Arizona Superintendent Promotes Native Culture

From http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/23/arizona-superintendent-promotes-native-culture-99610

Arizona Superintendent Promotes Native Culture
By ICTMN Staff
February 23, 2012

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal may be taking flack for cutting the Mexican American Studies program at the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), but he spent February 21 and 22 telling educators and students on the Navajo Nation that the state of Arizona wants to help them teach language and cultures.

He told the gathered participants at Chinle that Native language and culture classes would not be banned like Mexican American Studies has been at TUSD.

“We don’t anticipate any fallout to other cultural studies programs,” Huppenthal said, according to Navajo Times. “The challenges associated with that (Mexican American Studies) program are isolated to that program, that school district and that environment.”

But how does Huppenthal plan on helping tribes teach their language and culture? He said the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is revising requirements for those who teach tribal culture and language.

“We’re already taking steps to cut down on the regulations that make it difficult to bring in Native speakers to teach language,” Navajo Times reported Huppenthal said.

Read more: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/23/arizona-superintendent-promotes-native-culture-99610

Read a related article about Huppenthal’s visit to the Navajo Nation at http://navajotimes.com/education/2012/0212/022312hup.php