School Board to talk about Yurok program

All options are being looked at, said Superintendent Jan Moorehouse.

Students could build a house from the ground up — as has traditionally been done — or help contractors already work on a house, she said. 

In any case, construction classes are not scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year, Moorehouse said, so the soonest students could jump into building a home would be the next school year.

The school district has been  planning a curriculum with the Yurok Tribe on its history and culture — one already exists for the Tolowa — which would be included in third-grade lessons on American and local history, Moorehouse said.

The School Board could decide to sign an agreement with the tribe to design the curriculum, with the district paying for the work.

The district agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California to establish a curriculum on the Yurok Tribe over concerns that students were being discriminated against. 

These concerns arose during an investigation into a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of several families who believed the district decision to move the sixth-, seventh- and eighth grades from the elementary school in Klamath was discriminatory. The suit was settled in July.