Oyate Education Program History

The Oyate Education classroom is centrally located in downtown Rapid City on the National American University Campus – room 126 in the Thomas Jefferson Library Building.  Our purpose is to aid at-risk students and students who have dropped out of high school in obtaining enough credits to earn their high school diploma.  The Oyate Education Program is one of many programs partially funded by the Bush Grant.  These programs, located all over the region and in a variety of settings and organizations, are all working to support the academic achievement of at-risk high school students through the use of technology.

During the first full year of operation in 2005-2006, the Oyate classroom served the educational needs of 69 students.  Enrollment numbers fluctuate as our students transition in and out of the program on an as needed basis; some of them only need one semester credit to get caught up with their high school requirements, others may take several entire courses in the Oyate classroom before transitioning to another high school.  During the 2006-2007 school year we served the educational needs of 131 students. During the first semester of the 2007-2008 school year, 112 students came to the Oyate program to come back to school or to receive help making up credits for graduation. We hope to help many more as this year progresses!

Students come to the Oyate classroom for a variety of reasons: the small setting, the individualized instruction, the ability to work at their own pace, or because the other alternative schools in the district are currently full.  Many of our students have responsibilities outside of school like children of their own, jobs, or other family obligations that make it difficult for them to attend school in the traditional setting.  We are glad to be able to offer them a true alternative which allows them to come back to high school or to stay in school without the feeling of falling hopelessly behind.  We have several students who had this hopeless feeling at the beginning of the school year and were on the verge of dropping out.  Because of the opportunities at the Oyate classroom, they did not drop out and are now on their way toward graduation. Other students who had previously dropped out are now back in school and on track for graduation.  Our hats are off to these students and their achievements!  Way to go! 

The Oyate program is designed to help students who have made the decision to return to high school after having previously dropped out.  It also helps students who want to recover credits they may have lost during their first couple of years of high school due to failure or non-attendance.  Students choose to come to the Oyate program when they have decided to make the commitment to complete the requirements for graduation.

The Oyate program offers limited courses designed to help students transition back into one of the other high schools in the district.  In some cases students need only a few credits to graduate.  In others, students come to the program without a single credit.

The program uses a self-paced curriculum which makes extensive use of technology.  Students work on one semester class at a time and then are evaluated to decide what the next step will be.  The Oyate program works closely with counselors and administrators from all area high schools to decide what is best for each individual student. 

The successful student in this program attends regularly, is able to work independently, is able to manage his/her time well, and reads at or above the 9^th grade level. 

Requirements for the Oyate Program

• The student must be at least 16 years old. 
• The student must bring a recent high school transcript. We will help with this.
• If currently enrolled in RCAS district, the student must bring a credit check along with the transcript and a recommendation from a counselor or administrator.
• The student must commit to attend a minimum of two days per week.
  
• Any student who is dropped from the program for non-attendance must wait 30 school days before applying to re-enroll.

List of Course Offerings
English 9A&B
English 10A&B
English 11A&B
Technical Writing
Civics
World Geography
U.S. History I
U.S. History II
World History
U.S. Government
Algebra I