After long years of leaving the Sherman Indian High School, Roland “Tripp” Doepner is coming home to his old school. This, after years also of curbing his mark at Riverside School helping struggling students become high achievers. This is how this Indian-origin teacher loves to teach children become responsible and well-educated individuals. Doepner started his renewed career this month no longer as a teacher at Sherman but already a principal. Sherman is a very respectable educator serving at least 50 tribes already in 50 states. This is mostly focused in the West according to reports reaching this site. To be recognized at Sherman it is said that a student must at least have the blood of one-fourth Native American.

There are more than 500 students enrolled at Sherman and they enroll in said school for the purpose of immersing themselves to the American Indian culture. Others maybe have many reasons but this one is the most important reason students aim to achieve. Students at Sherman want to immerse to shy away from problems in their homes in the reservation. Other students accepted proposals to live on campus because their homes are so far away – at least 25-mile from the nearest school. As the new principal of Sherman, the well-experienced Doepner wants to institute a new training program and now he is already reported to be working this out with the Riverside County Office. Doepner wants to introduce education in the medical field with his purpose of giving solution to the shortage of skilled workers. Career education for him is very important part in every individual’s life.

It was also reported this year that among the graduates at Sherman is a student awarded as Gates Millennium Scholar and will be enrolling at John Hopkins University this fall, while another student is also going to the UCLA. The truth is, Doepner said, most of the graduates at Sherman continue their education in community colleges while others went to work. It is also learned that the courses at Sherman’s is similar to that courses offered in California Public High Schools.

Doepner who is now age 44 began his career in North Carolina as a school teacher. Doepner even first heard about Sherman while he was still working at the California Educational Research Cooperative then located at the UC Riverside. He didn’t know yet about this Indian boarding school that is run and operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He then took the job at Sherman as an English teacher in 1992. In 1996 he became assistant principal at Sherman and then he left for more experience as an educator.