News Release
Mahpiya Luta | Red Cloud Indian School, Inc.
Starting January 9th, Mahpiya Luta | Red Cloud Indian School, Inc. will join a growing movement of organizations moving away from a 40-hour, five-day work week model.
Under this 36-hour work week, most Mahpiya Luta employees will work Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., with most offices being closed to the public on Fridays. The exceptions are the Heritage Center which will be open Fridays for visitors (Fridays and Saturdays during summer hours). And the weeks where there is a Monday Holiday, employees will work the Friday of that week.
“Making this switch is really about taking care of our employees,” stated Tashina Banks Rama, Mahpiya Luta Executive Vice President. “Studies showed organizations that moved away from a 40-hour work week experienced an increase of job well-being, decrease in stress and burn out, increase in employee retention and recruitment, and even with decreased office hours other organizations saw an increase in productivity. With that information, this change felt right for us. Our schools have already moved to a four-day work week model and are seeing great results. We wanted to provide all of our employees more time with their families, more time for personal business and appointments, and a chance to rest without guilt. We decided we were ready to push back against the old industrial age, Henry Ford work week and that belief that 40 hours was optimal for production, we wanted to put our employees and their families first.”
Mahpiya Luta | Red Cloud Indian School is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Established in 1888, Mahpiya Luta | Red Cloud Indian School today includes four schools that serve nearly 500 students, pastoral services that serve nearly 600 families in communities throughout the reservation, and The Heritage Center – a cultural arts center that works with over 250 Native artists annually.
