Charter School Students Perform at State Capitol

Velia Moncada

Gila River Indian News

Skyline Gila River High School (SGRHS) basket dancers and gourd singers represented the Gila River Indian Community as the opening performance for the 2024 Charters at the Capitol event hosted by the Arizona Charter Schools Association (ACSA) on Feb. 27, at Wesley Bolin Plaza in Phoenix.

Charters at the Capitol gives students the opportunity to meet legislators, showcase their schools, advocate on behalf of Arizona’s charter school movement and discuss policy agenda.

“I am so proud of them,” said Ella Barnett, District 5, who teaches the SGRHS basket dancers and gourd singers. 

“It feels good to show my culture,” said SGRHS first-year basket dancer Alai’Zia Davis, District 3. She said her favorite part about basket dancing is the opportunity to perform with others from the Community and learn more about the O’otham culture.

After the SGRHS basket dancers and gourd singers performed their traditional welcome song and neighbor song, they toured the legislative chambers with Jennifer Pawlik, the first woman and first Democrat to be elected to the House of Representatives from District 17 (Chandler, Sun Lakes and Gilbert).

“The most beautiful part of hosting the students on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives was seeing them experience it for the first time,” Pawlik wrote in an email. She added that she could tell the students felt honored to be there by the smiles on their faces as they stepped into the chamber.

Pawlik was selected to give the tour to the SGRHS students because she is known for visiting schools in her district to learn about their special programs, such as the basket dancers and gourd singers.

“I enjoy sharing the work I do with community members, but sharing with students is really special because they are the next generation,” Pawlik wrote. “They will soon be voters. It is so important that they understand their voices matter. One day one of them may be an elected official who represents the community in the Arizona House of Representatives!”