REL Central at McREL report examines partnerships between tribal education departments and local education agencies

Denver —A recent report from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), conducted under its 2006–2011 regional educational laboratory contract, profiled nine voluntary working partnerships between tribal education departments (TEDs), organizations that oversee American Indian education, and local education agencies (LEAs). The study, Profiles of Partnerships between Tribal Education Departments and Local Education Agencies, provides individual profiles that describe how each partnership works, focusing primarily on collaborative activities, such as data sharing, intended to improve education outcomes for American Indian students.

All of the TED-LEA partners emphasized the importance of face-to-face meetings to building and sustaining their partnerships. A common theme among the partnerships was the need to overcome a history of mistrust and discrimination in order to work together effectively.

The study also found that:

• All of the TEDs profiled received tribal funding to support their partnerships with LEAs, and all but one also received state or federal funding.
• All TED-LEA partnerships offered some kind of cultural or tribal language component; five partnerships also offered academic support.
• Four partnerships offered an opportunity for participation in dual enrollment or early college programs.
• Three partnerships included a focus on parent involvement.

Read the full report released by the Institute for Education Sciences.