Comanche Voices Rising: From Learning to Living the Language - Comanche Academy Charter School (CACS) will carry out Comanche Voices Rising: From Learning to Living the Language with the project goal of increasing the understanding, speaking proficiency, instructional capacity, and regular use of the Comanche language among CACS students, educator-apprentices, families, Elders, and area residents through coordinated school-based, intergenerational, and local programming. Serving Lawton/Comanche County and surrounding southwest Oklahoma areas from September 30, 2026, to September 29, 2029, the project responds to limited access to sustained intergenerational speaking settings and limited instructor capacity, with the Comanche language described as highly endangered. CACS will serve approximately 100–150 Pre-K through fifth-grade students annually, six educator-apprentices over three years, and at least 30 parents, caregivers, Elders, fluent or advanced speakers, cultural knowledge holders, and local participants annually. Objectives are for at least 70% of regularly participating students to improve by at least one oral-comprehension or speaking-proficiency level; for six educator-apprentices to complete at least 180 documented hours each, with at least four meeting independent-instruction standards and delivering Comanche-language lessons and activities; and for CACS to conduct 48 Family Language and Cultural Nights, with at least 70% of regularly participating households increasing confidence or frequency of Comanche use at home. Expected outputs include conversational instruction, small-group and classroom practice, storytelling, songs, cultural activities, educator mentorship, supervised teaching, family language nights, home-language resources, and review and protection of language resources, and the project is distinct from the existing NAL@ED Little Speakers Project while supporting long-term intergenerational transmission of the Comanche language and ongoing CACS programming.
