Sixth Grader Matt Schwartz Helps Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Students on the Upper Campus were treated last Monday to a presentation by sixth grader, Matt Schwartz, on his work with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Matt shared the story of how he first became interested in the reservation after viewing a segment of the ABC news program, 20/20, last fall featuring “The Children of the Plains” by Diane Sawyer. He told the assembled group of RCS students that after watching the show, he immediately wrote a letter to Ms. Sawyer asking how he could help. Matt received a response back from the producers just two days later. He shared that the Pine Ridge Reservation community suffers from high unemployment and staggeringly high substance abuse levels. The Reservation schools have very low graduation rates and reading performance that is far below the national standard. He was inspired to make a difference so he began a campaign to raise money for the Wounded Knee School to enable the purchase of a new reading program and computers, and he established a foundation, the Muddy Road Foundation (www.muddyroadfoundation.org) to raise awareness and support. He ended his presentation by sharing with his schoolmates that he has maintained a relationship with Diane Sawyer, her producers, and 20/20. The assembly and related footage was captured on video by ABC News that day which may be featured in a spring update on the Pine Ridge Reservation -- possibly as early as this week. For more information on Matt's project, please visit www.muddyroadfoundation.org.