Steven Sanders, chairperson of the Sand Springs Indian Education Parent Committee, used the boards public-comment period Jan. 13 to summarize the committees activities and upcoming events and to request continued district support for culturally relevant programming.

Hello. My name is Steven Sanders, and I'm here tonight Sanders said, introducing himself and noting he attended with two sons. Sanders told the board the parent committee works with the districts Indian Education director to provide culturally relevant activities for Native American students and families. He said the program serves students from about 30 tribal nations represented in the district and that funding comes from Johnson O'Malley (JOM) and other federal dollars and support from the Muskogee Creek Nation.

Sanders described year-round programming the committee organizes: a cultural summer camp for elementary students funded by JOM and the Muskogee Creek Nation; storytellers and Cherokee language presenters during Native American Appreciation Month; stickball instruction for elementary and high-school students; the reactivated Native American Student Association at the high school; and a drum group the committee hopes will perform in the districts homecoming parade.

He invited the community to two upcoming events: a sweetheart dance on Feb. 7 hosted by the Tulsa Indian Powwow Club and a community pow wow the committee plans for May 10 on the Sand Springs football field. We're gonna have probably the first pow wow that we've ever had in Sand Springs that I'm aware of, Sanders said.

During the awards portion of the meeting the board presented a Sandite Spirit Award to ReWorld Tulsa for volunteer projects at Limestone Technology Academy including a front flowerbed makeover, a water-bottle filling station and hooks for a lost-and-found area. A ReWorld Tulsa representative said the company is a waste-to-energy facility headquartered in New Jersey and operates a local site in West Tulsa; the representative described the company's donations as recycling when recycling isn't an option.

The board also presented Sandite Spirit Awards to student Addison Hughes for athletic and academic achievements and recognized three schools Clyde Boyd Middle School, Garfield Elementary and Angus Valley Elementaryfor attaining Certified Healthy Schools honors. Board members and staff praised the Indian Education committee's inclusivity and partnership with the district.