Isleta Pueblo celebrates milestone in tribal education system


Tribal leaders welcomed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and other top officials to the Pueblo of Isleta Elementary School on August 1, 2015. Photo from Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-New Mexico) / Twitter

Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico held a grand reopening on Saturday for the elementary school on the reservation.

The federal government opened the school in the 1890s, The Albuquerque Journal reported. But the newly-renamed Pueblo of Isleta Elementary School is now under the tribe's control for the first time in its history.

"I commend Governor Torres and Isleta Pueblo’s Tribal Council for their vision, courage and initiative in taking over the operation and management of Isleta Elementary School, which can serve as an example for other tribes seeking educational self-determination,"Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who attended the reopening, said in a press release.

The Bureau of Indian Education approved the transfer to the tribe in March. The school will now operate under the Tribally Controlled Grant School program.

The new school year starts next Monday.

Get the Story:
A new beginning for education at Isleta Pueblo (The Albuquerque Journal 8/2)

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