Concordia College

American Indian Outreach Center

The American Indian Outreach Center lives up to its name in every sense of the word. From goal-setting exercises, formal group instruction to one-on-one advisement and self-esteem building activities, the center strives to develop the valuable skills, talents and characteristics of a statistically under-educated demographic.

The American Indian high school graduation rate for midwestern Minnesota is about 46 percent, meaning that only one out of every two students will graduate. For director Dale Thornton, these are statistics that he is constantly trying to change by helping provide support and direction to students with a high likelihood of dropping out of school. One of the main goals of the center is to drastically increase the high school graduation rate for the class of 2012. Thornton also emphasizes the importance of higher education by meeting regularly with students at multiple schools to talk about their futures after high school graduation.

By enforcing a greater sense of citizenship, positive self-esteem, and a solid work ethic, the office strives to instill goal-setting abilities leading to higher education, and ultimately, a better quality of life for the future.

In addition to hands-on character building, the center also offers literary resources for teachers to further enhance and develop their own leadership abilities, including the possibility of Thorton’s own expertise for help and advisement.