Education
The current education system set for the Colville Indian Reservation is that each town on the reservation has its own K-6 school either directly or partially affiliated with the tribes. The Omak and Okanogan school districts serve the students of that area from Kindergarten-12. The Nespelem school district has a Kindergarten-8 system; most Nespelem students attend high school at nearby Lake Roosevelt High School in the town of Coulee Dam. The Keller school district serves students from Kindergarten-6 and gives students the option of attending junior and senior high school at relatively nearby Wilbur High School, Lake Roosevelt High School or Republic High School. Due to historically negative perceptions, the predominantly European-American town of Republic is rarely attended by students from Keller, though these perceptions exist within the Wilbur, Coulee Dam, and other towns neighboring the reservation.
Pascal Sherman Indian School located outside of Omak at St. Mary's Mission is the only Native American residential school on the reservation currently serving grades pre-Kindergarten-to-9 although there are ongoing plans to include a high school. Inchelium School district and Lake Roosevelt High School are the only public Kindergarten-12 schools within the physical boundaries of the reservation.
There are currently only a few options for one to pursue a post-secondary education on the reservation. The Community Colleges of Spokane have an outreach campus in Inchelium. Big Bend Community College has a similar campus in Grand Coulee. Spokane Tribal College has a joint venture on Nespelem's Agency Campus. Wenatchee Valley College North Campus is located in Omak.
Many students from the reservation typically attend four-year college at Eastern Washington University, Washington State University, Central Washington University, Gonzaga University (which was first opened to service Native Americans) or University of Washington. Heritage College also offers some courses and degrees in Omak at the Wenatchee Valley College-North Campus building.
Read more about this topic: Colville Indian Reservation
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