Becoming a Native American Elected to the Proctor County Board of Education

Becoming a Native American Elected to the Proctor County Board of EducationWhen Rebecca A Miles was elected as the first Native American elected to the Proctor County Board of Education in 2020, she promptly sought to get back in the college campus dating scene. This wasn't as difficult as one might think, however. She read the recommendation from all the schools she attended, a little bit about online history and a lot about good public policy. And now, a few years later, she has been in a committed relationship for over a year, and the one thing that she's most proud of is that they do not do anything overtly 'illegal.'Before heading into college, Rebecca went to Alabama State University for one year and graduated with a major in Public Administration. While working at the Department of Corrections, she had the opportunity to attend a couple of conferences on prison policies and issues in Alabama. It was there that she got involved in the local chapter of the National Student Femin ist Coalition, where she met a group of college students who shared her goals to combat prison rape. Since then, she has gone on to work as a policy adviser in the Juvenile Justice and Legal Information Office. Rebecca A Miles has also volunteered with several organizations, including the Georgia Partnership for Child Health and Human Development.In 1999, Rebecca enrolled in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Alabama School of Social Work, where she began her studies in Black Justice. There, she got involved in the Alabama Democratic Party, where she made friends and interned with several professional women. Once she graduated, she quickly found a way to enter the job market.After she graduated from Birmingham Community College with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, she moved to Mobile, Alabama, and attended the University of Alabama for an Associate of Science in Social Work, but when she felt that she had learned enough in a short amount of time, she left for another city. She was back in Birmingham for her Master of Social Work degree, and then worked as a medical secretary in a hospital for two years before she went back to school to complete her graduate degree.The reason that Rebecca became the first Native American elected to the Proctor County Board of Education was due to the fact that she was from Oklahoma. But, while she did her research, she also sat down with the head of the criminal justice department and explained her vision for improving the criminal justice system. According to her vision, reform should begin with examining the state of the local school systems and making sure that they comply with federal law. The attorney general explained that the department of corrections needed to come up with a plan to improve the education of its inmates.The results of her research would be in front of the U.S. District Court, so the attorney general put together a proposal for reform. Rebecca A Miles then met with the president of the local school board, and after she came back from Washington D.C., the school board of the Proctor County school district became involved in the proposed reforms. Once all the conversations were done, the Proctor County Board of Education was able to vote to accept the superintendent's proposal. As a result, Rebecca A Miles became the first Native American elected to the Proctor County Board of Education.Currently, Rebecca is working with the neighboring city of Auburn to improve the way local school systems interact with their inmates, as well as working on a new initiative to improve the justice system in Alabama. If you would like to get involved in Rebecca's work, be sure to visit her website.