Episode Details

Jason P. Dropik (Babaamii-Bines / Eagle Clan) is the School Administrator for the Indian Community School (ics-edu.org), in Franklin, WI, which serves Native students in the metro Milwaukee area. A member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (BadRiver-nsn.gov), Jason is committed to supporting students, families, staff, and the community both near and far. Having recently completed a two-year term as President of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA.org), he advocated for and spoke on the importance of tribal sovereignty, policy, appropriations, and student support across the country. As a Board Member of NIEA, Jason continues with that work, championing training and providing information for schools and community organizations, while creating visibility and understanding of Indigenous perspectives. He is involved in many organizations throughout the state, doing his best to ensure that Native voices are present in diverse groups. He has served as a Board Member for the Wisconsin Association of Environmental Education (WAEE.org), an Advisory Council Member for the Midwest Environmental Advocates (MidwestAdvocates.org), and many other community organizations. He is a graduate of the Urban Indian American Indian Teacher Training Program from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2004). He holds a Master's Degree in Administrative Leadership from Concordia University (2017), and recently completed his Superintendent's License from UW-Milwaukee (2023). His greatest passion is creating spaces for Native students to develop their identity, take pride in their language and culture, and to celebrate the rich legacy and the promising future of Indigenous communities. Jason, along with his wife and children, share a home in Franklin, WI.

Show Highlights

• Sustainable and reciprocal relationships that build authentic experiences for leaders.

• Be a catalyst for a different way of looking at education to support the various languages, cultures, and educational experiences for your community.

• The greatest investment in your professional life.

• Get your board of directors to budget you into the bottom line for PD.

• Finding common ground from different perspectives and experience to close gaps in education.

• The force multiplier of the Mastermind foundation.

"​​I wanted to make sure that I was doing everything possible to be the best leader that I could. It wasn't so much that I did want to learn and grow. That's something I've always been interested in, but I really wanted to be the leader that my community deserved and I wasn't sure what that looked like.."

-Jason Dropik

Get the episode transcript here!

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