Changing the narrative: Native educators lead the way in Portland schools

Growing up in Vancouver, Wash., Ian Twiss couldn't envision himself as a teacher. As a Sicangu Lakota tribal member in predominantly white public schools, his experiences left him feeling isolated and without Native role models

"I had a lot of difficulties through high school," Twiss says. "We were the only Native family, and so it wasn't always a really enjoyable place for me."

He's not alone in this experience. Many Indigenous youth and students of color spend impressionable years without seeing educators who share their race or ethnicity - and it affects their learning experiences, and outcomes.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, American Indian and Alaska Native students (AI/AN) have the lowest graduation rate of any racial or ethnic group with just 74% finishing high school.

But research has shown that diverse representation in the classroom can benefit students of color. Having a teacher who looks like you can help affirm identity, boost confidence and build meaningful relationships. This, in turn, leads to improved academic performance, including higher reading and math test scores, graduation rates and aspirations to attend college.

Leaders at Portland State University (PSU) know firsthand the value of diversity in education, and are working to address this gap in representation. Within the College of Education, a series of federal grants has enabled initiatives like the American Indian Teacher Program (AITP), active from 2010 to 2020, and the First Nations Administrator and Knowledge Keepers Program (FNAKK), now in its third year.

These programs offer full financial support for Native students pursuing master's degrees in education, teaching licenses and principal credentials. With these resources, PSU is recruiting and preparing Indigenous students to become certified teachers and school leaders, creating a much-needed pathway for Native representation in education.

Finding his path

After graduating from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., working with youth at the Boys and Girls Club and starting a family of his own, Twiss found himself reflecting on the lack of connection and support he'd felt in his younger years.

"I wanted to make sure that the experiences for my own kids and other Native kids was a positive one, that they had people who could teach them from a very specific cultural lens and understand what it means to be Native in urban settings," says Twiss.

This clarity came at a pivotal time. His family faced limited opportunities in their small mountain town, and his father - an adjunct professor of Indigenous Nations and Native American Studies at PSU - recognized his son's potential to bring positive change to Native youth. Shortly before he passed away in 2013, Twiss' father introduced him to Maria Tenorio, project director for AITP and FNAKK.

Tenorio, a steadfast advocate for Native representation in education, encouraged Twiss to consider the AITP program at PSU.

After months of correspondence with Tenorio, Twiss realized this was the path he needed to take. Within a year, he applied for the grant funding, moved to Portland and began working toward his master's degree.

Looking back, Twiss expresses gratitude for the pivotal role Tenorio played in shaping his career, first guiding him through the grant programs as he earned his Masters in Education and prepared for a teaching license ('16) and, later, a principal license ('23).

"When that opportunity came, I walked through that door that Maria provided," he says. "I'm very grateful."

Now, as Vice Principal at McDaniel High School in Portland Public Schools (PPS), and one of very few Native American educational leaders in Oregon, Twiss is committed to creating an environment where urban Native students can thrive - and feel the support he once needed.

Transforming students lives

Twiss is already seeing the impact of his work. Before transitioning to administration in 2022, he spent six years teaching at McDaniel. Initially, he taught freshman and sophomore history. But when the school started a race and social justice-themed Senior Inquiry class, Twiss jumped at the chance to shift gears. He taught the dual credit class in partnership with PSU for four years.

A few years in, he reached a turning point after proposing an Indigenous Studies elective course to his administration. They gave him a green light and he got to work creating the course and its materials.

"When I got that Indigenous Studies program established, it almost felt just like a sigh of relief, like man, I'm home. This is what I got into this for," he says.

While the elective classes Twiss developed are much needed, he has a bigger vision: to build systemic support and improve success rates in school for Native students, which historically lag behind their peers.

"How can I support Native kids at the next level? How do we offer the supports inside the school building beyond just a classroom to help Native kids thrive?" he asks.

Recently, after leading a group of students from McDaniel's Indigenous Alliance Club on a transformative trip to Colorado and New Mexico, where they explored colleges and Indigenous identity, Twiss witnessed a powerful shift among his students.

One student from the group went on to enroll at Dartmouth, and two others are now attending Fort Lewis College, which offers tuition waivers to Native students. One student, who had struggled academically, found a deep connection with the college and, with Twiss's help, fast-tracked his high school graduation and started college early.

"Seeing students find joy in an education system - because we can help build that purpose and that reason for doing things - has really sparked a whole heck of a lot of joy for me," says Twiss.

Ian Twiss (center) receives a blanket from Dr. Patrick EagleStaff (left) and Dr. Shani Johnson (right) as his son Ezra (bottom right) looks on during an Honoring Ceremony recognizing his role as a newly degreed educator at PSU in 2016. The blanket symbolizes the community's warmth, prayers and guidance.

Building cultural connections

Twiss isn't the only graduate from PSU's College of Education who's making an impact with local students. He's part of a network of Indigenous educators who have graduated from PSU's principal preparation program, and assumed leadership roles in schools across the region.

Like Twiss, Gillian Murr, who is Walla Walla and Dakota, felt the absence of Native representation during her school years. Her journey to teaching and educational leadership was also deeply personal.

"I never had someone who represented what I looked like - not only what I looked like, but the experiences that I had," Murr recalls.

Her parents separated when she was young. She grew up shuttling between her mother's home in Portland and her father's home on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon. Her family was poor and both parents struggled with addiction issues.

"That's really what I think pushed me to want to go into middle school, but then also to teach in an urban area," Murr explains. "In Title One schools where I could work with youth who were experiencing things - and are experiencing things - that I experienced, because growing up I didn't have a teacher that I could connect with."

Murr got pregnant right after high school. Her son had developmental delays and was non-verbal. She stayed home to care for him, which meant college would have to wait. But once her son started kindergarten, Murr enrolled at Portland Community College, and later transferred to PSU, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English.

With her sights set on becoming a teacher, she applied for PSU's AITP grant to pursue her master's degree. But things at home were not easy. By this time, her son had been diagnosed with a life-threatening lung disease and she was in the process of separating from a partner struggling with drug addiction.

"The teaching program really saved me because it gave me an outlet," Murr says. "It had a living stipend. And so it was like having a deadline to shape up."

Determined to succeed, she recruited a cousin to come help with her son while she studied. She graduated from AITP's second cohort, in 2013, and landed a job teaching language arts and social studies at Marysville K-8. After eight years there, an exciting opportunity to become the climate coach specialist at Kellogg Middle School arose.

Around the same time, Tenorio had reached out to Murr about PSU's new grant funding preparing Indigenous students to earn a Principal License. It took some convincing, but Tenorio assured Murr that she could do it.

Murr earned her Principal License in 2022. Now, as the director of the Title VI Indian Education Program (IEP) at PPS, she serves 500 Native American students. The federally funded supplemental program focuses on connecting students with their culture and creating a sense of belonging and pride in their identity, so that they can, in turn, achieve academic success.

She says it can be really isolating living in Portland and being a Native person, especially when you're one of only a handful of Native students at your school.

"We can't expect our kids to be successful academically if they do not feel a sense of belonging and safety at their school," she says. "We have really high chronic attendance issues. And again, I think that ties back to a sense of belonging and achievement."

Initially, Murr aimed to boost the program's visibility across the district and identify more eligible students. In her first year, she increased enrollment by 33%. Her student support team collaborates with teachers and principals, assisting with classroom activities and providing culturally responsive support for students. IES also offers evening and weekend cultural activities - providing an opportunity for PPS families to get together and build community.

While she's proud of the work IES has done to create safe havens for Native students and families, she acknowledges that it's not enough. "Looking forward, I want to switch focus into how we can support schools to build those relationships," she says. "Because it's one thing for my department to build those relationships with students and families - and they feel that sense of belonging when they're with us - but they're still not feeling it in their schools."

Gillian Murr (back row, second from right) is joined by students from PPS' Indian Education Program at a community picnic and photoshoot. Photo courtesy of Gillian Murr.

PSU's commitment to Native representation in education

Through four major grants totaling $6 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Indian Education, PSU's College of Education has prepared 36 American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) teachers and 10 administrators, empowering them to bring Native voices and cultural perspectives into schools across Oregon and Washington.

Tenorio has spent more than a decade shaping these programs with a focus on cultural identity, community support and the power of a cohort model. "We've tried to nurture and support the students as a family, to be there for them," she says.

Both the teacher and administrative programs embody Indigenous values of relationship-building, respect and reciprocity. "It's a give and take relationship. Faculty learned as much from our Native students as the students learned from them," Tenorio says.

For graduates like Twiss and Murr, grant-supported opportunities opened doors to transformative careers in teaching and leadership, furthering PSU's commitment to diversifying education and creating pathways for Native students. Now they are reshaping the educational landscape, affirming Native voices and nurturing culturally responsive resilient leaders for the next generation.

"This program challenges the imposter syndrome that many students of color and Native students experience - those feelings that higher education isn't for them," Tenorio says. "Programs like this celebrate and support their excellence."

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