Rough Rock Community School
Address
RRTP #PTT HC 61 Box 1480 Chinle, Arizona 86503 United States
Coordinates	36°24′53″N 109°51′20″W / 36.414660°N 109.855648°W / 36.414660; -109.855648
Information
Established	July 1966 (57 years ago) (1966-07)
Superintendent	Marty Roessel
CEEB code	030049
Principal	Ronald Thompson
Grades	K-12
Enrollment	440 total students, 166 high school students (October 2010)
Color(s)	Maroon and gold[1]
Mascot	Sun Devils
Website	www.roughrock.k12.az.us

Rough Rock Community School, Inc. (RRCS) is a tribal K-12 school in Rough Rock, Arizona, with a Chinle postal address. Operated by the Navajo Nation, it is funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). As of 2011, the school had approximately 440 day and residential students. These include 166 high school students in grades 9 through 12.

History

Founded by Robert Roessel Sr. and Ruth Roessel (Navajo), the school opened in 1966 as the Rough Rock Demonstration School (RRDS).^[2][3]

In response to Native American activists' efforts to take control of their children's educations, that was the first school for which the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) contracted with a tribal nation to operate it; the Navajo Nation were the first to operate a BIA school.^[2] The Navajo changed the curriculum to reflect their own culture, history, and traditions, or code of ethics, in addition to general academic coursework related to United States culture and other topics.^[4]

In 1994 Rough Rock incorporated as a nonprofit and changed its name to Community School, as it was not a demonstration school anymore.^[5]

Construction

In the early 21st century, projects were constructed to replace BIA facilities at the school. A 20,333-square-foot (1,889.0 m²) K–8 dormitory with capacity for 86 students was built in 2010. A new K–8 academic building, and two additional dormitories were built in 2011. The project was the first replacement school project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.^[6]