Native Americans rarely find it easy to adapt to learning environments in the city. Because of this constant problem, different schools like St Joseph Indian School had to come up to help these Americans pursue quality education.
According to Wikipedia, Native American boarding schools, also known as Indian Residential Schools, started in the United States during the late 19th and mid-20th centuries with a primary aim of assimilating Native American children and youth into Euro-American culture.
In this article, we will inspect St Joseph’s Indian School, taking into consideration the admission requirements and process, tuition fees, acceptance rate, available programs, and scholarships and financial aids.
About St Joseph’s Indian School
St. Joseph’s is a Native American school that has a simple goal of improving the quality of life for Lakota (Sioux) children and families. As an apostolate of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph’s core goal is to educate Native American children and their families for life — mind, body, heart and spirit. This goal propels the organization to educate and provide housing for over 200 Lakota (Sioux) children each year.
On so many reservations, child poverty and abuse are serious issues that a lot of Indian children battle. However, St. Joseph’s Indian School offers a helping hand to Native American children sensing a strong desire to revive the pride in their culture by learning the Lakota language, studying Native American culture, and healing the broken family circle wherein a lot of them emanate from.
Truly, this organization provides an opportunity for Lakota (Sioux) children to escape extreme poverty and abuse when they attend St. Joseph’s Indian School. Students get access to all services and programs because of charitable contributions from generous supporters. Currently, over 200 children are benefiting from this school.
St Joseph’s Indian School Programs
Children in St. Joseph’s gain from personalized care plans that follow nationally approved and accredited techniques. Friends who support St. Joseph’s Native American programs help provide for every aspect of a child’s needs.
There are so many amazing programs at St. Joseph for kids to enter and they include:
Residential Living Program
St. Joseph’s Indian School offers you another place you can call home as a Native American youth in grades one through twelve. Native American families take their kids to St. Joseph’s with a strong assurance they will be safe, loved, and cared for in every way.
There are no dormitories in this institution. The Native American children live in any of the 21 campus homes with two specially-trained houseparents. They live and play together just like any normal family. All students learn life skills during their time in this school.
Education Program
St. Joseph’s educational programs are top-notch. After completing the eighth grade, this school can take up to 50 students into its high school. These students then get the proper training and guidance they need at that level. However, they don’t do it alone.
St. Joseph’s partners with Chamberlain High School to give its students the opportunity to be a powerful part of many sports, fine arts, and extra-curricular activities. Notwithstanding that they attend the local public high school, they still live on St. Joseph’s campus with their houseparents.
Cultural Awareness Program
Preserving and apportioning the Lakota (Sioux) culture is a vital part of every Native American program at St. Joseph’s. Each student has a strong cultural heritage which is appreciated by their fellow students and is infused in the daily routine — both at school and in the homes.
There are so many games and competitions that help Native American students understand and communicate their cultural heritage, and it’s been helpful to them.
Lakota Language Program
St. Joseph’s recognizes and fully grasps the importance and the essence of the Lakota language to the culture of the Native American youth.
At St. Joseph’s, children in grades one through eight attend a regular Native American Studies class where they learn the Lakota language. Additionally, all classroom teachers push to include the Lakota language and culturally appropriate material in their regular curriculum.
Religious Education Program
When it comes to beliefs, St. Joseph takes this arm seriously. They have a powerful belief in faith as they share strong affiliations with the Catholic church. Their belief in God pushes them to take spiritual exercises such as fasting, praying, etc.
However, to be a member of this school, you don’t need to be a Catholic as they have respect for the belief of every student.
Family Integration Program
St. Joseph’s Indian School is serious regarding the engaging and inclusion of their Native American students’ families through personal visits, effective listening, identifying their demands and creating ways to meet unmet needs by connecting families to available resources, both at St. Joseph’s and in their local communities.
Each staff member is intentional about reaching out to every students’ family throughout the year via phone, email, and postal mail, and take every opportunity to have face-to-face contact. This way, they build a strong connection with the students’ families while giving them reassurance of their child’s safety and care.
Physical Health Program
St. Joseph’s health center staff seeks to meet the physical health needs of all its students. St. Joseph’s has five full-time nurses on staff as they also work alongside healthcare providers from the local hospital. For each time, a physician is on campus to see students 4 days per week. For something more serious than common childhood illnesses, like x-rays or blood tests, students go to the local hospital.
All staff who work hand in hand with the Native American youth — like teachers, houseparents, and counselors — also get training to deal with minor health problems.
Mental Health Program
Mental health is an important aspect of each student’s path in this institution. For this reason, St. Joseph brought in some master-level mental health professionals to help any student having mental health problems. All students have a personal counselor they work with on a one-on-one basis.
All available clinical services team helps youngsters — and their families — deal with everything from homesickness and growing pains to drug addiction and every other problem.
Outreach and Other Programs
St. Joseph’s Indian School refuses to stay idle during the summer months. The Native American youth we serve do not have regular classes; however, a growing number remain on campus to live in the summer homes and enrol into other summer activities.
Additional Native American programs throughout the summer months add a Summer Day Camp for local Native American youth, a traveling Bookmobile, a women’s shelter, and an adolescent care center on a local reservation.
Admission Process & Requirements
Before a child can gain admission into St. Joseph’s Indian School, the child must have downloaded two important forms which include:
After you have filled the forms, you send them to the school’s address, which is:
Admissions Office
St. Joseph’s Indian School
PO Box 89
Chamberlain, SD 57325
If you want to make any sort of inquiry, you can call (605) 234-3465 or email their admissions office to get answers.
Tuition
Sending your child to a quality institution that will offer them personal guidance and counseling comes at an enormous cost. However, money isn’t the driving force behind St. Joseph’s Indian School. In fact, they don’t charge any parents’ tuition fees for bringing their kids.
But you know, feeding and accommodating these children come at a cost. It costs approximately $58,000 per year, per child to meet all necessary needs of a child. These costs include compensation for teachers, counselors, and support personnel needed to run the school and its programs.
With the dedicated, professional staff who provide specialized care for over 200 students each year, you’re sure your child will graduate a better individual.
Scholarships at St Joseph’s Indian School
St. Joseph’s Indian School is proud to announce they awarded $171,933 to Native American youth pursuing higher education in the 2018-2019 school year. They’ve been able to sponsor over 130 students due to the generous offers they get from their sponsors.
You can apply to receive a college scholarship from St. Joseph’s Indian School when you click on any of the link below
Reviews on St Joseph’s Indian School
St. Joseph has received a good number of reviews from astounding platforms. Here are some great reviews you can find about this school.
Tamarakaywalther – Volunteer
Rating:5
“The reason that I support St. Joseph Indian School is because the Native American Indians were here before we were. They were pushed off their land and put on reservations. We actually took their land from them. When I found St. Joseph Indian School, I knew that I needed to donate to them.”
Judy Cranford
Rating:5
“I am so honored to be a long-time supporter of St. Joseph’s Indian School. At St. Joseph’s, children and their families are given hope for an excellent education and an even better future. I am just sorry that I live so far away. I hope someday to visit St. Joseph’s to meet some of the wonderful children.”
Maria C
I have been sending ‘care packages’ to St Joseph’s for some time now. They are so appreciative.
I feel it is important to support them. It is sad that Native Americans are neglected by the US government. They deserve our help.
Conclusion
St. Joseph Indian School remains one of the reputable institutions that play a vital role in the formative years of kids, and till today, they’re still doing that. You can be part of this journey when you support their cause with a generous gift today.