By: Ed Combs | The Navajo Post | June 20

TSAILE — Diné College Officials are very pleased to announce the College was awarded a Navajo Nation Department of Workforce Development grant for a total of $542,980. The funds will be utilized to develop adult education programs while working closely with Workforce Development programs over a two-year period.  Programs will be established in Crownpoint, Newcomb, Tsaile, Window Rock and Tuba City.

Diné College’s innovative orientation practice and ongoing attention to continuous program improvements have reaped tangible rewards for the students who have participated in Diné College’s Adult Basic Education program. Students increase their educational level gains which positively impacts the GED graduation rate.  The Program is able to spend fewer instructional hours to help students achieve these goals.

Thomas Bennett, who also oversees the Diné College Adult Basic Education Program in Shiprock, attributes this success primarily to the mandatory, structured orientation, along with the staff’s continuous encouragement and assertive follow-up for their students. In the spirit of collaboration, Diné College readily shares their research and practice with other programs in the state of New Mexico.

“Without the ABE staff working as a team toward a common goal, we would not have been successful,” Bennett said.  Because of the creative work and dedication of the Diné College ABE staff, their program evolved into a powerful model for the best practices in New Mexico.

Bennett further stated, “I want to thank our president, Dr. Maggie George for her encouragement and support during the process to receive these funds which will most certainly have a very positive impact on our Navajo people”.

For more information about Diné College’s Adult Basic Education Program contact Thomas Bennett at: (505) 368-3565.