Post by Okwes on Jul 24, 2007 8:56:07 GMT -5
Indian education update
By Sara | bio
3 of 3 people recommend this blog entry.
I'm not sure if anyone who runs across this will feel compelled to respond, since this site is very Washington-focussed. Nevertheless, here's an update on legislation affecting Native education. Odds are, this has no relation to you, but it does signify a slow, steady disenfranchisement of a population (which I belong to) that is overwhelmingly poor and do not receive anywhere near the same kinds of opportunities that most people in America do. Yeah, we're maybe 1% of the population, but Bush's policies have had a very negative impact on populations that live at or below the poverty line in the United States.
What bothers me most about this is that it continues to feed into the class-based support of educational opportunity in America: rich kids get access to excellent education and thus ripe prospects, while poor kids are given scant encouragement and limited resources to engage their interest in academics. And ugly as this truth is, class lines tend to fall alongside racial communities.
Also: If you happen to run across this and you're one of those zealous anti-affirmative action people, then I dare you to personally check out the contrast between a ghetto school and a suburban school -- THEN tell me race and class should not be taken into consideration in college admissions.
(I'm usually not this bitter, but things like this tend to stoke the coals.)
UPDATE ON INDIAN EDUCATION
Topics covered:
* Successful program in existence for 73 years slated for elimination
* Reauthorization process for Head Start and No Child Left Behind begins
Much is at stake this year for Indian education. As part of his Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) budget, President Bush has proposed eliminating an effective Indian education program, requiring Indian Country to play defense to save it. Congress is also scheduled to reauthorize two laws that have a great effect on the education of Indian children, the Head Start Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, giving Native organizations a chance to be pro-active to improve the Native American elements of those programs.
PROGRAM THAT AUGMENTS CLASSROOM LEARNING MAY BE ELIMINATED
The White House proposes to not fund the successful Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program, which serves the unique needs of tribal children age 3 through grade 12. Rather than providing extra money to the school system, JOM provides supplemental financial assistance to institutions and communities serving Native children. This program, begun in 1934, makes available academic services, such as tutoring and counseling, and cultural programs to the 500,000 American Indian children attending public schools. It gives Indian communities an opportunity to set priorities for the use of the funds. The program has fostered scholastic achievement and stimulated some students to complete PhD programs.
The administration has been trying to defund this program for several years. Although the president proposed to reduce its funding in FY06, Congress funded the program at $16.4 million. The Senate and House also restored funding to JOM in their FY 07 Interior appropriations, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs has yet to give that full funding and support to this program. For FY 08, the administration wants to eliminate the program. In response, Senator Baucus (MT) has objected in writing, and 30 members of the House from both parties have sent a letter of support for JOM to Interior Secretary Kempthorne.
For more information:
National Indian Education Association: www.niea.org/issues/tracking_detail.php?id=34
Indian Country Today article on the program: www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414502
HEAD START BENEFITS YOUNG NATIVE AMERICANS
The respected Head Start program has been invaluable to early childhood development in the U.S. and in Indian Country. Despite its proven record of improving the health, education, family, and community needs of low-income children and their families, funding for the entire Head Start program was cut in FY 06 and could be cut again in FY 08. Such cuts are harmful to the most-at-risk children, such as Native American preschoolers who are served through the Indian Head Start program, because fewer funds mean fewer services for all children now enrolled and fewer slots for children eligible to be enrolled. Currently, only 15.4% percent of age-eligible American Indian and Native Alaskan children are actually enrolled in this program, due largely to the combination of lack of funding with geographic isolation of families in need. Yet, a quarter of Native families are impoverished.
Native leaders will seek changes during discussions around this program’s reauthorization to increase funding of Indian Head Start and to make programs more available to low-income Indian families. It speaks well for past congresses that a portion of Head Start funds must be used for Indian children. Unfortunately, only 2.9% of Head Start funding is allocated specifically to Indian Head Start programs, which is not enough, especially for an increasing population.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in the Senate edited (marked up) the Head Start reauthorization bill (S. 556) on February 12, 2007. S. 556 would set aside four percent of funding for Indian children. Such an increase would be a significant step in assuring that the services the program provides are made available to more people in Indian Country. An optimistic estimate is that reauthorization bills could pass in the Senate some time in April and be voted on shortly after that in the House.
For more information, see www.nhsa.org/download/advocacy/fact/HSSetAsides.pdf
To view the bill, see capwiz.com/fconl/issues/bills/?bill=9473051
CONTROVERSIAL NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
President Bush succeeded in passing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001. The administration points out that "Prior to the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the U.S. did not track the achievement gap between American Indian/Alaska Native students and their peers. In 2005, only about one in six American Indian and Alaska Native 8th-graders was proficient in reading and one in seven is proficient in math." (Department of Education website). Thus, NCLB has the potential to improve pre-elementary, elementary, and secondary education programs for Indian children. However, since the program was enacted, many critics have argued that schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students--of many backgrounds--are being penalized more than assisted.
In 2004-05, only 49 of 184 Bureau of Indian Affairs schools achieved adequate yearly progress. Richard Williams of the American Indian College Fund described some of the special Native education problems this way:
"Consider the sanctions. Under NCLB, parents now have the right to transfer their children to a ‘successful’ school within the same district. But the reality for Indian parents in remote areas like Pine Ridge, S.D., and Rock Point, Ariz., where there is likely only one school, busing and transfers are simply not viable alternatives. Removing underperforming teachers also presents a problem. On the reservations, the annual turnover rate is as high as 70 percent. How will these school districts replace underperforming teachers when turnover is already a chronic issue? Additionally, changing administrations or shutting down the schools in communities with very limited resources and trained personnel is simply not an option for a population with the least access to education of any racial or socio-economic group in the country."
The act is set to expire at the end of September 2007. The House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which have jurisdiction over NCLB, have both named reauthorization of NCLB as one of their top priorities.
This reauthorization process provides an opportunity to introduce provisions to NCLB that will improve elementary and secondary education in Indian Country. Advocates hope to see changes made that will allow Indian educators to attain the academic goals set forth by NCLB and still encourage the use of traditional native knowledge, languages and history which are not measured by the test. The use of culturally appropriate teaching methods often help Indian students succeed. Currently, only 30% of Indian students are achieving adequate yearly progress, according to the standards of NCLB.
Title VII of NCLB recognizes that Native children have unique academic needs, and provides supplemental grants to ensure that programs serve these needs. Advocates of Indian education will be working hard this session to expand Title VII, improve cooperation between governments, and provide better support to teachers of Native students.
For more information:
National Indian Education Association’s legislative tracking information
www.niea.org/sa/uploads/legislativetracking/ 42.53.NIEA_Briefing_NoChild_2-9.pdf
Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country (National Indian Education Association)
coe.asu.edu/cie/29.23.NIEANCLBreport_final2.pdf
By Sara | bio
3 of 3 people recommend this blog entry.
I'm not sure if anyone who runs across this will feel compelled to respond, since this site is very Washington-focussed. Nevertheless, here's an update on legislation affecting Native education. Odds are, this has no relation to you, but it does signify a slow, steady disenfranchisement of a population (which I belong to) that is overwhelmingly poor and do not receive anywhere near the same kinds of opportunities that most people in America do. Yeah, we're maybe 1% of the population, but Bush's policies have had a very negative impact on populations that live at or below the poverty line in the United States.
What bothers me most about this is that it continues to feed into the class-based support of educational opportunity in America: rich kids get access to excellent education and thus ripe prospects, while poor kids are given scant encouragement and limited resources to engage their interest in academics. And ugly as this truth is, class lines tend to fall alongside racial communities.
Also: If you happen to run across this and you're one of those zealous anti-affirmative action people, then I dare you to personally check out the contrast between a ghetto school and a suburban school -- THEN tell me race and class should not be taken into consideration in college admissions.
(I'm usually not this bitter, but things like this tend to stoke the coals.)
UPDATE ON INDIAN EDUCATION
Topics covered:
* Successful program in existence for 73 years slated for elimination
* Reauthorization process for Head Start and No Child Left Behind begins
Much is at stake this year for Indian education. As part of his Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) budget, President Bush has proposed eliminating an effective Indian education program, requiring Indian Country to play defense to save it. Congress is also scheduled to reauthorize two laws that have a great effect on the education of Indian children, the Head Start Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, giving Native organizations a chance to be pro-active to improve the Native American elements of those programs.
PROGRAM THAT AUGMENTS CLASSROOM LEARNING MAY BE ELIMINATED
The White House proposes to not fund the successful Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program, which serves the unique needs of tribal children age 3 through grade 12. Rather than providing extra money to the school system, JOM provides supplemental financial assistance to institutions and communities serving Native children. This program, begun in 1934, makes available academic services, such as tutoring and counseling, and cultural programs to the 500,000 American Indian children attending public schools. It gives Indian communities an opportunity to set priorities for the use of the funds. The program has fostered scholastic achievement and stimulated some students to complete PhD programs.
The administration has been trying to defund this program for several years. Although the president proposed to reduce its funding in FY06, Congress funded the program at $16.4 million. The Senate and House also restored funding to JOM in their FY 07 Interior appropriations, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs has yet to give that full funding and support to this program. For FY 08, the administration wants to eliminate the program. In response, Senator Baucus (MT) has objected in writing, and 30 members of the House from both parties have sent a letter of support for JOM to Interior Secretary Kempthorne.
For more information:
National Indian Education Association: www.niea.org/issues/tracking_detail.php?id=34
Indian Country Today article on the program: www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414502
HEAD START BENEFITS YOUNG NATIVE AMERICANS
The respected Head Start program has been invaluable to early childhood development in the U.S. and in Indian Country. Despite its proven record of improving the health, education, family, and community needs of low-income children and their families, funding for the entire Head Start program was cut in FY 06 and could be cut again in FY 08. Such cuts are harmful to the most-at-risk children, such as Native American preschoolers who are served through the Indian Head Start program, because fewer funds mean fewer services for all children now enrolled and fewer slots for children eligible to be enrolled. Currently, only 15.4% percent of age-eligible American Indian and Native Alaskan children are actually enrolled in this program, due largely to the combination of lack of funding with geographic isolation of families in need. Yet, a quarter of Native families are impoverished.
Native leaders will seek changes during discussions around this program’s reauthorization to increase funding of Indian Head Start and to make programs more available to low-income Indian families. It speaks well for past congresses that a portion of Head Start funds must be used for Indian children. Unfortunately, only 2.9% of Head Start funding is allocated specifically to Indian Head Start programs, which is not enough, especially for an increasing population.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in the Senate edited (marked up) the Head Start reauthorization bill (S. 556) on February 12, 2007. S. 556 would set aside four percent of funding for Indian children. Such an increase would be a significant step in assuring that the services the program provides are made available to more people in Indian Country. An optimistic estimate is that reauthorization bills could pass in the Senate some time in April and be voted on shortly after that in the House.
For more information, see www.nhsa.org/download/advocacy/fact/HSSetAsides.pdf
To view the bill, see capwiz.com/fconl/issues/bills/?bill=9473051
CONTROVERSIAL NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
President Bush succeeded in passing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001. The administration points out that "Prior to the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the U.S. did not track the achievement gap between American Indian/Alaska Native students and their peers. In 2005, only about one in six American Indian and Alaska Native 8th-graders was proficient in reading and one in seven is proficient in math." (Department of Education website). Thus, NCLB has the potential to improve pre-elementary, elementary, and secondary education programs for Indian children. However, since the program was enacted, many critics have argued that schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students--of many backgrounds--are being penalized more than assisted.
In 2004-05, only 49 of 184 Bureau of Indian Affairs schools achieved adequate yearly progress. Richard Williams of the American Indian College Fund described some of the special Native education problems this way:
"Consider the sanctions. Under NCLB, parents now have the right to transfer their children to a ‘successful’ school within the same district. But the reality for Indian parents in remote areas like Pine Ridge, S.D., and Rock Point, Ariz., where there is likely only one school, busing and transfers are simply not viable alternatives. Removing underperforming teachers also presents a problem. On the reservations, the annual turnover rate is as high as 70 percent. How will these school districts replace underperforming teachers when turnover is already a chronic issue? Additionally, changing administrations or shutting down the schools in communities with very limited resources and trained personnel is simply not an option for a population with the least access to education of any racial or socio-economic group in the country."
The act is set to expire at the end of September 2007. The House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which have jurisdiction over NCLB, have both named reauthorization of NCLB as one of their top priorities.
This reauthorization process provides an opportunity to introduce provisions to NCLB that will improve elementary and secondary education in Indian Country. Advocates hope to see changes made that will allow Indian educators to attain the academic goals set forth by NCLB and still encourage the use of traditional native knowledge, languages and history which are not measured by the test. The use of culturally appropriate teaching methods often help Indian students succeed. Currently, only 30% of Indian students are achieving adequate yearly progress, according to the standards of NCLB.
Title VII of NCLB recognizes that Native children have unique academic needs, and provides supplemental grants to ensure that programs serve these needs. Advocates of Indian education will be working hard this session to expand Title VII, improve cooperation between governments, and provide better support to teachers of Native students.
For more information:
National Indian Education Association’s legislative tracking information
www.niea.org/sa/uploads/legislativetracking/ 42.53.NIEA_Briefing_NoChild_2-9.pdf
Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country (National Indian Education Association)
coe.asu.edu/cie/29.23.NIEANCLBreport_final2.pdf