Native Students Stepping Forward:
Dollar General Adult Education Program
2014 – Ongoing
About The Program
The American Indian College Fund’s Native Students Stepping Forward: Dollar General Adult Education Program, previously known as the Dollar General American Indian and Alaska Native Literacy and Adult Education Program, addresses a critical gap in the education pathway, empowering underserved Native people to gain the foundational literacy skills needed to prepare for and obtain high school equivalency (HSE) credentials and pursue post-secondary education and meaningful career pathways.
Like the Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF), the program’s primary funder, supporting it at up to $300,000 annually, Native Students Stepping Forward is committed to helping individuals of all ages receive the educational foundation they need to succeed in post-secondary education opportunities or the workforce. Through tribal college and university (TCU)-implemented programming, this work seeks to strategically expand services and resources to achieve measurable outcomes in ABE progression and HSE program enrollment, retention, and completion. In a continuous effort to value the whole student, the program aims to assess and address students’ needs to succeed, encourages culturally relevant programming elements, promotes visibility of HSE students at TCUs, and supports college and career readiness programming components. TCU grantee partners also regularly engage across the cohort in a Community of Practice (CoP) to share best practices and challenges, strengthen programming, and examine holistic impact on students and communities.
High School Equivalency Visibility Project
The American Indian College Fund engaged three TCU high school equivalency (HSE) partners for the HSE Visibility Project, featuring the stories of HSE students and graduates in a social media campaign throughout winter and spring of 2024.
2022 High School Equivalency Program Convening
Grantees
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Northwest Indian College
Oglala Lakota College
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Salish Kootenai College
Sinte Gleska University
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Tohono O'odham Community College
Related Blogs
Sinte Gleska University Connects GED Classroom to Community, Culture
In 2019 the Sinte Gleska University Adult Basic Education (ABE) Department began offering community-based learning opportunities. The program introduces and enhances knowledge and skills relevant to GED students, their families, and community members.
TOCC’s GED Program Is a Game-Changer
Living on an Indian reservation the size of a state and shuttling between three tribal college campuses and six satellite offices can be a monumental undertaking—especially when access to transportation is limited.
Meet Oglala Lakota College’s New Community Continuing Education/GED Program Team Members
Oglala Lakota College has launched its Dollar General American Indian and Alaska Native Literacy and Adult Education Program. The following individuals will be serving OLC students under the program.
College Fund/Dollar General Remove Obstacles for Students Seeking GED
The Community Continuing Education/GED department of Oglala Lakota College is located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota. Oglala Lakota College is a decentralized campus with the main administrative buildings located six miles south of Kyle in South Dakota.
