Institute for Native-serving Educators Teacher Supply Fund

Supply teachers with the materials needed to teach remotely in Indigenous communities   

Teachers in Navajo-serving schools are working hard to ensure a high-quality educational experience for their students under very difficult conditions. Teaching online presents many challenges. Your gift will help purchase supplies and materials to support remote teaching for Teacher Fellows in the Institute for Native-serving Educators (INE) program.  Reaching the $6,000 goal would allow us to provide $200 each to 30 teachers!

"Per capita, communities on the Navajo Nation have been hit harder by the pandemic than any state in the U.S.,” said Chad Hamill, vice president of the Office of Native American Initiatives at NAU. “The ingenuity and dedication shown by teachers during this time is a testament to their fortitude and resilience, qualities cultivated through the generations by Navajo communities in times of conflict and stress. We are continually humbled by their ironclad commitment to the Institute.”  

Your gift supports Navajo preK-12 students and teachers    

Your gift will ensure preK-12 teachers have the supplies they need to continue providing high-quality education during COVID-19. Some of the items teachers on the Navajo Nation have requested include a set of chapter books so each child can have a book at home to support an English Language Arts teaching unit; yarn, poster board, markers, and glue to send home with kids to support a Science teaching unit on the constellations; and USB flash drives for each student so they can access lessons even when internet is not available. Your gift can make a difference for a teacher and their students!

What is the INE? 

The Institute for Native-serving Educators (INE) is a partnership between NAU's Office of Native American Initiatives and schools across Indian Country aimed at strengthening teaching in K-12 schools serving Indigenous students. The Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators (DINÉ), a program of INE, focuses specifically on Navajo Nation schools, providing long-term professional development aimed at improving teachers’ content knowledge and ability to develop and deliver academically rigorous, culturally responsive curricula to their students.

Each year, the DINÉ offers seminars for Teacher Fellows led by university faculty with expertise in relevant content areas. Seminar leaders work with Diné elders to ensure the material is closely connected to Navajo culture, knowledge, history, and language. Through collaborative research and in-depth reading, Teacher Fellows deepen their own content knowledge in the seminar topic. 

To learn more, visit our website: https://nau.edu/ine