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

School Administrator, Jan, 2005 by William H. Parrett

Once in elementary school, these students will often need additional instructional time in core subjects as provided through looping, extended-day and summer programs. Lapwai provided all three.

* Instituting curriculum and instructional improvements.

Improved schools like Lapwai EIementary vertically align their curricula to articulate with state standards and assessments and ensure that all students are enrolled in rigorous academic programs. They also use assessment data to identify the most effective teachers of underachieving poor children by subject and grade level and invite them to share successful instructional lessons through collaborative planning and lesson study.

* Building data and assessment literacy.

An understanding of how to use data at the classroom level was critical to fostering a culture of assessment literacy at Lapwai Elementary. Teachers collaborated to develop clear targets and assessments to use as sequential subject matter benchmarks. Student data then informed instructional decisions regarding mastery of content.

* Engaging parents, schools and the community.

Schools like Lapwai have sought to create what Gloria Ladson-Billings, author of several books on diversity in schools, refers to as "cultural congruence." For classroom teachers, this means actively connecting content to social and cultural characteristics and backgrounds of students and their families and eliminating classroom practices that place diverse students at risk.

Lapwai found a direct connection between improving relationships, community support and student achievement.

* Supporting effective teaching.

Teachers must reflect a sincere belief that every student will achieve. Teachers must collaborate to use assessment data to guide professional decisions. They also must create caring environments in which the students and their families feel welcome.

As in Lapwai, teachers can provide a surrogate family atmosphere that encourages comprehensive learning. It is the teacher, especially when supported with the preceding interventions, who will make the critical difference for minority children. As Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust, emphatically concludes: "Teachers matter a lot."

A Replicable Model

One might question that if substantial improvement in achievement can occur in a school of primarily Native American students, historically the group with one of the lowest graduation rates of any student subgroup, can it occur anywhere?

The Lapwai superintendent believes his primary purpose is to serve as "a messenger of hope" to the students and their families. This message, supported by clear evidence of substantial achievement gains, has permeated the community. A revived sense of hope and vision for the children of Lapwai, in the words of the superintendent, "has been far more important than any infusion of external funding."

This shift of community trust and support will continue to sustain Lapwai's successes. As of fall 2004, only the funding from the 21st Century grant remains, yet student achievement continues to advance.