Dził Ditł’ooi School of Empowerment, Action, and Perseverance (DEAP)

Why Dził Ditł’ooi School of Empowerment, Action, and Perseverance (DEAP) was nominated

Dził Ditł'ooi School of Empowerment, Action and Perseverance (DEAP) is a community-based, Common Core-aligned state charter school committed to improving academic and cultural achievement opportunities for Native youth. In Navajo, New Mexico where DEAP is located, the area is rich with Native history, culture, land, and natural water sources. The mission of DEAP is to help students develop a sense of place, tradition, and wellbeing, preparing and empowering youth to take action in transforming their community and the world around them. DEAP offers equitable and culturally relevant learning environments and instructional material; maintenance of Din (Navajo) language; and opportunities for engagement with the local community. DEAP provides a strong, Indigenous curricula designed to be culturally relevant for a 100% Navajo student body by drawing on the rich cultural and social resources in the community that are often absent from traditional schools. DEAP's educational model rebuilds students' relationships with their culture and sovereign status, helping students reclaim pride in their history and community. For example, DEAP's classroom climate includes coursework that is accompanied by experiential opportunities, such as 6th-9th grade students working through a traditional Kinaald rite of passage ceremony, celebrating the transition from child to adult within the tribe. Students work together in planting a community garden with traditional seeds and plants. The Din language is closely interwoven into academic and experiential activities. This promotes comprehensive, hands-on learning, encountering language's role in describing traditional activities, and studying the etymology of language over time (such as the influence of Spanish and English). Student learning opportunities are connected to real life, their culture, and their community through service orientated projects. At a macro-level, this establishes a school culture and environment that embraces its Indigenous roots as well as the strengths that are abundant within the community.