Two of the American Indian College Fund’s programs are collaborating to launch a new virtual learning series for early childhood educators as well as elementary and secondary educators in Indigenous communities. The Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education and Wounspekiya Unspewicakiyapi Native Teacher Education programs will launch the first segment of the Dreaming Beyond the Classroom series on October 22. This five-part series is intended for new teachers in the field of Indigenous early childhood education as well as elementary and secondary teacher candidates at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) studying to take on this educator role within their communities. 

The goal of the series is to provide an online platform for new teachers and current students to better prepare them as educators by providing resources and motivational speakers. Attendees will receive a gift card for their participation, and they will qualify to earn additional prizes with each session they attend. 

Virtual sessions will be hosted from October 2024 through April 2025 and cover several topics, such as the Tribal College Movement and Native identity, classroom management, TCU teacher journeys, and family engagement. Additional information regarding the time and registration for each session can be found at https://collegefund.org/.