Native teachers build nations: More Indigenous people are training to be teachers in Arizona

Tribal colleges like Tohono O’odham Community College provide an accessible route for indigenous students to pursue higher education, with tuition waivers available for students from federally-recognized tribes. Tohono O’odham’s enrollment has grown from about 700 in 2019 to more than 1,200 last year, but funding for tribal colleges is in jeopardy due to proposed federal budget cuts.

To better serve Indigenous students, Durango School District 9-R has created an advisory council for Native American parents, designated specific staff to help support Native students, and developed an Indigenous language course where they can reconnect to their culture by learning Diné Bizaad. Students report that the course is more engaging than learning about Navajo history via a textbook, and the district has shown progress in closing opportunity gaps for Indigenous students, with all of its Indigenous seniors graduating last year.

The student-led SzKTP program provides peer mentorship and application help to high school students interested in attending Corvinus University, with the goal of improving higher education opportunities for students from low-income and disadvantaged areas. Once they’re accepted to Corvinus, students in the program continue to receive support and guidance, as well as a stipend to help lessen the burden of university-related costs.

Amantaní spearheads a range of initiatives to improve educational opportunities for students in remote areas of Peru, such as its Ethical Trade program, in which artisans sell traditional goods both to support themselves and to help fund fellowships covering students’ tuition costs. The organization is also focused on helping indigenous students embrace their cultural heritage and languages.

The Muckleshoot Cohort is an Indigenous-led doctoral program in educational leadership that is built around Indigenous culture and knowledge. The initiative, which encourages students to reclaim their Native identities and tackle generational trauma related to the colonized education system, graduated 10 students in its inaugural class.

New Kituwah Academy Elementary provides immersive language education for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, helping to keep the band’s language and culture alive. Students speak exclusively in Cherokee until third grade and then use both English and Cherokee throughout the school day to build proficiency in both languages.

Montana's Indian Education for All program ensures that both Native and non-Native students have the opportunity to learn the history and culture of local Indigenous peoples, such as through an experiential bison harvest.

Ethnic Azeri students face disproportionate barriers in achieving university education compared to Georgians. One of those reasons is due to language barriers. Isolated from Georgian society, it's not uncommon for Azeri communities to not speak Georgian fluently. The center has now expanded into a network of multiple centers. One center serves as many as 160 children. It’s working. Some of the centers had a 100% success rate in helping Azeri students enter college.

Montana, home to nine Native American languages, becomes the second state to fund indigenous language immersion programs in public schools. The same languages were once forbidden, but now they are helping to preserve a disappearing culture and closing the graduation rate gap for Native American students.

San Francisco's Black Early Childhood Educator pilot program covers tuition and provides stipends for Black students, as well as support from a case manager and necessary supplies such as laptops. Since the program launched two years ago, 62 participants have received their associate teaching permits from the City College of San Francisco.