Off Reservation Boarding School Program

From September 1974, until March 1982, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through a P.L. 93-638 Community Education Contract, provided funding for the program of support services for Ute students who, with parental consent, chose the alternative of off-reservation boarding schools.  After the BIA discontinued funding, the Ute Tribe appropriated monies for program operation.  The factors of low achievement in the public school system and family or social complications that some students experience, combine to make the alternative of attending off-reservation boarding schools viable and needed.

The Off Reservation Boarding School Program assists Tribal members who desire to attend boarding schools away from the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.  The boarding school counselor helps the students complete the application forms, find funding, and arranges transportation to the schools.  Once the students are enrolled in the schools, the counselor works with the schools in establishing individual education plans for each student, monitors their progress, provides counseling, and enhances parent involvement in their children’s educational progress.  The counselor also represents the Tribe in any proceedings between the boarding school and the Tribe.

Students attend the following schools:

            Chemawa Indian School (9^th-12th); Salem, Oregon

            Sherman Indian School (9^th-12^th); Riverside, California

            Riverside Indian School (6^th-12^th); Anadarko, Oklahoma

            Flandreau Indian School (9^th-12^th); Flandreau, South Dakota

            Circle of Nations School (5^th-8^th); Wahpeton, North Dakota

Between the years of 1967 to 1989, approximately 8 students a year graduated from boarding schools.  The number of students graduating each year varied from 1 to 15.