{"id":41246,"date":"2022-04-10T03:57:57","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T09:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-look-into-kwiyagat-community-academys-first-year\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:59:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:59:49","slug":"a-look-into-kwiyagat-community-academys-first-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-look-into-kwiyagat-community-academys-first-year\/","title":{"rendered":"A look into Kwiyagat Community Academy\u2019s first year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A mural painted on the wall of what will soon become the new kindergarten classroom at Kwiyagat Community Academy.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s first public Native American reservation charter school is in its flagship year, and while Kwiyagat Community Academy has come a long way since its inaugural day Aug. 23, it\u2019s still expanding.<\/p>\n

The early learning establishment teaching Ute Mountain Ute culture and language on the tribe\u2019s reservation in Towaoc is forging a path forward for Native students.<\/p>\n

As tribal council member Lyndreth Wall put it, KCA is \u201creversing\u201d the bleak boarding school period that saw tribal students shipped off their reservations and \u201cstifled\u201d whenever they spoke their native language.<\/p>\n

Now, young Native American minds have the opportunity to begin their schooling on their reservation. And they are taught to embrace their culture \u2013 not shy away from it.<\/p>\n

Children participate in 40 minutes of cultural lessons a day, in activities that include learning letters or beating drums.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally we want culture to be all day long, not just 40 minutes,\u201d said Head of School Dan Porter.<\/p>\n

\"Ute
Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council member Lyndreth Wall, left, and Kwiyagat Community Academy Principal Dan Porter pose with student artwork displayed on a school\u2019s wall.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

But Ute Mountain Ute culture is woven into school days in other ways.<\/p>\n

It is seen in the way the school mirrors nature.<\/p>\n

For example, as part of the school\u2019s continuing expansion, children will soon be encouraged to resolve conflict with a nature-based \u201cpeace path\u201d under construction outside the school. It will be lined with plants key to Native culture.<\/p>\n

The school also follows Ute celebrations.<\/p>\n

The last day of school is June 3 to coordinate with the tribe\u2019s Bear Dance, a Native tradition that celebrates spring and the awakening of the spirit of the bear.<\/p>\n

The school is open to any student \u2013 not just members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s enrolling for next year, particularly for its new kindergarten class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe door\u2019s open for them,\u201d Wall said.<\/p>\n

The school will have a new second grade class at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. It plans to add a new grade each year through fifth grade.<\/p>\n

KCA strikes a \u201cbalance with the modern, outside world\u201d and the traditions of the sovereign nation, Wall said.<\/p>\n

The school is accredited by the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Charter School Institute.<\/p>\n

It launched in August with 23 kindergarten and first grade students in a temporary modular building. It now has 27.<\/p>\n

Since then, classes have moved into the school\u2019s official building. Outside the front doors, the handprints of its first students, pressed into the concrete, welcome visitors.<\/p>\n

The school also switched to four-day weeks in January to align with Cortez schools.<\/p>\n

\"Student
Student handprints pressed into the concrete lining Kwiyagat Community Academy.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Teaching students the Ute language, Shoshonean, is a core value. Transference of the language has dwindled, marred by the forced assimilation rooted in the tribe\u2019s boarding school era and the loss of elders who were fluent in it.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, teaching children the Ute language has influenced their parents, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir child is coming home and telling them these words,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the most rewarding effort that KCA is doing for our children,\u201d Wall added.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s estimated that there are now a little over 110 Ute Mountain Utes fluent in the language.<\/p>\n

A spoken-word dictionary released in November with more than 10,000 enunciated words marked another significant effort to revitalize the language.<\/p>\n

One of the most rewarding moments in the school\u2019s first year came when Porter saw a child welcome a visitor fully in Ute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Ute. I present myself in Ute. Shoulder back, head held high \u2013 that\u2019s what we\u2019re after. It\u2019s happening,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n

The way Wall describes it, the Ute language \u201cis like the contour of Sleeping Ute Mountain.\u201d Like others in the tribe, he doesn\u2019t want to see it lost on emerging generations.<\/p>\n

When it comes to school leadership, Porter\u2019s a hands-on principal. He believes in project-based learning in conjunction with core curriculum.<\/p>\n

When The Journal<\/em> visited KCA, Porter\u2019s truck bed was filled with lumber for a woodworking project with the students.<\/p>\n

And he encourages open lines of communication with the children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy office is mainly the kids\u2019 home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In it are small, child-size wooden desks where he encourages students to sit and tell him about their days \u2013 and any issue they may need to resolve.<\/p>\n

Children are also encouraged to \u201cself-regulate\u201d with practices like breathing exercises or warrior poses. They serve as additional measures aimed at preventing punishment wherever possible.<\/p>\n

When The Journal<\/em> visited the school, a girl walked up and said \u201chello\u201d with a hug.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s come a long way socially, after being forgotten at school three times instead of making it onto the school bus in Cortez, Porter said.<\/p>\n

Fresh off a 25-year career in the Montezuma-Cortez School District, Porter made it clear that he\u2019s an advocate for Cortez schools, and Montezuma-Cortez school board members have visited the school, he said.<\/p>\n

But, KCA offers Native children a different learning experience that more closely ties to their culture.<\/p>\n

The school\u2019s expansion is a long-term effort. For instance, next week Wall is attending a legislative conference in Denver to speak on behalf of the school and advocate for more funding. Tribal Council member Selwyn Whiteskunk also serves as a liaison for the school.<\/p>\n

A playground is in the works, and Porter said it will help refine the children\u2019s gross and fine motor skills. One day, the school hopes to add a library.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s coming together to make these things happen,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n

Porter and Wall spoke highly of KCA\u2019s teachers. The school is recruiting reading specialists, a part-time special education teacher and a classroom teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy the energy and the success that each educator does for KCA,\u201d Wall said. \u201cIt\u2019s continuing to go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, like other nearby districts, the school is considering increases to teacher pay amid a new $50,000 starting salary for teachers in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Of course, the teaching experience at KCA is a unique one, Porter said. And teachers engage their students in relatively expansive classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a good job outfitting classrooms,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n

Richard Fulton, retired dean of the Fort Lewis College School of Education and former charter school principal, helps the school with grant writing and project management.<\/p>\n

\"Ute
Ute Mountain Ute council member Lyndreth Wall, left, and grant writer and project manager Richard Fulton pose in front of Kwiyagat Community Academy.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Like many others, he has \u201cbig dreams\u201d for the school\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need this education now,\u201d Fulton said, adding that the school is \u201cbringing back the traditions, the customs\u201d that were once discouraged in boarding schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know where we come from,\u201d Wall said. \u201cAnd when we know where we come from, we have a better foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wall expects many stories of language, culture and curriculum to emanate from the school\u2019s red and yellow walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want KCA to survive, and it will survive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

a preview of what\u2019s to come for the state\u2019s first public Native charter school <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[155,28,167,561,29,181,93,547],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-education","tag-headlines","tag-local-news-lead","tag-native-american","tag-newsletter","tag-school","tag-students","tag-ute-mountain-ute-indian-tribe"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84903,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41246\/revisions\/84903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41246"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}