson said the long-term solution is to build locally. 

鈥淥ver time, our real solution is to figure out how to develop the interests of those 7,000 students who have tribal affiliations here in APS to want to become educators and stay here,鈥� Farson said. 

State and district education officials cite a number of programs centered around pipeline development, but none of them target Native people in particular, and most don鈥檛 target high schoolers. 

There鈥檚 the district鈥檚 teacher residency program, which pairs people pursuing a degree in education with an experienced co-teacher at a high-need school for 15 months. Residents agree to teach within the district for an additional three years after completing the state-funded program, which the district runs in partnership with UNM and the Albuquerque Teachers Federation. 

There鈥檚 also a residency program with Central New Mexico Community College specifically for special education. 

The majority of residents across both programs 鈥� about 120 people 鈥� are still teaching in the district, according to Valerie Hoose, executive director of labor relations and staffing for the district. 

The district also participates in the state education department鈥檚 two-year Educator Fellows program, geared toward educational assistants who want to become certified educators. Fellows receive hands-on experience, mentorship, and a stipend. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to stop that bottleneck that happens in the teacher pipeline where we have a lot of people that graduate out of programs and don鈥檛 sustain in the field,鈥� said Layla Dehaiman, director of the department鈥檚 educator quality and ethics division.

While people have to be over 18 to take part in the program, Dehaiman said department staff have been reaching out to high school seniors and have recruited several recent graduates.

Dehaiman said the department has also been holding a Native American teacher working group over the past year that鈥檚 focused on barriers to licensure and long-term recruitment strategies.

Hoose said that getting young people interested in becoming educators is challenging partly because there鈥檚 a lot of competition for workers, adding that a widely available internship program for high schoolers might be a useful tool.

鈥淲e have a lot of CTE [career technical education] around the state and I think if education was one of those, where students could have access to information and experiences around teaching, that would be helpful,鈥� Hoose said. 

One future teacher might be Chavez. 

With high school graduation in sight, Chavez has been giving some thought to potential careers. While she鈥檚 concerned she wouldn鈥檛 make enough money in education, she said teaching鈥檚 always been an aspiration of hers. 

鈥淚 want to be a supportive teacher that I didn鈥檛 have growing up,鈥� Chavez said. 鈥淎 lot of these Native kids are going unnoticed.鈥�