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Oglala Lakota County School District Prepares for First CTE High School on a SD Reservation

Kealey Bultena
/
SDPB

The Oglala Lakota County School District is partnering with the state to build the first brick-and-mortar public high school on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It’s also the first career and technical education—or CTE school—on any reservation in South Dakota. Superintendent Anthony Fairbanks says it’s a partnership years in the making.

The Oglala Lakota County School District covers 2,000 square miles. Right now, the only public-school option is a virtual high school with remote sites throughout the district.

Superintendent Anthony Fairbanks says the process of developing a CTE school on Pine Ridge began during a presentation with then-Governor Dennis Daugaard about four years ago. Once district administrators realized the flexibility of the CTE model, Fairbanks says the sky was the limit.

The school is set to open next fall, and Fairbanks says the curriculum is under development.

“We’ll be having a freshman academy to help support our students as they transition into high school, developing life skills, career exploration to give them an idea of careers they’d like to explore.”

The school will also have a business academy, a health and public safety academy, a human services academy, and a STEM academy. Fairbanks says the topics were selected from surveys of past and present students.

“These are the top things that everybody was interested in, so we kinda developed the curriculum around their interests. So it’s very relevant, makes sense, plus it’s a lot of fun and it gains their interest to not only stay in school—stay in high school—but also develop a career.”

The new high school will cost about $25-million. Superintendent Fairbanks says construction is funded in part through the State Aid Pledge Program, a finance package that helps the district save money by reducing interest on construction costs.

“We’re able to get a lot of building—400 student capacity—plus a very large gym at a good cost.”

That partnership with the Governor’s Office will save the district $6-million.

Superintendent Fairbanks says the next step is hiring staff. He hopes to fill about 115 positions by July 1st.

Regional Health supports Education and Healthcare reporting on SDPB.