SIX DIRECTIONS
INDIGENOUS SCHOOL
About SDIS
Six Directions Indigenous School began as a grassroots vision in 2014: a group of educators, families, and advocates seeking to transform public education for Native youth in northwest New Mexico. In a region long marked by systemic inequities—from staggering achievement gaps to disproportionate discipline of Native students—we believed something different was possible.
Now a fully accredited 6–12 charter school, Six Directions Indigenous School is a model of educational transformation:
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In 2025, we received the Public Education Commission Turnaround Recognition Award for Excellence, the only charter school in the state to do so.
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Our ELA proficiency rose from 6% to 56.6% in just one year.
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We moved from the state’s CSI/MSI designation to “Traditional” status in a single cycle.
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We boast a 100% graduation rate, with seniors matriculating to college, career, and community-based leadership roles.
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Our students lead advocacy efforts, participate in governance, and are engaged in land-based learning, language revitalization, and civic action.
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Our interdisciplinary model integrates Indigenous knowledge systems, hands-on projects, critical literacy, and high academic rigor, aligned with culturally responsive practices.
We are not replicating a Western system. We are reclaiming Indigenous education—community-led, future-facing, and grounded in ancestral brilliance.
SIX DIRECTIONS INDIGENOUS SCHOOL (SDIS) recognizes the diversity and worth of all individuals regardless of national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation in any educational programs, activities or employment. SDIS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. SDIS provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
We are committed to being an anti-racist school community and encourage members of our school community to report incidences of racism either to us directly or through the New Mexico Anti-Racism Portal https://bit.ly/ARAOPortal Please join us in promoting an inclusive school community free from prejudiced, isolationist and hurtful language, and ideology.
Title IX Coordinator: Rebecca Niiha (rebecca@sixdirectionsschool.org)
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