DEAP Charter in Navajo, NM Empowers Local Community

In my last post, I shared about the work being done by educators at Dream Diné, a charter working to serve its primarily Native American community on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.

This week, I spoke with Kayla Begay, a co-founder of DZIŁDITŁ'OOÍ (DEAP), a charter focused on empowering Navajo youth, supporting traditional connection to the land, and providing the community of Navajo, NM voice and choice in their children’s education.

“The desire for the school really started in the community. There were a group of local officials and elders who were dissatisfied with the education options that exist…even though there is school choice in the district, there are not a lot of schools that give us local control,” Kayla explained.

It was out of this desire for a more locally controlled school that the concept for DEAP was born. In 2012, the Gallup-based district that controls the schools in Navajo moved to consolidate the three schools in town. Though the community eventually defeated the plan, for many the district’s actions trivialized the role of local schools. They felt that they needed options.

“The school districts still has that looming over us that consolidation could be an option.“ Kayla said. In response, she and a core group of concerned educators and community members began to seek their own options for more community-responsive schooling options in their community.

More on DEAP and creating school choice in Navajo, NM later this week…for now check out the DEAP website at http://www.deapschool.org/.