Ute Mountain Ute high school students with a 3.0 GPA or better could be bound for Washington, D.C., this Fourth of July.
Tribal officials are planning a trip to the nation’s capital this summer to reward high school students who make their grades.
“It’s a Fourth of July honor roll trip to Washington, D.C.,” said Ute Mountain Ute president Manuel Heart. “It’s a tribal initiative to increase student achievement.”
Heart made the announcement at Tuesday’s board meeting of the Montezuma-Cortez School District. He said the tribe decided to launch the honor roll program to encourage Ute Mountain Ute high school students to achieve greater academic success.
“The tribal council wants our students to know that they care about them,” explained Tina King-Washington, the tribe’s new K-12 education director. “They want to honor those that do their work in school.”
Funded by the tribe, the program also helps to ensure future leaders for the tribe, King-Washington said.
Fifteen students, with invitations to their parents as well, will tour national landmarks with tribal members and meet with congressional leaders. Ute Mountain Ute students from Towaoc, White Mesa and boarding schools from California to Oklahoma will be selected based on recommendations from their respective schools.
Students who don’t make the honor roll, but who have demonstrated substantial improvements across the academic school year will also be considered, King-Washington said.
“A student who wasn’t doing well at the beginning of the year could still be selected,” she added. “School documentation will be required to show those students made significant gains.”
tbaker@cortezjournal.com