Education

The Nygren Administration will work to resolve the challenges that COVID-19 brought to our schools, including mental wellness, school absences, distrust of in-person classes, and increased learning disparities. We must assess what it means to educate Navajo students in the 21st Century, especially in light of national events.

SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENTS

• Increase support technology for teaching and learning for our students.
• Improve our relatives’ educational and special education experience.
• Improve early childhood development, head start, and after school programs.

MID-TERM IMPROVEMENTS

• Carry out the Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act of 2005 by making the Department of Diné Education (DODE) a high-performance organization staffed with licensed educational professionals.
• Elevate and preserve the Navajo language by developing a comprehensive Navajo language learning program.
• Provide students access to health and behavioral health care at schools.

LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS

• Work to save our culture so our people can learn about our Navajo way-of-life and our ceremonies and life healing sciences.
• Address the chronic workforce shortage in our schools including teachers, school bus drivers, and school administrators.
• Promote accountability for a safe and healthy environment for every student to succeed.
• Work with Tribally Controlled Grant Schools who have the right and responsibility to educate our children in a manner that supports our language and cultural beliefs.

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Construct affordable student housing in urban areas like Flagstaff, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque for our Navajo students receiving higher education.
• Offer more scholarships and internship opportunities and investigate different ways the Navajo Nation can best support students in need of financial aid.
• Create a Navajo Nation Student Loan Forgiveness Program to ease the burden many Navajo students are challenged with today.
• Invest in new and improved trade school programs across the Navajo Nation.
• Incentivize Navajo students to become veterinarians by creating partnerships with universities.