Education

Civics/history Part 2: How new civics and history program will be developed

If all goes as planned, South Dakota public school teachers and students should find it easier to teach and learn social studies topics in the coming years. The proposed South Dakota Civics and History Initiative is just getting started, but hopes are high that the effort will result in deeper,

Educators and historians want politics kept out of new history and civics initiative

Educators, historians and some elected officials are urging South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and the state Department of Education to keep politics and personal bias out of the process to develop a new and enhanced civics and history initiative for public K-12 schools across the state. In her State of

Colleges part 4: How one SD college used pandemic funds to improve education

While most colleges across the country were stung hard by COVID-19 — logistically and financially — the small private college that serves mostly Native American students on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota got a big boost from the pandemic. Like the reservation itself, the Oglala Lakota College in

Colleges part 3: Students cross hurdles while learning during a pandemic

As part of its in-depth look at the state of higher education in the state, South Dakota News Watch made contact with students who experienced learning during a pandemic close up. Here are three of their stories. Making frugal financial choices Sydney Becker, 19, is a graduate of Lincoln High

Colleges part 2: Pandemic puts college degree out of reach for more South Dakotans

The COVID-19 pandemic has further lowered the ability of low-income and minority students in South Dakota, including Native Americans, to enroll in college, obtain a degree and gain the lifelong financial and upward mobility benefits that come with higher education. Education experts in South Dakota and around the country are

Colleges at a crossroads: Pandemic creates new challenges and highlights historic concerns

Colleges and universities across South Dakota were facing long-range financial, logistical and access challenges even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Enrollment was falling, state financial support for public universities was dropping, and rising tuition led to high loan burdens for many students and reduced access to obtaining a degree for

How one Native American tribe in SD created its own wireless education network

Editor’s note: This article was produced through a partnership between South Dakota News Watch and the Solutions Journalism Network, a national non-profit group that supports rigorous journalism about responses to problems. This is the final segment of a two-part look at the education of Native American children in South