Office of Native Education (ONE)

Transcription

1 Randy I. Dorn State Superintendent Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Old Capitol Building P.O. Box Olympia, WA Office of Native Education (ONE) 2013 Authorizing legislation: RCW 28A ( Special Programs and Federal Accountability Gil Mendoza, Assistant Superintendent Special Programs and Federal Accountability Prepared by: Robin Butterfield, Program Supervisor, Office of Native Education ) Joan Banker, Administrative Program Specialist II, Office of Native Education )

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary... 3 Native Student Data... 4 Federal Title VII Reporting Requirements... 4 One Highlights... 7 Conclusion and Next Steps Acknowledgments References Appendices Appendix A: Since Time Immemorial OSPI Hosted In-service Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum Training Participants List of Tables Table 1: Federal Race Roll Up Categories for American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) Students within Washington State s Public School Districts for Table 2: On-Time Graduation Rate by Race... 6 Table 3: Extended Graduation Rate by Race... 6 Table 4: Annual Dropout Rate by Race

3 Executive Summary Almost 65,000 students in Washington identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Office of Native Education (ONE) was created in the mid-1960s to assist these students in achieving their education goals and meeting state standards. HB 1829 (RCW 28.A ) codified ONE in statute in OSPI s ONE staff work with districts, tribal schools, tribal governments, Native communities, parents/guardians, Native organizations and federal Title VII Indian Education Programs to achieve this goal. OSPI s efforts fall into four major categories: Provide resources and training to help educators and families meet the needs of Native students. Build curriculum in Native languages and about Native culture and history (RCW 28A ). Advocate across agencies for collecting accurate data about Native students and using that data wisely. Work with partners to increase the number of Native educators. In 2013 OSPI s ONE: Refined the Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State web-based curriculum and offered more training on how to use it. Partnered with OSPI s Teaching and Learning Department to include more indigenous knowledge in science instruction. With input from state Tribes and the Bureau of Indian Education, drafted new Washington Administrative Codes in response to Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill (E2SHB) 1134 ( which allows OSPI to enter into State-Tribal Education Compacts to establish tribally controlled schools. The new WACs are awaiting public comment. Worked with the University of Washington Indian Education Certificate Program and the Washington Education Association to increase the number of Native teachers. Coordinated and conducted Washington s first statewide Native student college/career fair. 3

4 Native American Student Data Native students comprise about 1.4% of Washington s public school total student population. In 2011, Washington began using the federally mandated two part question for ethnicity and race. This means that when we have to choose one ethnicity for a student who answered Hispanic and another race, OSPI reports them as Hispanic. For the purpose of most state and federal accountability and reporting, the group reported as American Indian and Alaska Native only includes students who said that their race was American Indian or Alaskan Native, and they were not Hispanic. This method is used for all racial subgroups, but it poses a unique challenge with regard to Federal Title VII program reporting for Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Education, that uses a different method to identify students who are eligible to be served. Also, people looking at the OSPI report card may not realize how ethnicity and race data are reported, and may perceive a very small number of Native students in our public schools. Federal Title VII Reporting Requirements The Federal Title VII Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Education formula grant program is administered through the U.S. Department of Education s Office of Indian Education (DOE). Title VII supports local educational agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions and other entities to meet the academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students. Native student eligibility for services through Title VII is determined through the completion of a 506 student eligibility form which includes: 1. Either a. i. The name of the tribe or band of Indians (as defined in section 7151) with respect to which the child claims membership; ii. The enrollment number establishing the membership of the child (if readily available); and iii. The name and address of the organization that maintains updated and accurate membership data for such tribe or band of Indians; or b. The name, the enrollment number (if readily available), and the name and address of the organization responsible for maintaining updated and accurate membership data, of any parent or grandparent of the child from whom the child claims eligibility under this subpart, if the child is not a member of the tribe or band of Indians (as so defined); 2. A statement of whether the tribe or band of Indians (as so defined), with respect to which the child, or parent or grandparent of the child, claims membership, is federally recognized; 3. The name and address of the parent or legal guardian of the child; 4

5 4. A signature of the parent or legal guardian of the child that verifies the accuracy of the information supplied; and 5. Any other information that the Secretary considers necessary to provide an accurate program profile. Washington s student information system, allows OSPI to analyze data for all categories of students with some Native heritage. OSPI tracks the progress of this diverse population to determine the State s eligibility for federal Title VII funding. These categories are: American Indian and Alaska Native Students-Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native Students-Not Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaska Native Students of Two or More Races. Students who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native non-hispanic make up roughly 1.4% of the entire K-12 population and when combined, these three subgroups of students make up 5.7% of the K-12 population (Table 1). Upon request from DOE, OSPI began providing enrollment data for all three categories of Native students. Table 1: Federal Race Roll Up Categories for American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) Students in Washington s Public School Districts for Native Race Category Total Enrollment % of Total K 12 Enrollment American Indian or Alaska Native-Not Hispanic 16, % American Indian or Alaska Native-Hispanic 30, % American Indian or Alaska Native-Two or More Races* 17, % Total 64, % * Students in this category are also reported in the other two or more racial subgroups they selected. For example a student who selects: White, AI/AN and Black will be duplicated in the White Two or More Races and Black Two or More Races categories. 1 Native non-hispanic students is the only category OSPI s Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS) data collection system reports enrollment, assessment, graduation and dropout for. OSPI uses data for AI/AN-Hispanic and AI/AN-two or more races get an accurate picture of Native student performance. This data is available from OSPI upon request. 5

6 Table 2: On-Time Graduation Rate by Race 2 Population All Students 75.0% 76.5% Asian 83.6% 85.2% Pacific Islander 59.6% 62.8% Black 63.9% 68.0% Hispanic 66.4% 67.8% Native American* 51.0% 55.9% White 77.7% 79.3% *Data gathered for Native Non-Hispanic students only. In comparison to all other sub-groups, Native students on-time graduation rate has consistently been the lowest. Table 3: Extended Graduation Rate by Race Population All Students 81.0% 82.6% Asian 89.0% 90.0% Pacific Islander 70.9% 72.3% Black 73.0% 77.0% Hispanic 75.3% 76.1% Native American* 58.9% 63.7% White 82.9% 84.6% *Data gathered for Native Non-Hispanic students only. 2 Data for school year is not yet available. 6

7 Table 3 shows a 4.8% extended graduation rate increase from the previous year. Extended graduation rate is determined for high schools that serve students who remain in high school beyond 4 years. Although the extended graduation rate of Native students increased, they are still 26.3% below the highest achieving racial/ethnic sub-group.. Table 4: Annual Dropout Rate by Race Population All Students 4.4% 4.1% Asian 2.5% 2.2% Pacific Islander 7.3% 6.6% Black 6.9% 6.1% Hispanic 5.9% 5.7% Native American* 10.7% 8.8% White 3.9% 3.6% *Data gathered for Native Non-Hispanic students only. Table 4 shows a 1.9% decrease in the annual dropout rate for Native students from the previous year, but Native American students have the highest annual dropout rate across all student groups. ONE Highlights New Program Supervisor Robin Butterfield, the new ONE Program Supervisor, started in February, She has been meeting with as many tribal organizations, public and tribal school, and educational groups as possible to establish focus and ongoing priorities for Native education in Washington. Ms. Butterfield has over 40 years of experience in Indian education. She has 15 years of experience as a board member and President of the National Indian Education Association. She is a presidential appointee to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education as well as a former staff member of the National Education Association, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education, and the Oregon Department of Education. Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State Curriculum Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1495 (RCW 28A ) passed in 2005 encourages school boards to identify and adopt curricula that includes tribal experiences and perspectives. This will engage more Native students, support Native student learning and share Native history, government, and 7

8 experiences with non-native students. The curricula will also imbed the history of tribal sovereignty and inter-governmental responsibilities in Washington classrooms so all citizens understand the unique relationships of Tribes and tribal citizens in the state. The Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum has a menu of tribal sovereignty information, short lessons and entire units. It can be used in United States History, Washington State History, and Contemporary World Problems courses. This web-based curriculum for Grades 4 12 is aligned with the grade level expectations and common core state standards in English Language Arts. It is available free online at By the end of 2013, OSPI will have offered 21 one day in-service workshops on the Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum (including two advanced trainings and two trainings of trainers). Participants came from 71 school districts, 3 private schools, 9 tribal schools, 24 tribes, and many other organizations, universities, museums, and government agencies from inside and outside Washington. (Appendix A. OSPI trained trainers gave many independent trainings in districts and regions across the state which magnified the impact of OSPI sponsored trainings. RCW 28A.715 State-Tribal Education Compact Schools RCW 28A.715 authorizes OSPI to enter into state-tribal education compacts and provides requirements for schools that are subject to such compacts. Tribal compact schools affirm the state s commitment to honor the government-to-government relationship between OSPI and Tribes and currently funded Bureau of Indian Education tribal schools. OSPI is in the process of creating new WACs in accordance with the legislation and state-tribal compact schools could begin operating as early as the school year. OSPI has already consulted with tribal leaders and tribal school representatives. This consultation will be ongoing as the new WACs are developed and new schools are established. University of Washington (UW) Indian Education Certificate Program The Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State online course was offered during Spring 2013 for both pre-service and in-service teachers. This newly created course teaches about Northwest Native history and culture and encourages building relationships with tribal leaders and tribal communities. This course is being offered again during Winter 2014 Indigenous Knowledge Systems and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) Education Project This is a new collaboration between ONE and OSPI s Environmental and Sustainability Office. Staff in these two offices will host a series of symposiums to determine if and how Indigenous Knowledge Systems can be part of K 12 STEAM education system in Washington. The project vision is that STEAM education will be improved by highlighting connections with indigenous knowledge. 8

9 Washington Education Association s (WEA) Wisdom Seekers: Native Future Educator Symposium WEA and Teaching Equity received a Gates Foundation grant to create a Native teacher pipeline to recruit and retain Native educators from Washington s tribal communities beginning with high school students. OSPI is working with WEA to conduct two annual Native youth symposiums with tribal community support, focused group research and mentoring. Wisdom Seekers will help future Native educators navigate the education bureaucracy while maintaining and integrating their Native cultural identity. Collaborations and ongoing support for statewide Native Professional Organizations Through ONE, OSPI continues to provide support to key Native organizations. Western Washington Native American Education Consortium (WWNAEC) Educator Conference OSPI/ONE collaborated with the WWNAEC in planning and co-hosting their 2013 Educator Conference February at the Emerald Queen Hotel (Puyallup Tribe) in Fife. The focus was on Native students and science. Approximately 165 people attended in eight sessions focusing on science from a Native perspective. The WWNAEC is mostly composed of Native education Title VII Program directors/coordinators in western Washington. Washington State Indian Education Association (WSIEA) 2013 Conference OSPI/ONE collaborated with WSIEA in planning and co-hosting the 29 th annual conference April 8 10 at Little Creek Hotel (Squaxin Tribe). This year s theme was Embracing Literacy in Indian Country. Keynote speakers included noted Native authors Joseph Bruchac and Gyasi Ross. Twelve workshops and a culture room were also offered. Washington State Indian Education Association (WSIEA) Native Student College/Post- Secondary Opportunities Fair The second day of each year s WSIEA conference features a parallel conference geared toward topics for Native youth. OSPI/ONE, WSIEA, and WWNAEC collaborated to offer a Native student college and career fair. Over 150 Native students attended. Approximately 45 colleges, universities, technical, and community colleges (both private and public), state agencies, private companies, apprenticeship programs, and national scholarship (both Native and other) organizations sent representatives. Planning for Native Educational Improvement The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) received a Gates Foundation grant to partner with Tribes to develop cooperative agreements with the state to allow tribal operations of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) title programs. An initial meeting with the Tribal Leaders Congress on Education focused on documenting the benefits of tribal control, described how Tribes can expand their involvement and control, explored the requirements of funding 9

10 accountability, and identified next steps. ONE will continue to collect and disseminate best practices. ONE has also been in contact with Education Northwest to identify schools experiencing low achievement for Native students. This report will support a Tribal Education Symposium with tribal leaders and tribal community members to develop a plan to improve these schools. There are a variety of Indian Education organizations. It would be valuable to bring all the separate agencies together to create a statewide team to impact Native student achievement. During the Washington State Indian Education Association s annual conference, ONE requested input from Native educators regarding their priorities for Indian education statewide. This information is utilized in examining ONE work goals, focus and training needs. This group was also encouraged to collect best practices for improving Indian student achievement and forward them to ONE to catalog and disseminate. Conclusion and Next Steps Funding Diminished funding levels have inhibited the statute requirement to support the Washington State Native American Education Advisory Committee (WSNAEAC). The WSNAEAC has not been active since WSNAEAC s purpose was to advise OSPI on issues related to the academic achievement of American Indian/Alaska Native students. Given the magnitude of achievement gaps for Native students, the resources provided to support the OSPI s ONE are critical to helping ensure the success of Native students across the state. In its work with the community ONE has identified many promising practices and strategies for working with Native students, and any additional support provided to OSPI in support of these efforts would increase ONE s impact. Data Collection Due to federal ethnicity and race data collection and reporting requirements, there are basically three categories of Native students in our Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS): Native non-hispanic, Native-Hispanic, or Native Two or More Races. Only students identified as Native non-hispanic are identified as Native in the OSPI Report Card, attendance data, dropout data and graduation data. Individuals viewing statewide data on the OSPI report card may not know this, and may perceive a very small number of Native students in our public schools. Although this method of data collection is not unique to Native students, there are some additional challenges associated with identifying American Indian/Alaska Native students for service given the difference between Federal race and ethnicity reporting requirements and those required for Federal Title VII. Working in Collaboration with Tribes and Tribal Communities 10

11 Native Education in Washington State needs to move forward. The key to success for Native students depends upon strong relationships with Tribes, tribal communities and Native parents. Because of the history of schooling of Native children, there can be an adversarial relationship between Tribes and the federal government and/or the local non-indian communities. Many Tribes, tribal communities and Native parents have a distrust of state and national educational systems. Gains have been made in improving these relationships, but more needs to be done. The creation of State-Tribal Compact Schools is one avenue for stronger government-to-government relationships in support of Native students. Strong partnerships and increased state support are critical to increasing Native student achievement. Providing Professional Development for School Personnel Since Time Immemorial Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum offers new resources to impact teaching. However, too few educators have taken advantage of the opportunity to acquire new, accurate and culturally sound training. OSPI needs to find ways to motivate all educators to use these important resources. Acknowledgments The Office of Native Education would like to thank the Tribes within Washington State for their ongoing support of our office and the Since Time Immemorial Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum. Their financial and in kind contributions have made all the difference in the ongoing development and implementation of this online curriculum. References Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State Graduation and Dropout Report. April, Washington State Legislature. RCW 28A ; Office of Native education Duties Report < Washington State Legislature, RCW 28A ; Curricula Tribal history and culture. April < Washington State Legislature, RCW 28A ; Tribal Relationships Achievement gap Curriculum Reports to the Legislature. April < 11

12 Appendix A: Since Time Immemorial OSPI Hosted In-service Training Participants School districts represented: 70 Anacortes Hood Canal Queets-Clearwater Auburn Hoquiam Renton Battle Ground Inchelium Seattle Bremerton Issaquah Shelton Brewster Kelso Shoreline Central Kitsap Kent Snohomish Central Valley Lake Washington Snoqualmie Valley Cheney Marysville South Kitsap Chimacum Mead Spokane Clover Park Medical Lake Stanwood-Camano Darrington Monroe Sultan Eastmont Mount Adams Tacoma East Valley Mount Baker Taholah Edmonds Mukilteo Tahoma Ellensburg Nooksack Toppenish Enumclaw North Kitsap Tumwater Everett North Thurston Union Gap Federal Way Okanogan Vancouver Ferndale Olympia Wapato Fife Omak White River Goldendale Pasco Yakima Grand Coulee Dam Pioneer Yelm Griffin Port Angeles Highline Puyallup Private schools represented: 3 Charles Wright Academy/Tacoma St. George School/Seattle St. Matthews School/Seattle Tribal schools represented: 9 Chemawa Indian School/Oregon Lummi Tribal Schools Quileute Tribal School Chief Kitsap Academy/Suquamish Muckleshoot Tribal School Wa He Lut Community School Chief Leschi Schools Paschal Sherman Indian School Yakama Tribal School 12

13 Tribes represented: 23 Coeur d Alene Muckleshoot Snoqualmie Cowlitz Nooksack Stillaguamish Colville Port Gamble S Klallam Suquamish Jamestown S Klallam Puyallup Tulalip Kalispel Quinault Umatilla Lower Elwha S Klallam Samish Upper Skagit Lummi Sauk Suiattle Yakama Makah Skokomish Other participants: Benton Conservation District Northwest Museum of Art and Culture Cascadia Community College Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Central Washington University Puget Sound ESD 121 Dept. of Social and Health Services Renton History Museum Dynamic Arts St. Martins University Eastern Washington University Skagit County Historical Society Educational Service District 105 Skykomish Valley Indian Education Program Educational Service District 113 Snohomish Arts Council Fast Forward Consulting Spokane Tribal College Fort Simcoe Job Corps The Evergreen State College Franklin Conservation District Tribal Law/Yakama Gen YES University of Montana Governor s Office of Indian Affairs University of San Diego Gonzaga University University of Washington Heritage University Washington Education Association Imagine Children s Museum Washington State Board of Education King County Library System Washington State House of Representatives National Education Association Washington State Library National Indian Education Association Washington State University National Park Service/Walla Walla Western Washington University Northwest Justice Project Whitman College Northwest Indian College/Lummi Whitman Mission/National Park Service Northwest Indian College/Nisqually Yakama Indian Nation Library 13

14 OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Equity and Civil Rights Director at (360) or P.O. Box Olympia, WA Download this material in PDF at This material is available in alternative format upon request. Contact the Resource Center at (888) , TTY (360) Please refer to this document number for quicker service: Randy I. Dorn State Superintendent Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Old Capitol Building P.O. Box Olympia, WA