Seminoles open first Indian charter school east of the Mississippi

By: Gale Courey Toensing

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. - When back-to-school time rolled around this year, elementary school students at the Seminole Tribe of Florida's Brighton Reservation had a choice: return to the public schools in the nearby towns of Okeechobee and Moore Haven, or enroll in the tribe's new charter school on the reservation.

On the first day of school Aug. 20, 146 students chose Pemayetv Emahakv (pema-YA-ta ema-HAG-ah) Charter School.

The enrollment exceeded all projections, Principal Russell Brown said. ''We were expecting 80 to 100 students to start the year with.''

Given the choice and the development of the school, most parents in the community opted for Pemayetv Emahakv, Brown said.

''I think a lot of people are uncertain about something new like this and may take a year to see how it runs, but I think once the families saw the teachers that were hired - they're the best teachers from the surrounding counties - and I think once they saw the physical facility was actually going to be completed on time, and there was going to be a school here in the community in their neighborhood, and once they saw the technology the school was going to have, I think that's where the change of heart and willingness to jump in began,'' he said.

Brown, who has worked in education in the area for years, personally recruited the best teachers he knew to come to Pemayetv Emahakv.

On Oct. 4, the Seminole Tribe held a dedication ceremony for the new Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School, which is the first American Indian charter school east of the Mississippi River.

Pemayetv Emahakv, which means ''our way'' in the Creek language, serves primary school students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

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