Thanks to a recent formal collaboration established between the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Mashpee School District, we are pleased to share that an Action Plan has been established whose objective is “to advance the academic growth and social/emotional well-being of our Wampanoag students through an emphasis on culture based education principles and practices. All Mashpee educators and students will continue to learn about the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s history and culture, resulting in expanded cultural knowledge and awareness.”

One of the steps of the Action Plan is to engage with tribal parents, guardians and grandparents to determine if there is a special skill (drumming, cooking, crafts, history, storytelling, you name it) that you’d like to share with a Mashpee School classroom…a parents’ Show and Tell of sorts. If so, we’d love to know so that we can schedule a classroom presentation with the Mashpee Schools. Please contact Trish Keliinui at Trish.Keliinui@mwtribe-nsn.gov if you’d like to participate. All ideas are welcome!

In addition to these presentations, we are pleased to share many other action items as a part of the Plan including:

Professional development for MPS staff to support cultural knowledge and awareness
Integration of culture-based education into the schools’ curriculum
Adding Native American books/literature to all school libraries
Re-establishing a Native American History class at Mashpee Middle-High School
Including Native American parent representation on each school council

If you’d like a copy of the full Action Plan, please contact Gail Hannon at GHannan@mpspk12.org.

Thank you for your help and for making Mashpee a Great Place to Be