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Increasing the Achievement of Native American Youth

at Early College High Schools

by Linda Campbell, Keith Egawa, and Geneva Wortman

 

A bold approach to improving high school and college graduation rates of Native American students is underway in Washington State. Three secondary schools, Ferndale High School, Medicine Wheel Academy, and Tulalip Heritage are developing programs to begin late 2003 that forego the all-too-common remediation options for Indian students. Instead, these three sites have increased their expectations and academic rigor. There is so much rigor, in fact, that ninth grade students will spend part of their school day taught by college faculty. By 2005, when the students are 11th and 12th graders, it is anticipated that all their courses will be college ones. By 2007, most of the Ferndale, Medicine Wheel, and Tulalip students will graduate from the integrated high school and college programs, and at 18 or 19 years of age, will enroll as juniors at four-year institutions to complete their baccalaureate degrees. With college degrees in hand, the Native graduates can pursue fulfilling lives and careers and serve as culturally-grounded and educationally savvy community leaders.

Ferndale High School, in rural Ferndale, Washington, Medicine Wheel Academy in urban Spokane, and Tulalip Heritage School on the Tulalip Reservation near the town of Marysville are reconfiguring their secondary programs as Early College High Schools. These three sites are part of a national effort called the Early College High School Initiative sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Together, the four foundations have funded seven partners (listed at the end of this article) to establish 70 Early College sites across the nation for underserved youth. Jobs for the Future is coordinating the national initiative and provides technical support to the seven partners. All Early College schools receive grant funding for three years. The first year is dedicated to planning the programs while the second and third years use grant funds to implement the Early College model.

Antioch University Seattle, based on its work establishing reservation-based degree programs, was selected as one of the seven partners. To date, Antioch is the only partner developing Early College High Schools to accommodate Native students and all such schools will be located in Washington State. The three pilot sites, Ferndale, Tulalip, and Medicine Wheel, will be joined by five additional schools during 2003 and 2004 through a proposal process. Ultimately, eight Early College schools will be established throughout Washington to serve approximately 1900 Native youth. By the time all eight schools begin their programs in 2004, there will likely be a mix of school types. The first three sites reflect demographics that show 85% of all Native students attend public schools (Chavers, 1999). However, tribal or BIA schools are strongly encouraged to establish such programs in upcoming grant years.

What Are Early College High Schools?

The 70 pilot Early Colleges are small, personalized secondary schools where 150 to 400 students earn an associate's degree concurrently with their high school diplomas. Early College students are low-income youth, first generation college-goers, English language learners, and minority students, those who have been underrepresented in higher education. Grounded in the belief that adolescents are capable of college level work, Early Colleges immerse students in stimulating and supportive collegiate environments. Additionally, all 70 Early College High Schools reduce financial barriers thus increasing the likelihood that larger numbers of young people will be able to earn college degrees.

Unique Features of Early College High Schools for Native Youth

There are several reasons why Native students who attend Washington's eight Early College schools can anticipate academic success. Before the school model was drafted, Native American leaders from across Washington specified core program components that would benefit their students. Their recommendations encompassed curricular content, student support services, and ongoing community involvement. Based on this input, the Early College schools will include the following components:
1) the integration of local culture into each school's curriculum;
2) the offering of college courses in the schools Native students attend (a reverse of the Running Start model so that students do not have to leave their communities to attend college elsewhere);
3) extensive outreach to middle-grade students to improve their academic preparation and promote college aspirations;
4) an inclusive, open admissions process so that all students can consider the integrated college and high school option;
5) academic, guidance, and mentor advising to strengthen skills and personalize support for each student;
6) a meaningful year-round model of schooling that respects local traditions and provides sustained and cohesive educational experiences; and
7) Extensive family and community engagement with schools.

The components specified above by Native educators reflect their knowledge of the educational needs of their youth and simultaneously mirror recent research that shows how to increase Native student achievement.
As is well known, Indian students have fared poorly in our nation's schools. In late 2001, the National Indian Education Association and the National Education Association reported that Indian students have the highest K-12 dropout rates and the lowest college completion rates of any ethnic group in the United States (NEA, 2001). Approximately half of Native students will graduate from high school (Chavers, 2001), and, of those, less than 3 percent will go on to earn a bachelors degree.

Interestingly, when discussing components needed in future Early College High Schools, tribal members hypothesized that the current emphasis on high school graduation may actually reinforce negative stereotypes and eclipse goals for college degrees among their youth. They embraced the Early College model because it raised expectations from high school to college graduation. It is worth noting that rather than redressing perceived deficits, Early College begins with fundamentally different assumptions about the capabilities of youth and the positive roles education can play in all communities. As a result, the Early College High Schools for Native Youth schools adhere to the following mission: to offer a rigorous, culturally congruent, liberal arts education that blends research-based academic practices with traditional Native values and prepares students to serve as leaders in the communities in which they participate.

As is evident in the mission statement, the purpose of the Early College schools is to enhance the personal and professional development of individual students that, in turn, will benefit Native communities.
The curriculum at each Early College site is made up of three integrated strands. They are 1) a standards-based, basic education high school program, 2) the associate of arts transfer degree requirements of participating tribal or community colleges, and 3) a local, culturally relevant emphasis. Much research attributes student underachievement to the absence of Native American curriculum in the schools (Demmert, 2001; Leap, 1993; OSPI, 2000; Phillips, 1983; Skinner, 1999; St. Germaine, 1996; Swisher and Tippeconnic, 1999). Similar to all students, Native Americans benefit from curriculum that is relevant and personally interesting. This means, in many cases, a curriculum rich in tribal history, traditions, and languages.

A sample high school and AA degree curriculum template follows. Though this document is only in draft stages and will continue to evolve, it shows a preliminary attempt to integrate culture and high school and associates of arts degree requirements into an Early College curriculum. What is not evident in the grid format is that students will work together in cohorts and that the courses while listed singly may actually be taught as integrated, multi-disciplinary studies.

Figure 1: Draft Early College High School for Native Youth Curriculum Template

DRAFT CURRICULUM FOR EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS FOR NATIVE STUDENTS*

(Courses in bold CAPS represent potential college courses)

 

Grade	Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Summer	HS Credits	COLLEGE CREDITS- SEMESTER
9	Math for College .5 Biology: Native Relations .5 English: Reading & Writing.5 Language & Culture .5	Math for College .5 Biology: Native Relations .5 English: Reading & Writing.5 HUM. NAT. LANG & CULT 2	Fitness: Canoe Journey .5   HEALTHY LIFESTYLES 2	5	4
10	Algebra .5 English: Multicultural Lit .5 Art: World of Imagination .5 Natural Resources .5 SS: WORLD HISTORY/ GEOG PERSPEC. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 3	Algebra .5 College Prep. English .5 Healthy Lifestyles .5 CHEM: NAT. RESOURCES 3 S: WORLD HISTORY/ GEOG: PERSPEC. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 3	P.E. Camping trip .5  PERSONAL FINANCE AND ECONOMICS 2	6	11
11	QUANTITATIVE REASONING: 3 ENG.101: 3 HUM.: NATIVE LANGUAGE: 3	COLLEGE MATH: 3 SS: TRIBAL & DEMOCARTIC RIGHTS 3 HUM: NATIVE LANGUAGE 3	Career Explorations .5 ART: TRADITIONAL NATIVVE AMERICAN ARTS  2	4	20
12	ENG. 201: 3 ECOLOGY: 3 ANTHRO: NATIVE GENEAOLOGY  3	POL SCI: NA AMER LAW 4 BOTANY 4 COMM. ORAL TRADITIONS 4	SOC. CULTURAL IIMMERSION AND TRAD. CEREMONY   2 PHILOSOPHY 2	4	25
13	ANY REMAINING ELECTIVES	ANY REMAINING ELECTIVES		19	60sem/ 90 qtr.+

* Note: the above seeks to meet Washington State's high school requirements of 19 credits: Eng. 3, Math 2, Science 2, Arts 1, Social Studies 2.5, Health & Fitness 2, Occupational Ed. 1, and Electives 5.5 and community college quarter credits: Communications 10, Quantitative Skills 5, Humanities 15, Social Sciences 15, Mathematics & Science 15, Health & Recreation 5, and Electives 25, with a strong Native focus throughout the curriculum. 

In addition to what students are taught, how they are taught is also significant. The Early College programs will use research-based, culturally-appropriate instruction. Site and college faculty may team-teach and incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy. Such pedagogy includes storytelling, active, experiential, and multi-modal methods, global as well as analytic or sequential instruction, project-based opportunities, extensive peer collaboration, personalized learning, and multigenerational mentors and advisors (Cleary and Peacock, 1998; Deloria and Wildcat, 2001; OSPI, 2000; Reyhner, 1992; Swisher, 1990; Swisher and Deyhle, 1992).
Since Early College students will vary greatly in their academic skills, each school will enlist academic advisors and tutors to provide support to individual and small groups as needed. U.S. Department of Education (1997) research shows that high-quality tutoring programs can significantly increase basic skills achievement. The tutors at the Early College will be recruited from local colleges and tribal community members and will meet the expressed needs of Indian students to learn from knowledgeable Native experts.

Community Engagement

Extensive family and community outreach is also being undertaken to link Native communities with Early College schools. Native American families typically have not participated in the school system, in part, due to perceptions that schools controlled by the dominant societal group lack legitimacy (OSPI, 2000). Multi-faceted approaches to engagement are being launched to forge new relationships between families and schools. Antioch was fortunate in enlisting the support of the Kellogg Foundation to assist in community engagement efforts.

In addition to specifying core components of Early College High Schools, the planning of each local school's specific curriculum involves additional tribal member input. To secure such participation, announcements about planning sessions are printed in tribal newspapers and newsletters and through meetings with tribal councils, parent committees, and educators. This emphasis on asking community members to guide curriculum development reflects a new and unique opportunity in the Early College High Schools' approach. Not only do Early Colleges make the pursuit of higher education a norm for Native students, they also engage Native communities in taking ownership of how their children are educated.

Yet another community engagement component of Early College High Schools for Native Youth is that parents, tribal organizations, cultural leaders, tribal education committees, and individuals insure that the traditional cultural strengths of their respective communities are reflected in the Early Colleges. The three pilot sites are forming steering committees of parents and community members who identify the cultural aspects they feel are appropriate to include in a school's curriculum. In some cases, such as at Ferndale, the Lummi language will be taught for college-level, world language credit. At Tulalip Heritage, an intensive summer canoe journey will fulfill college health and fitness requirements, and at Medicine Wheel Academy, a cultural immersion and ceremony experience may result in sociology credits.

Students also have opportunities to give input into the developing Early College programs. Teaching staff at the sites have asked what they would like included in Early College programs. For example, when Medicine Wheel Academy teachers conducted a classroom survey, the high schoolers said they wanted to learn how best to honor their elders, to understand their heritage and cultural traditions, and how to serve as positive role models for others.

Additional engagement work is also underway. As part of the Early College model, each school must partner with a community or tribal college. In the case of the three pilot sites, Medicine Wheel selected Spokane Falls Community College as its partner, Tulalip Heritage chose Everett Community College, and Ferndale High School has identified Whatcom Community College and perhaps an additional partnership as well. Together the schools and colleges are forging seamless, comprehensive curriculum for grades 9-14. The college partners recommend courses, establish and approve criteria for faculty hires, and oversee all associates of arts degree requirements. A welcome challenge for both the high schools and colleges is the integration of culture into the curriculum and the securing of program approval from tribal members, district and college boards, and policy agencies.

The How of Creating New Institutions

At an orientation for the three sites in September, 2002, Antioch University provided a planning grid of tasks and timelines for developing the Early College programs. The tasks fall into eight areas: 1) planning procedures, 2) administrative tasks, 3) community engagement, 4) curriculum development, 5) budget plans, 6) policy issues, 7) student recruitment, and 8) participation in program research. The work is organized by site coordinators at each school. Antioch provides technical assistance at Design Days held at the university every other month. All three sites send their coordinators, college partners, tribal members, and other representatives to the Design Days. The schools update one another about their accomplishments and support each other in program development. Antioch also conducts quarterly site visits at the schools and takes the lead with policy issues. Additionally, Jobs for the Future hosts national conferences twice annually that move the project forward on both state and national levels. Most of the work, however, is done at the school level in between the meetings and conferences. The planning calendar below is used as a road map for the project's initial planning year.

Figure 2: Early College High School for Native Youth Planning Calendar

Sponsored by: Antioch University Seattle
Project Director: Linda Campbell, Ph.D.
Funded by: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York

 

EC TASKS	FALL QUARTER	WINTER QUARTER	SPRING QUARTER	SUMMER QUARTER
Planning Processes	Select site coordinator Identify college representatives Identify tribal representatives Identify other stakeholders Establish planning group, processes, goals, and timelines Other	Implement planning processes, goals, and timelines Engage stakeholders in planning process Monitor and adjust planning as    needed Other	Implement planning processes,   goals, and timelines Sustain stakeholder involvement Monitor and adjust planning as needed Other	Complete planning process for   first year Establish program refinement process Other
Administrative Issues	Sign contracts Oversee all EC tasks Identify space needs Identify staffing needs Establish inter-school relationships Identify school board, tribal, union, college, community, agency issues Other	Oversee all EC tasks Submit fiscal reports Pursue space needs Pursue staffing needs Maintain inter-school ties Address board, tribal, union, college, community, agency    issues & secure verbal approvals. Other	Oversee all EC tasks Secure space needs Hire and orient staff Maintain inter-school ties Secure school board, tribal,    college, union, community, and    agency written agreements Other	Oversee all EC tasks Prepare facilities Orient support staff Maintain inter-school ties Keep school board, tribal,    college, union, community and    other agencies informed of EC Other
Curriculum Development	Develop mission statement Participate in staff development Identify diploma and AA    degree requirements Consider cultural, diploma, and AA degree outcomes Enlist stakeholder input Other	Draft curriculum to meet diploma and AA requirements Specify what constitutes college level work Participate in staff development Draft tutoring program Draft advising program Enlist stakeholder input Other	Draft mentoring program Specify diploma outcomes Specify AA degree outcomes Specify cultural outcomes Determine grading system Determine class schedule Secure stakeholder approval Order instructional materials Other	Finalize program scheduling Finalize tutoring, advising,    mentoring components Create plan for ongoing    professional development Create plan for ongoing program evaluation that includes stakeholders Other
Budget Development	Estimate financial needs Identify how school, tribe, and    college will contribute and/or be    reimbursed Consider state & federal issues Identify funding sources Other	Pursue funding options Revise budgets with informal    approval from constituents Address state and federal issues Other	Secure funding agreements Secure budget approval from     constituents Finalize budget Other	Implement budget to support    program Other

 

Policy Issues	Identify policy issues such as: teacher certification role of college in high school tribal governance transferability of AA degrees and make plan to address policy concerns Other	Implement plan to resolve policy questions Seek policy approval or waivers    as needed Enlist stakeholder support in    resolving policy concerns Other	Acquire policy waivers and    approvals Other	Implement policy procedures Other
Community Engagement	Participate in EC network Identify stakeholders Specify school, community,    district engagement needs Participate in quarterly event Develop engagement goals,    processes, and timeline Identify media resources Other	Participate in EC network Participate in quarterly event Implement engagement plan Meet with variety of stakeholders in variety of ways Engage media Other	Participate in EC network Participate in quarterly event Sustain engagement efforts Secure approval of EC model    from stakeholders Engage media Other	Participate in EC network Participate in quarterly event Sustain engagement efforts Secure media Other
Student Recruitment	Identify potential students Draft brochure and secure    stakeholders' approval Identify admissions procedures Develop recruitment procedures    and schedule Other	Visit feeder schools & agencies Train recruiters Distribute brochures Implement recruitment     procedures and schedule Engage stakeholders as recruiters Other	Implement recruitment    procedures and schedule Admit students and secure    written family permission Other	Continue student admissions Orient students and families Other
Research Participation	Work with NWREL Work with ARI, SRI Gather and generate data Document school change Other	Work with NWREL Work with ARI, SRI Gather and generate data Document school change Other	Work with NWREL Work with ARI, SRI Gather and generate data Document school change Other