Working together, we did what we said we would do.

Today, our services in health, education, welfare, public safety, community and individual career and business development are praised for excellence and innovation.

Specifically, we have done the following in the area of Education/Career Development:

• Transformed Sequoyah Schools from the “school of last resort” to the School of Choice – from enrollment of half-capacity, to a waiting list of 150 per year; 44 Gates Millennium Scholars have graduated Sequoyah during our administration.
• Created a Cherokee Language Immersion elementary school, where 90 students conduct all coursework in the Cherokee language
• Distributed $10 million in scholarships thru the College Resource Center, which assists citizens in their pursuit of education.
• Distributed $22 million to public schools from Motor Vehicle Taxes, benefiting 90 schools and 21,000 Cherokee students.

We will continue to improve on our success in Education/Career Development by:

• Creating Cherokee dorm floors at NSU to provide a citizen/student cohort to provide history, culture and language programming as well as improve retention rates.
• Expand the Cherokee on-line language courses to double its current capacity.
• Create a scholarship research center, giving Cherokee students access to an electronic scholarship finder so they may research all scholarships available.
• Create a college-bound environment, in partnership with public schools. This project will target career exploration, planning and test preparation for college.  This initiative will target 8th-12th graders, affecting 7,000+ Cherokee students.
• Expand mentoring, internships and placement of graduates of the Cherokee Scholarship Program.
• Add 20,000+ square feet of space for the elementary grades at Sequoyah Schools, including a cafeteria and practice gym.
• Make Cherokee language available in other technology products, like Microsoft ®.
• Expand model schools and classrooms for Cherokee language immersion (in other areas of the Cherokee Nation?)
• Create a “Vision Center”, an experiential career exploration initiative targeted at students from early elementary into high school, including exposure to careers, visioning and creating a plan.

This focus on education/career development creates more Cherokee citizens who are prepared for the high quality, sustainable jobs we will create in the Cherokee Nation.