FACE Program Director - St. Francis Indian School AKA Sicangu Oyate Ho Inc.

Family and Child Education was initiated in 1990 and currently has programs in 54 Bureau of Indian Education schools. It was designed as a family literacy program, an integrated model for an early childhood/parental involvement program for American Indian families in BIE-funded schools. Evaluation indicates that FACE programs are succeeding in addressing achievement gaps for American Indian children primarily located on rural reservations, and in better preparing them for school.

The goals of the FACE program are: to support parents/primary caregivers in their role as their child's first and most influential teacher; to increase family literacy; to strengthen family-school-community connections; to promote the early identification and services to children with special needs; to increase parent participation in their child's learning; to support and celebrate the unique cultural and linguistic diversity of each American Indian community served by the program, and to promote lifelong learning. Program services integrate language and culture in two settings: home and school. The FACE program provides educational services to prenatal to grade three and adults seeking a general education diploma or career training and placement.