Progress 06/01/24 to 05/31/25
Outputs
Target Audience:This project's target audience encompasses students and community members within the Menominee Nation and the Band of Lake Superior Chippewa people. It aims to support current students at the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University (LCOOU), as well as K-12 students, by providing scholarships, experiential learning, and non-formal educational opportunities to encourage their participation in FANH programs. In addition to student-focused initiatives, the project includes a community component designed to address workforce development needs in collaboration with Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE). This effort involves specialized training programs tailored to natural resource-related careers, developed through ongoing engagement with local employers. Furthermore, the project extends its impact by offering mini-grants to the twelve tribal nations in Wisconsin, supporting community-driven initiatives that enhance awareness and knowledge in FANH fields. Through these combined efforts, the program seeks to foster educational and professional growth while contributing to diversity and workforce readiness within tribal communities. Changes/Problems:The employment turnover of CMN and LCOOU, filling the positions, and bringing the new employees up to date with current activities, while keeping the projects moving forward, was the biggest challenge for year two. The federal funding freeze disrupted project implementation, bringing many initiatives to a complete halt. This abrupt interruption created significant uncertainty within the organization and led to the suspension of project timelines with community partners. The freeze placed a financial strain on ongoing efforts and weakened the College of Menominee Nation's (CMN) relationships with community business partnerships. Both our organization and its partners faced the challenge of sustaining momentum and retaining staff for grant-related activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In the second year of the project, a series of targeted training workshops were implemented to strengthen workforce capacity in the FANH (Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences) disciplines. These workshops included OSHA-certified online training, a welding refresher, a Master Logger informational session, and chainsaw safety training. Collectively, these offerings equipped participants with vital technical and safety competencies relevant to their career pathways. Three partners (College of Menominee Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University, and Native American Center for Health Professions (NACHP)) collaborated to have students attend the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) conference. There were thirteen students from the communities who attended this conference. Further, four CMN students from the Natural Resources and Education programs attended the First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON) conference alongside two CMN staff members. This participation deepened their understanding of Indigenous land-grant education, research, and extension practices. The workforce development team meets biweekly with the Menominee Tribal Enterprise (MTE) and Menominee Forestry department to work towards the project's goal three: increase capacity for food sovereignty for WI tribal communities and provide a mini-grant program to improve food sovereignty. Allowing tribal communities to increase their capacity in the FANH disciplines. Hunters Expo Day Collaboration: Featured six mini-trainings on traditional food preparation and Indigenous harvesting practices. Coordinated with Tribal Conservation, MTE, Forestry, and local hunters. Attracted 32 community participants. Logging Simulator Initiative: Logging simulators were purchased for MTE, Forestry, and CMN. These tools support training for future logging professionals while reducing environmental impact and equipment wear. Welding Workshop: A four-day refresher workshop aligned with MTE's workforce needs. Participation: 5-7 employees successfully completed the training and received certification. CMN Mini-Grant Program Highlights: Two informational sessions were offered for potential applicants; recordings are available on the CMN website. Year 1 recipients submitted quarterly reports and progress photos. The Year 2 program was successfully promoted, receiving 19 applications. Total budget: $60,000 (12 grants awarded at $5,000 each). The top three proposals focused on sustainability in food sovereignty and agriculture. The Career Exploration team meets biweekly to enhance job placement opportunities and increase FANH program enrollment. CMN hosted two career fairs in FY 2024 163 students and community participants. 69 Employer tables: June (30), September (39) Resume-building workshop included. CMN held its first internship fair, though participation was impacted by finals week. 16 employer tables. 9 students attended. 5 past interns shared their experiences. CMN President Caldwell led a Community Discussion to network with attending employers and CMN staff. This was during the career fair, no extra funding was needed for this session. 19 participants attended this discussion. The discussion aimed to gain feedback on what tribal employees and the community would like to see from the College of Menominee Nation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The college serves a rural, economically disadvantaged community, one of the poorest in the state, where most residents face significant barriers to accessing information due to limited internet connectivity. The college currently relies on traditional dissemination methods such as newsletters, fliers, social media, and TV and radio advertisements to overcome these challenges. However, these approaches have proven insufficient in effectively reaching the community and raising awareness of educational opportunities, particularly in the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human (FANH) sciences. To address this gap, we have collaborated with the Advancement department to enhance outreach efforts through expanded distribution of printed materials and dissemination of the information in rural areas via the US Postal Service. By improving dissemination strategies, the college aims to increase awareness and participation in FANH disciplines, ultimately fostering educational and economic opportunities that align with the community's unique needs and resources. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?CMN will proceed to meet with the partners to discuss the continuation of moving the projects forward. We plan to continue with the scholarship and stipend program for the students in the FANH programs, increasing retention within the institutions. Continue to work towards increasing enrollment in the FANH programs for new students, creating a path to the FANH workforce. We plan on collaborating with the local high school to build a bridge between the Future Foresters of America (FFA) students and the College of Menominee Nation FANH programs. Continue to work with the tribal entities to create a stronger workforce within the Menominee Tribal Enterprises and Forestry institutions. Our youth programs will continue to create awareness in the FANH programs with the K-12 grades every year. The mini-grant program will continue to work with the federally recognized twelve tribes to promote food sovereignty.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The partners continue to meet monthly to discuss the activities within each goal. Four teams continue the work in depth and keep the projects moving forward.Within the 2023-2024 FY, the teams have accomplished the following events, activities, and projects. The two tribal colleges are working to build an articulation agreement between them and include a new partner with Fort Peck Community College, another tribal college. Scholarships: CMN collaborated with financial aid and advancement departments to create a scholarship program for students enrolled in FANH programs (Natural Resources, Sustainable Agriculture, and Bio & Physical Science). There were a total of 21 students in the reporting timeframe. Scholarship program total: $43,540 The stipend program total is $17,500 ($700 in living stipend for five months for eligible students). LCO established a scholarship program for Nursing, Ag/Natural Science, and Human Services students, including cost-of-living stipends.There were a total of 70 students in the reporting timeframe.? Tuition support: $30,460.50. Monthly stipends: $69,999.25. Experiential learning The youth program team has initiated monthly meetings with the official hiring of a College Career Coach at LCOOU. Efforts have been focused on connecting summer institutes to meet Goal Two. CMN continued with year two of the CMN summer youth program, FANH Club. 12 participants. Outcome: The students are now aware of the career paths needed to continue on into the FANH disciplines. Impacts: Three of the students are considering home health aid and nursing programs. LCOOU held a Summer Middle School FANH Club and an Elementary Summer Program Planned supplies budget $10,000, spent $8,500 17 middle school students attended the three-week FANH Club 8 elementary students participated in a three-week FANH science-based program
Publications
|
Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary purpose in year one of the NEXTGEN, From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food Agriculture Professionals Program, is to servecurrent students at College of Menominee Nation (CMN) andLac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (LCOOU) and K-12 students of the Menominee Nation and Band of Lake Superior Chippewa people. This program works to increase the number of professionals in FANH programs and assist in closing the gaps in diversity by providing scholarships, experiential learning, and non-formal learning opportunities to American Indian students. This grant also includes a community component that is two-fold. This grant will also focus on training the local workforce to address employmentneeds in partnership with the Menominee Tribal Enterprises. These trainings will focus on positions within the Natural Resource field and as a result of multiple meetings with the employer. The second part of the community work is targeting the twelve tribal nations in Wisconsin with mini-grants to help them further projects that increase awareness and knowledge in FANH. Changes/Problems:The biggest challenge we encountered with this grant was employee turnover. LCOOU experienced turnover with staff for this grant but has been working diligently to fill them. The positions are staffed, and we are working together to bring the new staff up to date on all areas. CMN experienced a turnover with the Project Director for this grant, causing some delays with the project. This position is staffed with an experienced individual, and the work starts to progress again. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Pre-College Coach and the Career and Placement Coordinatorattended the Achieving The Dream Summit in 2024. This summit brings together community colleges and tribal colleges nationwide to address inequities in students' educational and workforce outcomes. This conference gave this staff member access to network and learn with other institutes of higher education. These staff members are more innovative in their approach to working with students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?College of Menominee Nation has created a webpage on their website to promote the mini-grant process. We hope to grow this page by sharing more of our accomplishments with interns, student workers, career fairs, and other community work. The Marketing and Communication Manager has also shared information regarding NEXTGEN on all social media accounts. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?CMN and LCOOU will continue to have monthly partnership meetings to bring everyone together to discuss accomplishments and challenges. The teams are making progress, so they will continue with their work towards their objectives. The higher education team will have an articulation agreement between the two tribal colleges, some online/ hybrid courses developed that can be shared between the two campuses, and a potential course-sharing platform identified. The youth team will expand the curriculum they are offering at all schools on the Menominee reservation and share with LCOOU for their use. The youth team created a calendar of activities, which will continue to be updated and shared with communities. The advisory team will start the meetings with the advisory board for the Natural Resource and Sustainable Agriculture programs. The work will continue to review these programs to ensure they meetindustry needs. This will also influence the training and work we do with Menominee Tribal Enterprises. The mini-grant proposals will enter year two with the potential to reach more tribal communities. The evaluator will also start their collection of data for year two.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The partners and sub-awardees within this grant meet monthly to update each other on progress and discuss any problems they may encounter. At the beginning of the grant year, the group met to discuss priorities for the grant and divided into teams to start the work and create work plans. The three groups are developed and assigned to work towards the objectives within each goal The Higher Education objectives within goal one, Youth programs team and goal two objectives and The advisory team is to work with goal three objectives. The Higher Education team has been reviewing course descriptions and syllabi to develop an articulation agreement between CMN and LCOOU. This agreement will provide a seamless transfer of students for the Natural Resource and Sustainable Agriculture Science programs. This team is also researching new forestry programs and searching for a consultant to help complete a new academic program review for CMN. This new academic program review will show the viability of a new program. The team has also researched course-sharing platforms and is working with the American Indian Higher Education Consortiumto present to other TCUs. The Youth Group has made great progress towards goal two. Within their meetings, they focused on giving an overview of collaborative opportunities to support the human sciences component of NextGen, seeking feedback and input on community interests and needs, how the Native American Center for HealthProfessions (NACHP)can provide support for AI/AN students interested in healthcare professions, and developing a meeting schedule for continued planning. The Pre-College Coach developed a curriculum for a FANH course that will be taught to local fifth-grade students during summer school.NACHPand CMN partnered on a campus visit that hosted 16 Menominee high school students and three chaperones in November 2023 at the UW-Madison campus. The high school students participating in this visit engaged with college students. They were able to discuss college life and majors to increase theirknowledge and awareness about different health careers. These high school students are now discussing health careers with mentors and advisors to explore more options. This group continues to grow with its activities and awareness of FANH for the youth, creating more opportunities for high school students to become interested in FANH majors. The advisory team has developed a list of employers in the area for Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture programs at CMN and LCOOU. The group recruits individuals from these employers to serve on an advisory board. This group of potential employers has also been invited to a career fair scheduled for June 2024. This career fair collaborateswith other departments at CMN and will raise awareness of FANH careers in the community. The discussion at these career fairs gives CMN feedback on current programs and graduates to find areas of improvement. CMN is able to use this information to strategically plan and improve current FANH offerings at CMN The workforce development part of the grant is progressing. CMN has started the mini-grant process with the community. Through this mini-grant program, we seek to foster initiatives focused on natural resources, sustainable foods, and nutrition, thereby contributing to food sovereignty and development within tribal communities. The goal is to reach all twelve tribal nations within Wisconsin. There has been progress with the the sub-awardee Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE) in determining training needs for their workforce.MTE is a local employer that employs students in the Natural Resources industry.
Publications
|