Miccosukee Indian School is a K-12 tribal school in

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, with a

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postal address. It is affiliated with the

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(BIE). It is located along the

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.
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. It serves the

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving fed ...

, federally recognized since 1962.

History

Circa 1963 the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

(BIA) established the school. The Miccosukee tribe took control of the school circa 1971, making it the first school which the BIA contracted with but did not own. The school established a board with seven people, as per the

Indian Self-Determination Act The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 93-638) authorized the United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and some other government ...

. The tribe had not signed any treaties with the federal government at that point, so it was able to have more of a say in how the school board was developed.
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In 1984 the

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offered the school $60,000 to assist the school in helping its students prepare for admission to Florida universities if they chose. For instance, the school began to offer instruction on computers and on foreign languages.
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Its current campus was scheduled to open in 1999, with a cost of $9 million generated from casino revenues.
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Curriculum

In 1984 the school had no computer instruction. Its language courses were limited to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving fed ...

, with no other foreign language instruction. In 1984 the school sought to implement reforms to meet Florida's new course recommendations for university readiness, although it is not required to follow Florida law on education.

Student discipline

The board in 1971 ruled that members of the tribe were not obligated to attend the school. School absenteeism was noted as an issue in 1983.

Athletics

The

Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...

(FHSAA) expelled the school after the students failed to appear for a scheduled game. Reportedly the van driver left his duties after a dispute with his wife, who was one of the athletes. The school community was not interested in staying in the league, and did not rejoin for a period. In 1981 the school hired Ron Miller as an athletic coach from

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, allowing it to develop team sports. That year the principal, Jacques Wilson, stated that after students initially reacted negatively to Miller, an African American, he gained their respect. The school by 1983 rejoined the FHSAA under Miller.

Student body

In 1983 the school, had about 30 students, serving grades 7-12. In 1998 it had 106 students.

References

Public K-12 schools in Florida Native American K-12 schools Public schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida Public high schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida K-12 schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida {{coord, 25.7603, -80.7953, type:edu_region:US-FL, display=title