Against all odds: reversing low achievement of one school's Native American students

School Administrator, Jan, 2005 by William H. Parrett

Cloud is a confident and successful 7th grader. He is getting good grades and scored at the proficient level on his latest state reading test. But for this student at Lapwai Middle School in Lapwai, Idaho, things weren't always so optimistic.

As a 4th grader, Cloud was reading at a 2nd-grade level. He didn't like school, was oppositional in his classroom and hated to read. He spent many recesses in detention instead of playing football on the playground.

Then good things began to happen that were to make a big difference. At school, teachers studied student achievement data and used it to make instructional decisions. They initiated a high-performance reading program and collaborated to share ideas on what was working best. Cloud and his classmates increased their reading time in school to 90 minutes per day. At home, his parents encouraged him to have a positive attitude and read with him each night. Within a year, he gained two grade levels. Two years later, he continues to read at grade level. Cloud's entire perspective about school has changed.

A Success Story

Lapwai Elementary School, located on the Nez Perce Reservation in northern Idaho, serves a K-6 population of 302 students, 84 percent of whom are Native Americans. Seventy-nine percent of the students live at or below the poverty level. The remarkable success of this school in teaching minority children represents just one of dozens of schools nationwide that have reversed a history of underachievement and low performance.

To accomplish this feat, the superintendent of the Lapwai School District, Harold Ott, established what he called "a different approach to the daily business of educating our students." Eight components of improvement clearly drove the success this school accomplished.

In 1999, only 16 percent of Lapwai's 3th graders were achieving at or above the state's proficiency level in reading and only 17 percent were doing so in math. Dissatisfied with a tradition of low performance, a team of teachers and administrators received school board support to aggressively address the achievement of their students.

The staff started from a position of shared core values, characterized by collaboration, determination, an openness to consider dramatic changes and a relentless energy to help children achieve. They studied school data and crafted a course of action that set measurable goals focused on achievement, attendance and community engagement and satisfaction. The staff expanded the leadership team by adding community raembers and high school students and embarked on a complex agenda.

The staff also secured significant external funding from the state and federal governments and a charitable foundation to support their program improvements. The additional funds represented an increase of approximately 10 percent to Lapwai's annual budget of $5 million. They included 3-year awards from the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation ($1.2 million), a $150,000 Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration grant and a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant ($700,000).

Well Positioned

First, they tackled their curriculum to align it to state standards and assessments. They made time for this work by adjusting the daily schedule to gain two hours of common planning and professional development each Friday. They worked with the school board to establish policy to guide the district's efforts to monitor and manage their newly aligned curriculum.

The leadership team focused its work on the implementation of effective reading and math programs and interventions. They initiated full-day kinder garten, reduced class sizes, initiated looping, extended afterschool tutoring and increased daily instructional time in reading and math for all students. The teachers and administrators participated in assessment-literacy-learning teams, which focused on both the assessment of learning and, more importantly, assessment for learning. Content benchmarks and clear learning targets became the norm.

As these improvements and interventions took effect, the leadership team shifted its effort to build district and classroom capacity to better use data. Through grade-level and schoolwide professional development activities, Lapwai educators became both proficient and comfortable in allowing data to guide decisions. As the state implemented a new testing program, the school district was well positioned to make immediate use of the additional student performance data.

The team also focused on improving community collaboration, engagement and satisfaction. The superintendent launched a monthly Lapwai Educational Summit. Held in the Nez Perce executive tribal chambers, this group of community leaders, parents, educators and students gathered for one morning each month to consider progress, offer input and focus on engaging the community in improving achievement and school success for the students of Lapwai.

A multicultural coordinator was hired to work closely with the students' homes and families. Enhancing cultural understanding and appreciation through teaching Nez Perce language and history also bolstered their work. Through these and other efforts, Lapwai Elementary succeeded in connecting more parents and community members to the school and more educators to the community.