Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 16, 2006 13:56:36 GMT -5
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.
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.
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
Aside from developing schools that have not existed before, the Early
College Initiative is also confronting policy challenges. Early Colleges
test the idea that providing increased academic rigor and the
opportunity to save time and tuition money will motivate students to
work hard and succeed at highly intellectual academic work. At the same
time, by changing the expectations for students at grades 9-14, the
model challenges the governance and funding structures of current
educational systems. As a result, educators and policy makers are
considering the following issues:
Governance: The separation of the K-12 and post-secondary education
systems often creates a disconnection between what is offered and
expected of students at the high school and college levels. One costly
example is the high rate of remediation required for many high school
graduates as they enter colleges and universities. The Early College
model blends grades 9-14, thus creating a welcomed need for
collaboration and communication between institutions governed by
separate entities.
Funding: College accessibility and affordability are two important goals
of the Early College initiative and by blending grades 9-14, Early
Colleges raise questions about how public education should be funded.
Across the nation, there are currently many examples of
“dual-enrollment” programs in existence, in which high school students’
state-funded per student allocation pays for college tuition, in part or
in full. The Early College model builds on these policies and is seeking
funding models to provide educators and students flexibility in their
options.
In Washington State, policies for “College in the High School” will
provide the infrastructure for supporting the schools during their pilot
implementation years. Also, since the Early College High Schools for
Native Youth is a reverse of Running Start where students leave their
secondary schools to attend college elsewhere, the Early College sites
will retain the state-allocated per pupil funds and in turn pay the
colleges for their services provided on site.
The Benefits of Early College High Schools for Native Youth
Rarely has the integrated vision of academic and cultural achievement
been promoted in schools serving Native youth. The students, families,
teachers, higher education faculty, and tribal community members
involved in the Early College sites across Washington support the
single-minded goal of student success. Such sites challenge entrenched
beliefs about college-worthy students and the current structure of our
secondary/post-secondary systems.
We anticipate that the Early College schools will transition hundreds of
Native students into bachelors’ degree programs. In fact, by 2007, as
many as 500 students may enter colleges as juniors, followed by another
700 undergraduates each fall of the subsequent two years. The expertise
of educated young professionals is sorely needed in tribal communities.
Chavers (2001), Deloria (2001) and others have observed that tribes have
great needs for medical personnel, business managers, entrepreneurs,
engineers, and educators. Currently, non-Indian professionals such as
doctors, attorneys, teachers, and others hired by tribal organizations
typically remain in their positions for less than two years. By
contrast, Indian professionals frequently retain their positions for
many years and bring stability and pride to their communities. Early
College graduates may likely increase their tribes’ sense of cohesion
and continuity.
Chavers (1998) has found that less than 20 of the 740 high schools
located on or near reservations have full college preparatory programs.
The emerging eight Early College High Schools for Native Youth have
ambitious goals. They plan to make college completion, not preparation,
the norm and to do so within a single generation. Further, Early
Colleges, by tapping the strengths of Native cultures, may influence
mainstream education, not just in programmatic structure and increased
student opportunity but in transformed values and world views. Schools
and students could benefit from a deepened respect for the strength of
community and the fabric of life and the significance of human behavior
in relationship to both.
References
Chavers, D. (2001). Indian Students and College Preparation.
Albuquerque, NM: Catching the Dream Foundation.
Chavers, D. (1999). Exemplary Programs in Indian Education. Albuquerque,
NM: Catching the Dream Foundation.
Chavers, D. (1998). Indian Teachers and Indian Control. Albuquerque, NM:
Catching the Dream Foundation.
Cleary, L.M.and Peacock, T. D. (1998). Collected Wisdom: American Indian
Education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Deloria, V. & Wildcat, D. (2001). Power and Place: Indian Education in
America. Golden, CO: American Indian Graduate Center and Fulcrum
Resources.
Demmert, W. (2001). Improving Academic Performance Among Native American
Students. Charleston, WV: ERC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small
Schools.
Leap, W. L. (1993). American Indian English. Salt Lake City, UT:
University of Utah.
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI.) (2000.)
Reading and the Native American Learner: Research Report. Olympia, WA:
Author.
Phillips, S. U. (1983). The Invisible Culture: Communication in
Classroom and Community of the Warms Springs Indian Reservation. NY:
Longman.
Reyhner, J. (1992). "American Indians Out of School: A Review of
School-Based Causes and Solutions." Journal of American Indian
Education, 31(3), 37-56.
St. Germaine, R. (1996). Drop-Out Rates among American Indian and
Alaska Native Students: Beyond Cultural Discontinuity. ERIC
Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. Available:
ericcass.uncg.edu/virtuallib/diversity/1050.html.
Skinner, L. (1999). "Teaching through Traditions: Incorporating
Languages and Culture into Curricula." In K. G. Swisher and J. W.
Tippeconnic, Eds.Next Steps: Research and Practice to Advance Indian
Education. (pp.107-134). Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse on Rural
Education and Small Schools.
Swisher, K. G. (1990)." Cooperative Learning and the Education of
American Indian/Alaskan Native Students: A Review of the Literature and
Suggestions for Implementation." Journal of American Indian Education,
29(2), 36-43.
Swisher, K. and Deyhle, D. (1992). "Adapting Instruction to Culture." In
J. Reyhner, Ed. Teaching American Indian Students, (pp.81-95). Norman,
OK: University of Oklahoma.
Swisher, K. G. and Tippeconnic, J. W., Eds. (1999). Next Steps: Research
and Practice to Advance Indian Education. Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse
on Rural Education and Small Schools.
Early College High School Partners:
Antioch University Seattle
www.antiochsea.edu
Knowledgeworks Foundation
www.kwfdn.org
Middle College High School National Consortium
National Council of La Raza
www.nclr.org
SECME, Inc.
www.secme.org
Utah Partnership Foundation
www.utahpartnership.utah.org
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
www.woodrow.org
National Early College High School Coordinator:
Jobs for the Future
www.jff.org
For more information, contact: www.earlycolleges.org
About the authors
Linda Campbell, Ph.D. is Project Director, Early College High Schools
for Native Youth at Antioch University Seattle. lcampbell@antiochsea.edu
Keith Egawa (Lummi) is Community Engagement Specialist, Early College
High Schools for Native Youth at Antioch University Seattle.
kegawa@antiochsea.edu
Geneva Wortman (Yurok) is Policy Coordinator, Early College High Schools
for Native Youth at Antioch University Seattle. gwortman@antiochsea.edu
© March 2003 Linda Campbell, Keith Egawa, and Geneva Wortman
Posted with permission by
New Horizons for Learning
P O Box 31876
Seattle WA 98103 USA
www.newhorizons.org
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.
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.
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
Aside from developing schools that have not existed before, the Early
College Initiative is also confronting policy challenges. Early Colleges
test the idea that providing increased academic rigor and the
opportunity to save time and tuition money will motivate students to
work hard and succeed at highly intellectual academic work. At the same
time, by changing the expectations for students at grades 9-14, the
model challenges the governance and funding structures of current
educational systems. As a result, educators and policy makers are
considering the following issues:
Governance: The separation of the K-12 and post-secondary education
systems often creates a disconnection between what is offered and
expected of students at the high school and college levels. One costly
example is the high rate of remediation required for many high school
graduates as they enter colleges and universities. The Early College
model blends grades 9-14, thus creating a welcomed need for
collaboration and communication between institutions governed by
separate entities.
Funding: College accessibility and affordability are two important goals
of the Early College initiative and by blending grades 9-14, Early
Colleges raise questions about how public education should be funded.
Across the nation, there are currently many examples of
“dual-enrollment” programs in existence, in which high school students’
state-funded per student allocation pays for college tuition, in part or
in full. The Early College model builds on these policies and is seeking
funding models to provide educators and students flexibility in their
options.
In Washington State, policies for “College in the High School” will
provide the infrastructure for supporting the schools during their pilot
implementation years. Also, since the Early College High Schools for
Native Youth is a reverse of Running Start where students leave their
secondary schools to attend college elsewhere, the Early College sites
will retain the state-allocated per pupil funds and in turn pay the
colleges for their services provided on site.
The Benefits of Early College High Schools for Native Youth
Rarely has the integrated vision of academic and cultural achievement
been promoted in schools serving Native youth. The students, families,
teachers, higher education faculty, and tribal community members
involved in the Early College sites across Washington support the
single-minded goal of student success. Such sites challenge entrenched
beliefs about college-worthy students and the current structure of our
secondary/post-secondary systems.
We anticipate that the Early College schools will transition hundreds of
Native students into bachelors’ degree programs. In fact, by 2007, as
many as 500 students may enter colleges as juniors, followed by another
700 undergraduates each fall of the subsequent two years. The expertise
of educated young professionals is sorely needed in tribal communities.
Chavers (2001), Deloria (2001) and others have observed that tribes have
great needs for medical personnel, business managers, entrepreneurs,
engineers, and educators. Currently, non-Indian professionals such as
doctors, attorneys, teachers, and others hired by tribal organizations
typically remain in their positions for less than two years. By
contrast, Indian professionals frequently retain their positions for
many years and bring stability and pride to their communities. Early
College graduates may likely increase their tribes’ sense of cohesion
and continuity.
Chavers (1998) has found that less than 20 of the 740 high schools
located on or near reservations have full college preparatory programs.
The emerging eight Early College High Schools for Native Youth have
ambitious goals. They plan to make college completion, not preparation,
the norm and to do so within a single generation. Further, Early
Colleges, by tapping the strengths of Native cultures, may influence
mainstream education, not just in programmatic structure and increased
student opportunity but in transformed values and world views. Schools
and students could benefit from a deepened respect for the strength of
community and the fabric of life and the significance of human behavior
in relationship to both.
References
Chavers, D. (2001). Indian Students and College Preparation.
Albuquerque, NM: Catching the Dream Foundation.
Chavers, D. (1999). Exemplary Programs in Indian Education. Albuquerque,
NM: Catching the Dream Foundation.
Chavers, D. (1998). Indian Teachers and Indian Control. Albuquerque, NM:
Catching the Dream Foundation.
Cleary, L.M.and Peacock, T. D. (1998). Collected Wisdom: American Indian
Education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Deloria, V. & Wildcat, D. (2001). Power and Place: Indian Education in
America. Golden, CO: American Indian Graduate Center and Fulcrum
Resources.
Demmert, W. (2001). Improving Academic Performance Among Native American
Students. Charleston, WV: ERC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small
Schools.
Leap, W. L. (1993). American Indian English. Salt Lake City, UT:
University of Utah.
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI.) (2000.)
Reading and the Native American Learner: Research Report. Olympia, WA:
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St. Germaine, R. (1996). Drop-Out Rates among American Indian and
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Skinner, L. (1999). "Teaching through Traditions: Incorporating
Languages and Culture into Curricula." In K. G. Swisher and J. W.
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Education. (pp.107-134). Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse on Rural
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and Practice to Advance Indian Education. Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse
on Rural Education and Small Schools.
Early College High School Partners:
Antioch University Seattle
www.antiochsea.edu
Knowledgeworks Foundation
www.kwfdn.org
Middle College High School National Consortium
National Council of La Raza
www.nclr.org
SECME, Inc.
www.secme.org
Utah Partnership Foundation
www.utahpartnership.utah.org
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
www.woodrow.org
National Early College High School Coordinator:
Jobs for the Future
www.jff.org
For more information, contact: www.earlycolleges.org
About the authors
Linda Campbell, Ph.D. is Project Director, Early College High Schools
for Native Youth at Antioch University Seattle. lcampbell@antiochsea.edu
Keith Egawa (Lummi) is Community Engagement Specialist, Early College
High Schools for Native Youth at Antioch University Seattle.
kegawa@antiochsea.edu
Geneva Wortman (Yurok) is Policy Coordinator, Early College High Schools
for Native Youth at Antioch University Seattle. gwortman@antiochsea.edu
© March 2003 Linda Campbell, Keith Egawa, and Geneva Wortman
Posted with permission by
New Horizons for Learning
P O Box 31876
Seattle WA 98103 USA
www.newhorizons.org