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Some Indian schools turn student behavior around
1:58 AM
7/28/02
Susan Lampert Smith Wisconsin State Journal
indentNEOPIT - A school that recently landed on a list of "failing schools" for low student test scores might not seem like the place to look for ways to help American Indian kids succeed.
indentBut walk through the doors at Menominee Nation Middle School and you'll see new display cases showcasing student artwork, benches and large potted plants. Most important is what you don't see: the rowdy hallway behavior common to many middle schools.
indent"Three years ago, we were in crisis mode every day," said Principal Jeff Gordon. "Now there's a sense of calmness to the building."
indentTo look only at test scores is to miss some of the positive educational improvements in Wisconsin's Indian country. At schools ranging from Indian Community School in Milwaukee's inner city to the tribal high school on the Oneida reservation, teachers are finding effective ways to teach students who tend to come from homes that are poorer and less educated than Wisconsin's average.
indentThe Menominee Nation School District, for example, is two years into implementing a discipline system based on the "Boys Town/Girls Town" model, and already the results are impressive. Behavior referrals to the principal's office have dropped 30 percent, and attendance is up by more than 10 percent. The districtwide set of expectations makes students responsible for their own behavior.
indent"Now we have students going home and apologizing to parents and grandparents when they do something wrong at school," Gordon said.
indentThe system also rewards good school attendance with special outings and privileges. Students on the sprawling rural reservation know that missing the bus, or not having a working car at home, are no longer excuses for not getting to school.
indent"Now they're making sure that if they can't get here, they'll call us and we'll come and get them and drive them to school," Gordon said. State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster visited the school this spring to congratulate the school on its improvements.
indentAnother place where educators are having success is at the Oneida Nation High School. Principal Larry Swoboda says the school is not always "the school of choice" for top students who graduate eighth grade at the tribe's elementary school, known as "the turtle school" for its shape. High achieving students tend to choose private and public high schools in Green Bay and its suburbs.
indentThe Oneida Nation's high school, funded by the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, tends to attract students with special needs who do better in a smaller and more personal environment. The school has cultural classes, but also requires 24 credits to graduate, far above the state minimum of 13 credits, or the state-encouraged level of 21.5 credits. Oneida students don't have amenities such as an industrial shop or a band, but they will have plenty of one-on-one teaching.
indent"We do a lot of parenting," said Denis Gullickson, an English teacher at the high school, who said teachers look for a personal connection with students. They've had some unqualified successes. The valedictorian of the 2002 graduating class of 18 tested into college calculus. And in 2001, heavyweight wrestler Dan Skenadore, who made up a wrestling team of one, won the state title.
indentAt Indian Community School in Milwaukee, the curriculum teaches standard topics such as science and math by stressing hands-on active learning, which fits its students' learning styles.
indentOther ways to make getting an education less of a swim upstream for Wisconsin's 12,000 American Indian students, educators, tribal members and others say, include:
indentGetting families involved: Parents, grandparents and extended family members are children's first and most important teachers. Expanding programs like the successful "Parents as Teachers" into all districts with Indian students will help make schools more accessible and help overcome historical issues with Indian schooling.
indentGetting tribes involved: The seven learning centers opened by the Ho-Chunk Nation are an example of what tribes can do to help their children succeed. Some tribes fund counselors and tutors in the schools. Encouraging changes that have brought closer ties between the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Black River Falls district demonstrate how children benefit by close ties and good communication between Indian nations and the schools that serve their children.
indentCreating better statistics: UW-Milwaukee professor David Beaulieu says education statistics on Indian students are poor, in part because mobile students tend to move frequently. Tribes could keep track of the educational progress of their enrolled children so kids don't disappear off the school radar.
indentHiring more Indian teachers: The federal program that graduated its first 10 Wisconsin Indian teachers this spring is a good start towards helping Indian kids see role models in the schools, but they're a drop in the bucket. Beaulieu said that recruiting teachers from Indian communities can also help staunch high turnover rates that plague many reservation schools.
indentWriting a better curriculum: While the teaching of the history of Wisconsin's Indian nations has improved since the dark days of the Indian spear fishing controversy a decade ago, it still needs improvement, especially to improve understanding between the cultures.
indent"History is not an abstraction," said Beaulieu, who years ago worked to properly bury the remains of Indian leader Little Crow, which had been on display in the Minnesota state Capitol. "It happened between real people."
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