Red Cloud Indian School Welcomes Walt Swan Jr. as the New Superintendent of Schools

posted July 21, 2015 



Red Cloud Indian School welcomed its new Superintendent of Schools Walt Swan Jr. on the first of the month, succeeding Ted Hamilton who served the schools for over three years.

“It’s one of the leading institutions on the reservation and I wanted to be a part of that. I want to be part of that success and help lead and create that vision, keeping Red Cloud moving forward,” explains Swan from his new office overlooking the Red Cloud football field.

For the past 16 years, Swan served in a variety of capacities within Native American education, fulfilling school roles of educator (including at Red Cloud in 2000, teaching social studies) and administrator, and later as Director of Indian Education and Educational Line Officer for the Bureau of Indian Education. Having worked with more than 25 tribes in the northwest, southern and eastern regions, and on several reservations in South Dakota, Swan's impact has been not only wide, but deep.

“As a line officer, Walt managed one of the highest academic performing regions within the Bureau of Indian Education systems,” explained Red Cloud’s Executive Vice President Robert Brave Heart Sr. “That’s the caliber of institution we are and the upward direction we want to continue to move.” Brave Heart knows Swan will continue the forward momentum that has been a hallmark of a Red Cloud education over the institution’s 127-year history.

“I look at data,” explains Swan. “I look to see how we can improve. We can make ourselves better by looking at ourselves. We are all here for that one purpose and that is our students.”

Swan has led successful program turnaround efforts at every level of school administration, from the business office to personnel, with the mindset that no school or program is complete without student academic achievement as the cornerstone of the school’s most important work.

He will bring that knowledge to Red Cloud schools even before the start of the 2015-16 school year. “I want to make sure all our students complete college. I think the foundation is laid with such a strong academic base here at Red Cloud. I know that, reviewing the current scores of what we have here, there is room for improvement to move everyone to a level where academics is not even a question.”

One of the most compelling reasons Swan credits with his return to Red Cloud is the strong leadership that exists. “There is no clearer goal for everyone who is on staff at Red Cloud, from the president to the principals to the teachers and coaches and everyone who is involved on campus. It is crystal clear that student academic success is paramount to the entire institution.”

It would seem, then, that Swan is right where he needs to be.


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with Grant from the Toyota USA Foundation


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