About

Learn about our project. 

SHPA (meaning eagle in the Kumeyaay language) honors indigenous lessons from eagle to look over and look after the people, and to use extraordinary vision to integrate a multitude of details in order to see life from a broader perspective. The SHPA project centers Indigenious culture in providing advanced interdisciplinary training to school psychologists and school counseling scholars. This intense training equips school counselors and school psychologists to provide interventions and instruction which meets the needs of NAI youth. 

Overview of Project

Project students begin each year with an Institute on Traditional Knowledge, building a base of personal and cultural values and connecting deeply as a cohort. They meet together for weekly seminars to read and discuss issues relevant to Native American education, and travel to the partner field site to work with Indigenous youth. They attend 2 professional conferences each year, and most go on summer immersion experiences. This augments their graduate programs in school counseling and school psychology.

Key Project Components

  • Nationally Accredited Graduate Programs
  • Weekly Native American Seminar
  • Institutes on Traditional Knowledge
  • Summer Immersion
  • Native mentors and models
  • Work with Native Youth
  • Cohort model
  • Financial Support
  • School partner site
  • Mentored national professional presentations

SHPA

Native American Scholars in School Counseling and School Psychology are fully committed to serving Native American children and communities upon graduation. They will be supported throughout their graduate training and Native American specialization with tuition (out of state if applicable for 1 year), professional development, living and professional development stipends, mentoring, a cohort model, and related placements.

The NAISC Seminar will emphasize the development of competencies in Native American education issues as they intersect and differ across western and traditional knowledge bases, with an emphasis on decolonizing methodologies and their use in schools and communities. The seminar will contribute to the development of productive and culturally appropriate scholarship.