Nurturing Urban Native American Families through Preschool Family Literacy Celebrations

Authors

M. Susan McWilliams, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
Tami Maldonado, Omaha Public Schools
Paula Szczepaniak, Omaha Pubilc Schools

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Journal Title

AccELLerate

Volume

4

Issue

2

First Page

15

Last Page

15

Abstract

Most Native Americans (NAs ) live in urban settings [1]. Only half of indigenous ninth-grade students graduate with their non-native, same-age peers [2]. New and innovative approaches to teaching urban NAs to increase their graduation rates are urgently needed. One such innovative approach infuses cultural education into curriculum: young children from diverse Native Nations, many of whom have additional non-Native heritage, attend an experimental, urban Native Indian Centered Education (NICE) preschool in the Midwest. The preschool focuses on building and strengthening family literacy resources and developing family-school-community partnerships to strengthen literacy.

Comments

Originally published in AccELLerate: The Quarterly Review for the National Clearninghouse for English Language Acquisition, a publication of National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition at George Washington University.

Recommended Citation

McWilliams, M. Susan; Maldonado, Tami; and Szczepaniak, Paula, "Nurturing Urban Native American Families through Preschool Family Literacy Celebrations" (2011). Teacher Education Faculty Publications. 57.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/tedfacpub/57