Native American Community Academy

Why Native American Community Academy was nominated

Native American Community Academy (NACA) serves primarily Native American students from many tribes across New Mexico and beyond. Their model is centered around a framework for holistic wellness that encompasses intellectual, physical, social emotional, and community / relational wellness. Through their work, they have been developing an approach to land-based learning and healing, which incorporates sacred indegenous connections to the physical land as a way to indegenize learning environments. Over the past year, they have iterated on their land-based learning framework and have designed professional development experiences for staff members to deepen a spiritual connection with the land and to begin to conceptualize how teachers can embed land-based learning in their classrooms. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, land-based healing and learning has also been used as a wellness support for teachers navigating the complexity they face in their lives and through their work., NACA stands out as an innovative learning environment through its commitment to culturally sustaining pedagogy and personalized learning. By centering Native American culture, language, and history in its curriculum, NACA advances equity by honoring students' identities and promoting self-empowerment. The school fosters student-centered learning by providing individualized support systems, such as mentorship programs, access to community resources, and culturally relevant instruction that allows students to see themselves in their education. This approach not only improves academic engagement but also builds a stronger community of learners who feel valued and understood., NACA is a small school that focuses on identity through culture & language, holistic wellness, community & family, and academic preparation. Students at the school come from 60 different tribes and are all able to learn in ways thay support their identities and futures. Curriculum is rooted in Native history, literature, science, language, art, and even ways of knowing mathematics. The intense focus on wellness supports all students to be successful in school and in life, as well as their families by providing school-based health services.