The American Indian College Fund Launches New Community-Based Two-Year Early Childhood Education Program at Five Tribal Colleges

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Mar 29, 2016, 07:41 ET

DENVER, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Indian College Fund, in collaboration with five tribal colleges and universities and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, has launched a new early childhood education initiative that includes the child development knowledge from within Native American communities and the best practices of the early childhood education field. This community-based initiative will use a multi-phase approach to growing long-term commitment and shared responsibility for the development of high-quality early childhood educational ECE opportunities for American Indian children and their families. The program will develop culturally-responsive and adapted ECE systems, build stronger investments in strategic family engagement, and support Native family economic security directly through partnerships and access to higher education.

The American Indian College Fund's Restorative Teachings early childhood education initiative will serve five Native American communities.

The program, called Restorative Teachings, was funded with a $1.5 million grant for two years from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to address the critical needs of vulnerable tribal populations while strengthening family, teachers, and community engagement in health and wellness, economic security, and culturally based education.

Participating tribal colleges include: Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, Wash.; Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College, Baraga, Mich.; and Sitting Bull College: Ft. Yates, North Dakota. A fifth tribal college will be selected to participate in the program in 2017.

About the American Indian College Fund
Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation's largest charity supporting Native higher education for more than 25 years. The College Fund believes "Education is the answer" and has provided more than 100,000 scholarships since its inception and an average of 6,000 scholarships per year to American Indian students. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

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SOURCE American Indian College Fund