Black Hills State University educator Stephanie Higdon was recognized by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Education Department during its annual educator honoring held in August at the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council meeting. The annual recognition celebrates educators who are making a meaningful difference in the lives of students within the Lakota community. Higdon was honored for her partnership work through the Cultivating Indigenous Research Communities for Leadership in Education and STEM (CIRCLES) Alliance.
The honoring was split into four categories: Years of Service, Language and Culture, Partnership, and Sicangu Indigenous Principles of Learning (SIPL). Higdon, the CIRCLES Alliance Curriculum Development Facilitator at the Center for the Advancement of Math and Science Education (CAMSE) at Black Hills State University (BHSU), was recognized in the Partnerships category and represented CIRCLES.
The CIRCLES Alliance is funded by a National Science Foundation grant and brings together partners from six states to address the underrepresentation of American Indian and Alaska Native students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and the STEM workforce through collaboration with Tribal communities. The South Dakota Alliance team works with educators and communities to offer culturally relevant STEM activates and delivers teacher professional development to support educators in creating strong, engaging classrooms for students that also connect them to place, community, and Indigenous STEM. The SD CIRCLES Alliance team has facilitated seven educator workshops and hosted 144 unique educators from across South Dakota.
Through its partnership with the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Education Office and the SIPL development team, the CIRCLES team has supported the Sicangu Indigenous Principles of Learning development work and incorporation of the principles into K-12 educator professional learning.
“Supporting our students in shared work. It requires educators to open schools, tribal programs, and community partners to work together with a common purpose,” said meeting facilitator Dr. RoseMary Claremont, assistant director for the tribal education department. “These educators recognized in this category understand that strong relationships create stronger opportunities for students. They build trust, connect people and resources, and advocate for the needs of our children and families. We honor them for demonstrating the strength of collaboration and community.”
Four additional educators who are connected to BHSU through the E-CORE STEM Leadership Program were honored in the SIPL category. South Dakota E-CORE, another National Science Foundation funded grant, organizes the STEM Leadership program that works to create and support a dynamic network of South Dakota K-16 STEM educators. These honored educators were Oyate Burnette, Rebecca Rahn, Reycel Jugo, and Genesis Barbon.
"This honor means a great deal to me because it reflects the relationships and partnerships that have grown between Rosebud Tribal Education, the Sicangu Indigenous Principles of Learning Development team, the CIRCLES Alliance, and Center for the Advancement of Math and Science Education at Black Hills State University. These relationships and the work we do together continue to make positive impacts for educators and students across South Dakota," said Higdon.
Pictured from left to right is Oyate Burnette, Rebecca Rahn, Reycel Jugo, Genesis Barbon and Stephanie Higdon