Services in Detail
Professional Development
Four Directions Educational Consultants have presented at the Minnesota School Counselor Association Conference, Minnesota TRIO State Conference, Achieve Minneapolis, National Indian Education Association Conference, University of Minnesota, Minnesota State University, Mankato and other venues to share strategies to engage and support Native American students on their educational journey.
Professional Development sessions are provided in-person for school districts around the Twin Cities area or conducted virtually outside of the Twin Cities to save schools and districts the additional expense of travel and lodging.
Topics available include:
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Smudging as a Counseling Strategy
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Creating a Native American College Fair
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Culturally Responsive College & Career Programming
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The Medicine Wheel and Considerations in School Counseling
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Walking in Balance/SEL Programming with Cultural Considerations
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College Counseling Considerations for Native American High School Students
Program Development
This service provides Indian Education programs, school counselors, and school districts with support to create culturally responsive services, including:
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Group counseling curriculum to address school engagement, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), career development, college preparation, and academic support.
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Individual counseling and advisement, counseling handouts, worksheets, and documents.
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AVID college planning curriculum design to honor American Indian culture.
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Response To Intervention (RTI) strategies.
Meetings are conducted virtually to limit costs to schools through travel, lodging, and other expenses.
Contracted Student & Family Services
Native American students require culturally-responsive services. Current data shows that nationally American Indian students have a 65% high school graduation rate and 19% matriculation rate.
When culture is integrated into student services, American Indian students thrive on their educational journey. However, due to school budget constraints and lack of cultural training, many schools are unable to provide the level of support our Native American students require and deserve.
Four Directions Educational Consultants can assist schools by providing culturally-responsive school counseling services to individual students and small groups. Additionally, family presentations are also available.
In person sessions conducted within Minnesota and Western Wisconsin are available; otherwise sessions are conducted virtually and recorded for both student and our consultants' protection. Schools will need to provide students/families with necessary technology to access virtual meetings. Four Directions Educational Consultants will provide the virtual space.