The tribes set educational goals to raise graduation rates to 98 percent by 2005. “I think it’s safe to say we can call this a tribal blitz,” said Lloyd Commander, tribal education director. “We’re counting on this for our future.” Truancy and high dropout rates have been the focus of tribal leaders for several years. Three years ago, the dropout rate for American Indians at Pendleton High School was 44 percent. Last year, it dropped to 28 percent. Last year, the tribal court dealt with 120 truant children and 45 truants this year. The tribe hired a truancy coordinator, a career education counselor and a family intervention counselor. A federal grant is funding a new tribal counselor for the Athena-Weston and Pilot Rock school districts. Commander said parents of habitually truant students are visited at home. Parents who refuse to work with their children are fined in tribal court and the Youth Services Task Force is considering withholding tribal dividend checks from students who are truant or have bad grades. The tribe also gives money to students who raise their grades or improve their attendance. ” … We want people to know that we’re not an extension of the court. We’re here to provide an education.”
