TULALIP The online learning project developed by the Tulalip Tribes and the Marysville School District is being beta-tested at two elementary schools on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, but members of both the district and Tribal boards stress that when it is complete it will be a resource for all schools.
Its a partnership with a lot of people, said Don Hatch, the senior member of the Marysville School District board who also has served on the Tulalip board of directors. Were doing it for all the children.
Glen Gobin is a current member of the Tribal board and chairs their business committee. As he watched a Web site demonstration at a joint meeting last month, Gobin said the pictures of Tulalip Bay in the online lessons reminded him of his childhood. He raised his hands to the efforts of district and Tribal programmers.
When this came to the council it was a no-brainer, Gobin said, noting the Web site curriculum was a work in progress and could take another two-and-a-half years to complete. Its well worth the wait. This is a program that will continue to grow.
Lois Henry is a Tribal member who teaches Lushootseed to several different elementary grade levels and expressed her pride at watching the project unfold.
To actually see the product coming alive was a moving experience, Henry said.
Quil Ceda Elementary principal Jeanne Tennis said the rollout was going well, and the district curriculum leader said other states were expressing interest in the program.
Its getting the word of mouth out there, said Cindy Clauson, executive director of student achievement.
School board member Sherri Crenshaw is an African-American and she said minorities cant always identify with some of the elements offered in class, but she thought the canoe journey was different.
Its really good for kids to see somebody they can identify with, Crenshaw said. She wanted to know if the time-machine lessons would augment or replace the current curriculum. Quil Ceda vice principal Sharon Anderson said it was the actual fourth-grade social studies curriculum.
The Web site is live, and the teacher and programming team is adding new lessons on an ongoing basis. The URL for the lessons is www.tulaliplearningjourney.org, and the project is funded by the Tulalip Tribes. The site can be accessed by anyone; there is no password required.
The project is a response to legislation written by 38th District Representative John McCoy, a Tulalip member who wanted to see Native American history lessons in Washington State schools feature lessons about tribes closer to home and not from distant parts of the country. A former computer programmer for the U.S. Air Force who installed multi-million dollar mainframe computers in the private sector, McCoy said he happy to see the convergence of history and technology.
I did not have a concept of how they developed the curriculum, but I am very pleased with what they have done, McCoy said. Other tribes in the state were free to use other teaching methods but he thought the online canoe journey was a good way to go. It would be nice if they would consider it.