The American Indian Academy of Denver has been fighting to keep its doors open despite its small population of students.
The school has been fighting to keep its doors open despite its small population of students.
Indigenous families rallied in November saying the school's unique programs and teaching of Native languages such as Dineh and Lakota are helping their children thrive, CBS News reports.
The school's board of directors says changing from a charter school to an innovation school would enable the Academy to receive more funding from Denver Public Schools for needs such as special education and transportation.
And the school could serve any student in metro Denver with its indigenized curriculum.
"Our curriculum is amazing so moving to an innovation school would have some adjustments but not major adjustments to how we're already operating and specifically what we're already teaching," says AIAD parent and board member Veronica Lightning Horse Perez.
"Creating yet another program when the existing programs we have don't work doesn't feel reasonable."
But Denver Public Schools has offered programs for Native students before, yet Native graduation rates have remained low.
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