<DOC>
[109 Senate Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:27768.wais]
S. Hrg. 109-565
INDIAN EDUCATION
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE STATUS OF INDIAN EDUCATION
----------
MAY 25, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC
INDIAN EDUCATION
S. Hrg. 109-565
INDIAN EDUCATION
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE STATUS OF INDIAN EDUCATION
__________
MAY 25, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
27-768 WASHINGTON : 2006
_____________________________________________________________________________
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, Chairman
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota, Vice Chairman
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming KENT CONRAD, North Dakota
GORDON SMITH, Oregon DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma
Jeanne Bumpus, Majority Staff Director
Sara G. Garland, Minority Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Statements:
Akaka, Hon. Daniel K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii.............. 3
Cason, James E., associate deputy secretary, Department of
the Interior............................................... 3
Carothers, Cathie, acting director, Office of Indian
Education.................................................. 5
Corwin, Thomas, director, Division of Elementary, Secondary
and Vocational Analysis Budget Service..................... 5
Dorgan, Hon. Byron L., U.S. Senator from North Dakota, vice
chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs...................... 1
Gipp, David, president, United Tribes Technical College...... 21
Kirsch, Beth, series producer, Between the Lions, WGBH Boston 19
Marburger, Darla, deputy assistant secretary for policy,
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.................................................. 5
McCain, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Arizona, chairman,
Committee on Indian Affairs................................ 1
Skenandore, Kevin, acting director, Office of Indian
Education Programs......................................... 3
Small, Ivan, board secretary, National Association of
Federally Impacted Schools; superintendent, Fort Peck
School District, Poplar, MT................................ 16
Teba, Bernie, Native American Liaison, New Mexico Children,
Youth and Families Department.............................. 19
Wilson, Ryan, president, National Indian Education
Association................................................ 15
Appendix
Prepared statements:
Cason, James E. (with attachment)............................ 35
Chee, Leonard, chairman, Navajo Nation Council, Education
Committee.................................................. 43
Gipp, David.................................................. 48
Johnson, Florian Tom, dual language and cultural director,
Dine language medium school, Window Rock Unified School
District No. 8, Navajo Nation, Fort Defiance, AZ........... 61
Kirsch, Beth................................................. 33
Marburger, Darla (with attachment)........................... 67
Small, Ivan.................................................. 79
Teba, Bernie................................................. 94
Wilson, Jennifer, Federal projects coordinator............... 61
Wilson, Ryan (with attachment)............................... 101
Wilson, William H., division chair, Hawaiian Language college 175
Additional material submitted for the record:
Achieving Adequate Yearly Progress: A Study Of 16 BIA-Funded
Schools.................................................... 177
INDIAN EDUCATION
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THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2006
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m. in room
485 Senate Russell Office Building, Hon. John McCain (chairman
of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators McCain, Akaka, Dorgan, and Murkowski.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN McCAIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA,
CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
The Chairman. Good morning and welcome to the oversight
hearing on Indian education. One of the most important issues
facing our Nation continues to be the education of our
children. Providing a quality education for every child is
critical not only to the prosperity of our Nation, but to
ensuring that each child reaches his or her full potential.
However, these obligations appear to go unfulfilled for
Indian children. According to the 2005 National Assessment of
Education Progress report issued this week, only 18 percent of
Indian fourth graders scored at or above the proficient level
in reading; 52 percent scored below basic levels. For Indian
eighth graders, only 14 percent were at or above proficiency in
math, with 47 percent below basic levels and 17 percent at or
above proficient in reading; 41 percent scored below basic
levels.
Last summer, we held an oversight hearing on the same topic
and were informed that many developments were in the works to
improve Indian education. The committee was concerned that the
academic achievement of Indian children fell behind their non-
Indian peers, but was pleased to hear the commitment from the
Administration in changing those results.
I look forward to hearing what has been achieved since last
summer, and welcome the witnesses.
Senator Dorgan.
STATEMENT OF HON. BYRON L. DORGAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH
DAKOTA, VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
Senator Dorgan. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much, and
thanks for holding this hearing.
About 2 months ago, this committee and myself held a
listening session on youth and education issues at the Standing
Rock High School in Fort Yates, ND. We were joined by tribal
leaders from throughout the entire region, and we heard from a
good many people who spend nearly every hour of every working
day with Indian children. These were school administrators,
child psychologists, teachers, members of school boards, and
members of the community.
I started that day in Fort Yates, in fact, Mr. Chairman,
with about 1 dozen students and a 1-hour conversation with no
one else present, just myself and 1 dozen students at the Fort
Yates school. It was a fascinating discussion to talk about
their lives and the issues they face.
Those students and their fellow students throughout Indian
country are our best guides on how to provide the tools for
them to succeed. One of the things that is important is that we
do need new textbooks and new classrooms. Those things are
important, but more than that, for many children on Indian
reservations, sometimes it is as basic as finding a bed to
sleep in at night, having a drug and alcohol free environment
in which to live, and healthy food to eat.
The young basketball player on the Fort Yates basketball
team was homeless, sleeping in different houses every night,
just finding places to stay, and yet he was a basketball player
on their high school basketball team. Those are the kinds of
things they confront.
I am really pleased today that the witnesses are a good
cross-section of folks who will discuss many education issues
to reflect from the youngest to the oldest students. I have
been a big fan of tribal colleges, as you know, Mr. Chairman.
So we have a lot to do with respect to Indian education.
I want to tell you, you and I have had schedule issues in
recent hearings. The Energy Committee is holding a hearing at
10 o'clock that I had requested be held on railroad rates and
captive shippers, so I have to go over to the Energy Committee.
I apologize for that.
But one of the witnesses today was someone I had asked to
join us, and Mr. Chairman, thank you for your consent. He is
Dr. David Gipp. Dr. David Gipp has committed his life to
education. He is one of the premier education leaders in our
country. He is the president of the United Tribes Technical
College in Bismarck, ND, a really extraordinary institution. He
is going to be on the second panel. If Dr. Gipp would stand up
just so that we all recognize Dr. David Gipp. Thank you for
being with us.
I don't know whether I will be back from the Energy
Committee by the second panel, but I do want to give special
recognition to education excellence. We recognize it when we
see it, and I certainly see it in Dr. Gipp and what is
happening at the United Tribes Technical College.
Again, the three key issues for us are always education,
health care and housing. Mr. Chairman, you have scheduled
hearings in a range of areas on all of these issues. Thank you
for that leadership. Today, education is front and center and I
appreciate all the witnesses who will come and testify.
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator Dorgan. We
appreciate Mr. Gipp being here.
Senator Akaka.
STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII
Senator Akaka. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for
holding this important hearing.
As a former educator and principal in the State of Hawaii,
I have witnessed how the quality of education shapes not only
our youth, but also our communities. By holding this hearing,
the committee is taking a necessary step and leadership role in
addressing a range of issues associated with American Indian,
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian education.
It is our responsibility as Government leaders to provide
our youth with the resources and tools they need to become
productive citizens and to fulfill their personal goals and
ambitions. I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Education
has reported gains in academic achievement of Native students.
However, there is so much more that needs to be done to better
meet the needs of BIA and tribal schools, especially regarding
the recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers,
improvement of high school graduation rates, and the
implementation of Native language and cultural programs.
As we develop solutions, we must be mindful of the unique
challenges confronting our educators and our Native youth.
Action and investment in the preservation of Native languages
is needed. Last month, I introduced S. 2674 to promote the
rights and freedoms of Native Americans to use, practice and
develop Native American languages in order to ensure that
children across the country are given the opportunity to
develop their Native language skills.
Language is the primary means by which a culture's
traditions and shared values are conveyed and preserved. It is
imperative that we encourage our children to explore the
uniqueness of their culture and identity, while developing an
understanding of the world around them.
Language preservation requires partnerships to be forged
that link young and elderly and strengthen their sense of pride
and community. While I am unable to stay, Mr. Chairman, to hear
testimony from our witnesses, I look forward to continuing to
work with all of you to better meet the educational needs of
our youth.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Akaka.
Our first panel is James Cason, associate deputy secretary
of the Department of the Interior. He is accompanied by Kevin
Skenandore; and Darla Marburger, who is deputy assistant
secretary for Policy, Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education at the Department of Education. She is accompanied by
Cathie Corothers, the acting director of the Office of Indian
Education, and Thomas Corwin, who is the director of the
Division of Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Analysis
Budget Service.
Welcome, Mr. Cason. Please proceed. Welcome to the
witnesses.
STATEMENT OF JAMES E. CASON, ASSOCIATE DEPUTY SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ACCOMPANIED BY KEVIN SKENANDORE,
ACTING DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF INDIAN EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Mr. Cason. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to take just a second and let Kevin introduce
himself and tell a little bit about him. This is his first
opportunity to testify in front of the Senate. He is currently
the acting director of Indian Education.
The Chairman. Welcome.
Mr. Skenandore. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the
committee. Just a quick introduction. My name is Kevin
Skenandore. I am a third generation Bureau of Indian Affairs
[BIA] employee. My grandfather, Eli, was a carpenter. My father
was an administrative officer; 30 years ago, I went to the
Intermountain Intertribal School to take a look at their
school, and I walked out with a job as a door maid. I worked
through our system in 30 years. I bring that perspective. It is
an honor for me to testify and to share the activities that are
currently taking place in the Office of Indian Education
Programs.
I do think we have some interesting information that you
would like to hear about what we are doing in our Reading First
programs, our FACE programs, and some of the programs that are
identified in our testimony.
Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Mr. Cason. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the
committee. My name is Jim Cason. I am the associate deputy
secretary of the Department of the Interior, exercising the
responsibilities of the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.
I am pleased to be here to speak on behalf of the department
and our Indian education programs.
With me, as you know, is Kevin Skenandore, who is currently
the acting director of the Office of Indian Education Programs
[OIEP] until Tom Dowd joins us as the director of OIEP on June
11. Kevin comes from the field, as you know, and he is the
education line officer at Fort Apache. He has been instrumental
in helping us design the management structures to improve our
Indian education program.
As indicated in previous testimony, a comprehensive review
of the BIA educational system was conducted with a
determination that several changes needed to be made in order
to improve the effectiveness of our educational services and
programs provided by our BIA-funded school system, and in order
to ensure that no child was left behind.
Based on this comprehensive review, it was clear to me that
we needed to make some major changes in the way that we
structured our OIEP leadership. The overall objective of our
improved management structures changed the current
organizational structure to reflect today's educational
policies and the critical emphasis on improving student
academic achievement, to reduce the span of control at the
director and deputy director level, and to improve
accountability. The improved management structure will provide
some enhanced senior leadership and accountability in BIA
education programs.
Basically, what is involved there is to add a senior level
of leadership in the program. Right now, there is basically
none. And then to stabilize our education line officer layer,
and that is the closest to the field management structure in
the program.
In response to the changing management responsibilities,
OIEP worked with tribes and tribal school boards to develop the
Program Improvement and Accountability Plan [PIAP] to improve
the effectiveness of education services provided in bureau-
funded school systems. The PIAP is basically an MBO process
where we lay out clearly the goals, objectives, tasks, and sub-
tasks and make assignments and put them on a schedule so that
we can actually very deliberately pursue improvements in the
program.
The purpose of the PIAP is to structure OIEP's approach to
meeting six critical educational objectives. Objective 1, is to
achieve adequate yearly progress at all BIA-funded schools.
Objective 2, is ensure safe and secure schools. Objective 3, is
provide free and appropriate public education for all eligible
students. Objective 4, is improve administrative organizational
management capability. Objective 5, is improve program
financial accountability. And then objective 6, is improve
communications.
Overall, our intentions are to provide improved
communications and coordination between all of the parties who
must contribute to the success of our Indian education
programs. The improved management structure is intended to
improve the management accountability of the education program.
I firmly believe that the implementation of the improved
management structure at OIEP, and the final transition in the
fall of the opportunity for change and improvement and
accountability in BIA's Indian education programs has begun.
I am confident that with the changes, the enhancement of
academic achievement in Indian students will take place. We are
looking forward to working with the Department of Education,
the tribes, and this committee on Indian education.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to testify
on these important issues. I would be happy to answer any
questions you have.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Cason appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Cason. It is good to
have you back.
Mr. Cason. Thank you.
The Chairman. Ms. Marburger, welcome to the committee.
STATEMENT OF DARLA MARBURGER, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
POLICY, OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION,
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ACCOMPANIED BY CATHIE CAROTHERS,
ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF INDIAN EDUCATION; AND THOMAS
CORWIN, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY AND
VOCATIONAL ANALYSIS, BUDGET SERVICE
Ms. Marburger. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman and members, on behalf of Secretary Spellings,
let me thank you for this opportunity to appear before you and
to discuss the current status of Indian education. My name is
Darla Marburger. I am the deputy assistant secretary for policy
in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. I am
joined today by Cathie Carothers, the acting director of our
Office of Indian Education and Thomas Corwin, the director of
the Division of Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Analysis,
in our Budget Service.
The Chairman. Welcome to both.
Ms. Marburger. Your request for the department to testify
on the matter of Indian education is very timely, with this
week's announcements from the department's National Center for
Education Statistics. We released the first report of the
National Indian Education Study or NIES. This report contains
new information for us on the educational progress of Indian
students relative to that of students of other major student
populations.
Today I would like to share briefly with you the findings
of that study and some specific steps that we are taking to
improve the academic achievement of American Indian and Alaska
Native students.
First, I would like to point out that the National Indian
Education Study is a two-part study to provide information on
the condition of American Indian and Alaska Native education.
This information can then be used by educational agencies,
schools, parents, and others to develop education programs to
improve the educational performance of Alaska Native and
American Indian students.
The first part of the study, which was just released this
week, reports results from the department's over-sampling of
American Indian students on the 2005 National Assessment of
Educational Progress [NAEP]. This was intended to generate
adequate representation of Indian students in the NAEP. Without
that, our sample is really too small to draw conclusive
results.
The study provides us with the most reliable and complete
data on Indian students' performance at the national level in
reading and mathematics to date. It includes students from
public schools, private schools, Department of Defense schools,
and BIA schools.
The second part of the study, which will be completed and
released this fall, consists of an in-depth survey that gathers
information from American Indian and Alaska Native students and
their teachers, and it covers demographic factors, school
culture and climate, the use of traditional language and
culture in the home, and teacher qualifications.
The results of part one of the study allow us to compare
the academic achievement of Indian students to other students
and to examine the achievement of these students over time and
by region.
Data from the 2005 NAEP reading and mathematics show a
consistent pattern of achievement results for American Indian
and Alaska Native students. While comparisons between Indian
students and other students show that Indian students tend to
score lower than students in general, comparisons among racial
and ethnic sub-groups show that Indian students generally
achieved at a level comparable to that of Hispanic students,
and somewhat above the level for African American students. The
performance of all three of these sub-groups tends to trail
that of white and Asian American-Pacific Islander students.
Our data also showed a small increase in the reading and
mathematics achievement of Indian students between the 2003 and
2005 NAEP. While this is encouraging, we believe that most of
these improvements are not statistically significant.
Other analyses document the continued achievement gap
between Indian students and other students. The 2005 NAEP
reading data showed that among students who are eligible for
free and reduced price lunches, Indian students scored lower on
average than all other students who were eligible for this
benefit.
I should mention as well that the study allows us to look
at performance by region in the Nation. The study compared
Indian student performance in three different types of
locations: Central city, urban fringe or large town, and rural
or small town. Those data showed that at grade four, Indian
students in central city locations and in urban fringe or large
town locations scored higher in reading and math on average
than their Indian counterparts in rural or small town settings.
We had similar results at the eighth-grade level in
mathematics.
This is significant in comparison to our non-Indian
students. In those cases, reading performance was higher in
urban fringe or large town locations and rural or small town
locations than in central cities.
The study provides comparisons in Indian student
performance across five national regions, as well as a picture
of Indian student achievement at the State level for seven
States, which have at least 5 percent of the State student
population as Indian students. Almost 50 percent of Indian
students in the Nation reside in those seven States, which
happen to be Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
The data allows us to see these comparisons. For example,
they showed that Indian students in the north central region
had a higher average score than Indian students in the Nation
in both fourth-and eight-grade reading, and that, for example,
Indian students in Oklahoma had a higher average score than
Indian students in the Nation in both fourth-grade and eighth-
grade reading.
There are greater details to the study and also greater
details in the steps that we are taking to improve student
education, but it will be submitted in the official written
testimony.
At this time, my colleagues and I will be happy to answer
any questions you may have.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Marburger appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Marburger. I read
your written statement last night and I appreciate it. Both
written statements will be made part of the record.
What is the degree of coordination between you and the BIA,
in your view?
Ms. Marburger. We have really taken steps to increase the
level of coordination, especially in the past year. We are
having monthly conference calls and are in the midst right now
of planning a technical assistance conference that we expect
will take place this fall.
That technical assistance conference has included
additional planning where we are together working on what
content will be covered and what is most needed by the BIA
schools.
The Chairman. If you regard the level of Indian education
where I talk about it in my opening statement and a recent
report, it seems to me that this is a squeaky wheel. I would
urge you to make it a pretty high priority.
I understand that Native Americans are a small percentage
of students throughout America and you have large
responsibilities, but where they are ranking by almost any
determinant, they need a lot of attention and help.
Something that puzzled me a bit about the NAEP report. It
shows that fourth-grade Indian students in rural areas and
small town locations did worse in reading and math than those
in central city or urban fringe areas. You point out that this
is different than the pattern for non-Indian students, who
scored lowest in central city locations. How do you explain
this anomaly?
Ms. Marburger. I think part two of our study will help us
with that because it is going to give us more specific
information regarding educators. I do have some ideas.
The Chairman. Give me one.
Ms. Marburger. I think a lot of it has to do with the
quality of the preparation of our educators in those rural
areas and the quality of professional development in those
areas.
The Chairman. In other words, what you are saying is they
have difficulty recruiting teachers for BIA schools?
Translation?
Ms. Marburger. All of our rural schools have that challenge
in general.
The Chairman. Do you want to say something, sir?
Mr. Corwin. Just to point out, most of the rural schools
that are educating Indians are not in the BIA system. But out
on the reservation or areas around reservations, those are very
challenging environments in which to produce a quality
education.
The Chairman. There are challenging environments in the
inner cities, too.
Mr. Corwin. Yes; but I think what we might tease out, just
to guess about these new data, is that in the Native American
context the rural areas may provide some particular challenges
that we are not finding in other areas. It is new data to us.
We clearly have to take a more careful look at it.
The Chairman. Well, take a more careful look at it and
report to us as soon as you finish the careful look. I think it
is an issue that we need to try to pay more attention to.
Mr. Cason, as you know, this committee, thanks to the
leadership of Senator Dorgan, has really been concerned about
this youth suicide issue. What are you doing on that issue?
Mr. Cason. Mr. Chairman, we are also very concerned about
it. We have been coupling together our law enforcement program.
We are scheduled to meet with the IHS Director, Dr. Grim, this
afternoon to talk about that.
What we are trying to do is take a look at the causal
factors that might lead to suicide, particularly in our
education system, and then in the broader Indian community, and
looking to identify causal factors and looking at identifying
what we can do about it.
I think, Mr. Chairman, it is reasonably fair to say that
there are some pretty difficult conditions on a lot of Indian
reservations, high unemployment, lack of infrastructure, lack
of jobs, general economic poor conditions that lead to suicides
at a higher rate.
The Chairman. I am sorry for interrupting, but I agree with
everything you say, but that has always been the case. Now we
are seeing an increase in youth suicide. Go ahead.
Mr. Cason. That is fine. I was basically just saying that
we do recognize the same thing and we are looking into what
might be possible causal factors. There has been a long term
situation on Indian reservations that is conducive to a high
rate of suicide, and we are seeing if there is any incremental
events. It hasn't come to my attention yet that there is an
incremental event, but we are looking.
The Chairman. The indicators we have is it is on the rise.
One of the things I want you to, and I think it is obvious, but
one of the things I think you ought to look at is this
connection between youth suicide on Indian reservations and the
increased proliferation of methamphetamines.
Mr. Cason. That is one of the causal factors we are looking
at.
The Chairman. All right. Thank you.
Senator Dorgan.
Senator Dorgan. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
Ms. Marburger, you have given us the description of the
reports, the two part study. I have read through this. You
indicate that Indian education is struggling in some areas. You
have just described to Senator McCain some issues with respect
to rural schools. The report seems to me to say that young
Indian students are lagging behind all students generally in
achievement. Is that correct?
Ms. Marburger. That is correct.
Senator Dorgan. And they are, however, generally on a par
with students from other ethnic groups, perhaps who are living
in areas of greater poverty in this country. Is that also
correct?
Ms. Marburger. Yes, sir; at the same level, and in some
cases above.
Senator Dorgan. Mr. Cason, you have seen all the studies.
In fact, I had the GAO do an investigation of the condition of
Indian schools, particularly BIA-owned schools. They are
generally in tougher shape, less good repair than other schools
across the country. Do you feel that that has an impact on
Indian education and is contributing at least in some part to
these lower scores?
Mr. Cason. Yes.
Senator Dorgan. And what is being done about that? I ask
you the question with respect to BIA schools, but I recognize
that the gentleman, what is your name, sir?
Mr. Corwin. Tom Corwin.
Senator Dorgan. His comment about other schools that are
not BIA, but nonetheless rural schools with predominant Indian
students living near reservations, have very little property
base, and therefore not much of a funding base for the schools.
I recognize those schools are also in trouble. I have been in
schools with 150 kids, 1 water fountain and 2 bathrooms. The
kids are sitting in classrooms with desks 1 inch apart, a
building that is 100 years old, portions of it condemned.
I have seen these schools and you ask yourself, is a little
kid, a third or fourth grade kid in that school getting the
same opportunity for education than a kid is getting in a
shining new elementary school in another area? The answer is
no.
So what are we doing about this? We know the problem
exists. We have known that now for some years. What are we
doing about it?
Mr. Cason. Well, Senator, as you know from other testimony
we made in the context of appropriations, our Indian education
system contains almost 2,000 buildings of one sort or another,
associated with 184 schools or dormitory facilities. If you
take a look at the 2,000 buildings we have a pretty wide range
of condition of them. Some of them are newly built and in very
nice condition. Some of them are very old and in decrepit
condition.
Over the course of the last 5 years, the Administration
with the support of Congress has basically invested about $1.5
billion in renovating the system. So there has been material
improvement over time for the system as a whole. However, there
is still need that has not been fulfilled yet and we still do
have a number of our buildings, somewhere on the order of 30
percent, that are still in pretty poor condition and that
continue to need improvement.
Senator Dorgan. Mr. Cason, do you have an evaluation of
what kind of investment is needed to bring BIA-owned schools up
to par? And if so what that would take year by year? And what
percentage of that we are now meeting with the President's
budget request?
Mr. Cason. I don't have a specific figure, Senator. I know
that we have invested about $1.5 billion and we are on the
order of about 70 percent of the schools and facilities are at
good or better condition. I have not placed an estimate on what
it takes to get the other one-third.
Senator Dorgan. Shouldn't we do that, though?
Mr. Cason. That sounds reasonable.
Senator Dorgan. A $1.5 billion expenditure, I understand
that number. What I don't understand is what is not being done.
Mr. Cason. Okay. We would be happy to look into that and
get you an answer.
Senator Dorgan. If we had the money or if this was
considered a priority, for example, a bigger priority than
repealing the estate tax, just as an example, if we considered
this a priority, what kind of funding would be required to
bring these schools up to par in what period of time? How much
per year are we underfunding that?
So I think the committee would benefit from that and
understand, then, what the shortfall is.
One other question. There is a great deal of unhappiness as
you know in Indian country about the BIA's proposal to realign
its education functions. That reorganization was something that
was a prominent part of the discussion at the listening session
I held in Fort Yates. Can you tell us what you are doing and
why you are doing it? I understand an injunction has been
filed, I believe it was yesterday, by some of the tribes in the
northern Great Plains.
Mr. Cason. Yes.
Senator Dorgan. What is it that has persuaded you to do
this? Why are you doing it and what will you accomplish?
Mr. Cason. Okay. That is a great question, Senator. I would
be happy to talk about it.
Overall, what we did in looking at the Indian education
program is look at all the various components of it. One of the
issues is management. I would like to start off this answer
with, there is no one single bullet to address all of the ills
that we have in our Indian education program to achieve
success.
Right now, as an overall matter, two-thirds of our schools
are failing to meet AYP and that is clear that that is not the
kind of success rate that Congress or the Administration will
find acceptable. So we started looking at all of the components
of the Indian education program to figure out what needed to be
done.
Part of what we have done is produce the PIAP, the
Improvement Accountability Plan and an MBO for making
improvements. One of the elements we looked at was management
structure. In looking at Indian education, one of the things
that was abundantly clear is there was a lack of senior
management attention. We have about 5,000 employees in this
organization, and we had a total of 1 sitting senior executive.
If you look at the Department of Energy, they have about 1
senior executive for every 30 employees. In the Department of
the Interior, as an average, we have 1 for every 250 employees.
So on average, I was about 20 senior executives short in
the Indian education program. So what we did is went to the
Secretary and to the Office of Personnel Management and asked
for seven new SESers as opposed to 20 to at least bring some
senor management help into this program.
We also looked at a director's position when shopping for a
new director. We have selected a person, Tom Dowd. He will be
in in about 2 weeks to start his leadership in the program.
That was an important element.
On the Education Line Officer layer, which is associated
with the lawsuit you just talked about and the complaints that
you received in the Dakotas, we have had extensive consultation
with Indian tribes in the Dakotas. Their consultation has gone
over the period of the last couple of years before we end up
making decisions about what to do.
On that education line officer layer, basically what we did
is looked at the number of dollars we thought we had available
for that layer; looked at what we needed across the country;
basically made decisions about relative staffing and workload
associated for each ELO office and what they needed for
critical mass of technical skills in an office, and then
apportioned in a very objective, rational way how much
resources we had available for each set of schools we had
across the country.
Where we ended up is we originally had 22 education line
officers with about 100 staff people. We ended up with 19
education line offices with about 100 people, and what we are
looking to do is reconfigure somewhat, and in my opinion it is
not a large reconfiguring, but reconfigure somewhat the
location fo the ELOs, what their tasks are. We are upgrading
the staff to get higher level people with more knowledge and
more experience into the system. We are moving toward the
direction of having people that can provide technical
assistance, rather than staff.
So that is basically what we are doing.
Senator Dorgan. Mr. Cason, that was everything I wanted to
know and more, a long description of what I am sure is
something you have put a lot of time on. I have to tell you
that I am a little bit perplexed when I hear that what we need
to fix the system is more senior executive management staffing.
I mean, in fact I think there is probably an inverse
relationship between effectiveness on the one hand and senior
executives on the other in the Federal Government, just because
of the way bureaucracy works.
But having said all that, the reason I asked the question
is the concern about the line education function and what seems
to me to be a constant and an inevitable desire to centralize,
rather than decentralize. Particularly in our area and I am
sure in other areas as well, as they centralize more and more
of these things and more and more of these functions, you get
farther away from the role of educating.
But I will send you a list of questions, if I might, about
this because I am curious about its impact and its effect. The
tribes tell me there was precious little consultation, but I
will ask you some questions about that as well.
Mr. Cason. We would be happy to answer all those questions.
Senator Dorgan. At the end of the day, the chairman and I
are interested in one thing: How do you effectively deliver the
education that is needed by the students who desperately want
to be educated out there across the country? We have a
responsibility. We run schools on military reservations. I go
to those schools on air bases. We run those schools. Those
schools are in good shape by and large, and we run them well.
And then we have responsibility for another set of schools,
the BIA schools, and I am distressed that years after the GAO
has said that those schools are in miserable shape, by and
large, one-third of them are in miserable shape, that we have
not really done the things we should have done as trustees and
as those responsible for the education of these children. So I
hope we can do more and accomplish more.
Mr. Chairman, as I indicated, I have to go to the Energy
Committee for a hearing that I had requested. I apologize that
I have to leave, but thank you for calling this hearing.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Dorgan.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am sorry that I missed the testimony here this morning. I
was actually wearing my mother hat and taking care of my son's
enrollment for next year and buying the books.
The Chairman. A worthy cause.
Senator Murkowski. A worthy cause.
Ms. Marburger, it is good to see you again. You probably
know where I am going to go with my question. I am going to
again repeat my invitation that the Secretary of Education,
Secretary Spellings, come to Alaska. We have in the State, we
have the highest proportion of indigenous people. As compared
to any other State out there, our statistics as they relate to
achievement are not something to be proud of right now. We know
we have some challenges.
We also know that we have made some successes in certain
areas when given the flexibility. I know that you have had an
opportunity to come to the State and experience first hand some
of the challenges that we face out in the more rural schools in
our villages. Again, I would repeat that invitation to the
Secretary through you to take the time to come up and see what
we are dealing with.
I can't stress enough the importance of that field trip. We
will continue to try to work with her schedule, but I would
like you to personally deliver that message back to her.
The question that I have for you this morning is how we can
within what we have before us, with No Child Left Behind, how
we can continue what I believe are the very important cultural
immersion language programs that we have up north for our Yupik
and Inupiaq students.
We are seeing great success in some of these models in
terms of capturing the children's attention for education. We
are making education more relevant, I believe, through use of
their cultural heritage languages, but No Child Left Behind put
some limitations on that.
I would like to hear your perspective in terms of what we
can do in the State to work with the department, work with the
Alaska Department of Education, to still boost those academic
scores and meet the standards so that we know that our kids out
in the rural villages are getting the education that they need,
while at the same time being able to focus through their Native
cultural languages. Can you speak to that for just 1 moment?
Ms. Marburger. Sure, I would be happy to. In the area of
working with the Native languages and being able to still at
the same time monitor student achievement of the academic
content standards, there needs to be some way of measuring that
achievement. We feel through our conversations with the various
State officials that the best way to do that at this time,
given the various tools available, is via accommodations to the
regular test since there is not an assessment currently
available in the Native language.
While that is an option, I understand that is one that the
State has not chosen to pursue developing such an assessment,
which is difficult whenever you don't have a lot of the tools
available to be able to develop that assessment.
So the next option available to us really is working on
using accommodations and making sure that your teachers know
those accommodations and are teaching with those accommodations
for purposes of assessing. Those accommodations need to be done
in a manner that doesn't invalidate the assessments of those
students.
We are more than happy to have conversations and provide
technical assistance in that area, to the State.
Senator Murkowski. How can we facilitate that? Is that
something where somebody from the department here in Washington
needs to come up to Alaska and work with the State Department
of Education, work with the teachers out in the areas. How do
they know what it is that they can do?
Ms. Marburger. I would need to be something that would be
initiated by the State Department of Education. They would
request the assistance from us. We would be happy to come and
to provide that, and to work with them on being able to more
thoroughly address the issue of assessing students who are
being instructed in their Native language.
Senator Murkowski. Are there other Native immersion schools
within the BIA-administered schools, where you are trying to
incorporate the immersion language, Native cultural languages
as well?
Ms. Marburger. I will defer to my colleagues from BIA for
that answer.
Mr. Skenandore. There are. There is one particularly in
Navajo, Rough Rock Demonstration School.
Senator Murkowski. Can you tell me how that school is doing
in terms of meeting the academic standards that have been put
out?
Mr. Skenandore. We can extract that information and submit
that to you. As a matter of fact, the most recent annual report
from the school will be due June 2.
Senator Murkowski. I would look forward to that. One of the
challenges that I think we have faced with our Alaska Native
students is this educational relevance. How is this geometry
lesson, how does it relate to the world of subsistence hunting
and fishing? For a lot of these kids, it is not making sense.
It is making sense when they have an opportunity to discuss
these concepts in their heritage languages and utilize them in
their day to day world.
So I would be curious to know if any other pilot projects
out there are working and perhaps what tools and techniques
they are utilizing.
Mr. Skenandore. Could I add an additional response to that,
Mr. Chairman?
The Chairman. Sure.
Mr. Skenandore. We just completed a study called Improving
the Performance of Indian Schools. The study was just completed
yesterday. It ranked our top five achieving schools, our lowest
five, and also the Hopi schools, which all made adequate yearly
progress. It speaks to your concerns, Senator Murkowski. We can
deliver that product to you. It just became available today.
Senator Murkowski. Great. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
I thank the witnesses. We look forward to continuing our
work with you on this very important issue. Thank you for
appearing today.
Panel 2 is Ryan Wilson, who is the president of the
National Indian Education Association; Ivan Small, who is the
board secretary of the National Association of Federally
Impacted Schools, and he is also the Superintendent of the Fort
Peck School District in Poplar, Montana; and Beth Kirsch, who
is a Series Producer Between the Lions, WGBH, Boston, MA. Ms.
Kirsch is accompanied by Bernie Teba, who is the Native
American Liaison, New Mexico Children, Youth and Families
Department in Santa Fe, NM. And David Gipp, who is the
president of the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck,
ND.
I would like to mention to the witnesses that, with my
apologies, we are about to have a vote. Senator Murkowski and I
will have to go in a few minutes. In fact, Senator Murkowski,
maybe if you would want to go vote and then come back and take
over for me once the vote starts. Would that be agreeable?
I thank you very much. That way we won't have to interrupt
the hearing.
Mr. Wilson, welcome and thank you for your good work, and
thank you for being here.
STATEMENT OF RYAN WILSON, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Chairman McCain. Good morning to
you.
My written testimony provides a comprehensive overview of
the issues that are affecting Indian education. I would also
like to ask your permission to submit some other documents for
the record as well.
The Chairman. Without objection, those documents will be
made part of the record, and all the written testimony will be
made part of the record, of all the witnesses. Thank you.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you. I appreciate that.
[Referenced documents appear in Mr. Wilson's prepared
statement in the appendix.]
Mr. Wilson. I would like to give you and the committee a
panoramic overview briefly in these brief statements. Senator
Murkowski expressed concern over immersion programs, as has
Senator Dorgan. Language revitalization is dear to our hearts.
The National Congress of American Indians, as well as the
National Indian Education Association, has made it our number
one priority in education this year for the simple fact that
our window of opportunity is rapidly closing. At lightning
speed, we are losing our repository of language speakers, of
fluent speakers, and once that is gone, there will never be an
ability again to reclaim or revitalize our languages.
As I said, at lightning speed we are losing them.
Meanwhile, at horse and buggy pace, we are making attempts to
reclaim them that are just not trading any kind of impact. We
believe through our research, through scientifically based
research and best practices, that not only does language
revitalization engender the sense of cultural identity and
resilience in our young people, but it also elevates their
academic success. We want to express a little bit about that
today, Mr. Chairman.
I want to take you on a mental flight, so to speak, maybe
starting in Alaska. As she said, the Inupiaq people and their
immersion programs. We are so very proud of what they are doing
over there as well. We also have a school named Ya Ne Dah Ah.
It is run by the Athabascan people in the village of
Chickaloon. These students have graduated out of eighth grade
over there and they are performing substantially better than
all of their counterparts that are going to school just 60
miles south of them in the city of Anchorage, where they are
receiving what we consider mainstream education.
Going on down to your great State of Arizona, we look at
the Rough Rock Community School there, which was the first
contracted school by a tribe in America here, a 638. Our
colleague, Mr. Skinadore from the BIA, will get you that data,
but I could tell you now those students are doing better than
their Navajo counterparts as well on those mainstream tests.
As is the Navajo students that are Fort Defiance in the
immersion school there, which is actually a public school on
Navajo land. If we can go on north up to Browning, MT, our
great leader in this movement of revitalization, Darrell Kipp
and the Piegan Institute has also sent many, many students on
into Browning school system, the Browning High School over
there, and they as well have achieved substantially better than
their counterparts, the Blackfeet students that are going
there.
Let's go on over to the great State of New York, the
Akwesasne Freedom School, which recently won a major award by
Harvard University, Mr. Chairman, just for the incredible
impact that they have made on their community. We have a young
girl there that we are also very proud of, named Curry Ramson,
who just received a Gates Millennium scholarship and will be
attending college as well.
So not only are these schools being acknowledged by some of
the elite universities across America, also some of the most
innovative funders in the philanthropy world have taken a great
interest in them as well. What they have found is that this is
a great commitment and this is a great investment.
What we have seen throughout Indian country is that these
innovative approaches are outpacing that which has been
achieved by the Department of Education and the BIA. What we
would like to see is the Congress take hold of this and invest
and really make a substantial impact on these schools.
We are so very pleased that Senator Akaka introduced S.
2674, the Native American Language Act Amendments. We would
also like to thank the cosponsors of that, Senator Inouye,
Senator Baucus, Senator Johnson, and of course Senator Dorgan.
We believe in 1992 when Congress created that Native American
Language Act and enacted it, it ushered in joyous daybreak to a
long, long dark night of apathy when it came to revitalizing
these languages. This particular bill, we ask for a markup as
soon as possible and we also hope for swift passage of it
because we believe it will really do something and etch across
the pages of history in Indian education really a new day.
It is going to give us the tools that need to not only
carry on our sacred heritage and our way of life, but elevate
academic achievement. Right now, Senator, all the education
research, and you have just seen it by the report that was
released, and you are going to see it by the BIA report. I
haven't reviewed that yet, but when it comes out you are going
to see what we have been doing isn't working. It has been a
commitment to mediocrity.
We want a commitment to excellence and we believe this is
the way forward on that.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Wilson appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. It hasn't been working for a long time, has
it?
Mr. Wilson. Absolutely, it hasn't.
The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Small, welcome.
STATEMENT OF IVAN SMALL, BOARD SECRETARY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF FEDERALLY IMPACTED SCHOOLS, AND SUPERINTENDENT, FORT PECK
SCHOOL DISTRICT, POPLAR, MT
Mr. Small. Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My
name is Ivan Small and I am the Superintendent of the Poplar
Public School District in Poplar, MT. I thank the committee for
inviting me to testify, and I have submitted my complete
testimony to the committee for consideration.
I currently serve as the Secretary of the National
Association of Federally Impacted Schools. NAFIS represents the
needs of children in Federally connected school districts. I
also represent over 120,000 Native American children as
president of the National Indian Impacted Schools Association.
My purpose is to share with you the issues faced by
federally impacted public schools proudly serving 120,000
American Indian children. The Impact Aid Program provides the
lifeblood for public school districts that, like Poplar, have a
high percentage of students who reside on land we cannot tax.
Without impact aid funding, our district would not open its
doors.
Our students face four challenges: First, meeting the
standards of No Child Left Behind; second, our overwhelming
facility needs; third, the impact of State equalization; and
fourth, the effect of the changing demographics of the Impact
Aid Program.
So how well are we helping the Indian child meet the
challenges of No Child Left Behind? It is important to first
note that, although the BIA school remains the most visible
symbol of Indian education, 93 percent of American Indian
students attend public or private schools.
We are grateful today for the opportunity to give our
children a voice. The Indian student's potential is not being
realized. Though he develops cognitive skills similar to other
children, he achieves below the national norm tests. In
addition to generational poverty, geographical isolation, and a
myriad of community problems, he often attends a rural school
deficient in resources and unattractive to highly qualified
teachers.
Additionally, large numbers of Indian students alternate
between BIA and public schools, much as military-dependent
children alternate between the Department of Defense and public
schools. The Department of Defense, at the insistence of
Congress and with the support of many members of this
committee, has made considerable progress toward addressing
this issue. It is time we also establish a formal partnership
between the public schools and the BIA schools serving the same
children. This one Indian child concept will help the Indian
child navigate two totally separate and different systems.
Mr. Chairman, the second issue is the deplorable condition
of many of our buildings, primarily due to a negligible tax
base. Last year, the entire impact aid community--to protect
basic impact aid funds--suggested to the House and Senate that
they redistribute $27 million from construction to basic
operations, barely maintaining a stable funding stream.
Much like the Significant Facilities Report done by the
Department of Defense in the late 1980's, called the Dole
Report, a similar study of our facilities by the GAO would
illustrate to this committee, Members of Congress, and the
American public the stark reality our students face daily in
their halls, cafeterias, playgrounds, and in their classrooms.
Issue number three is equalization. Section 8009 of the
Impact Aid Program allows a State to credit a district's impact
aid payments against their State aid receipts. Currently, New
Mexico, Alaska, and Kansas meet the section 8009 criteria. The
problem, Mr. Chairman, is that in these States, equalization is
more a matter of equalizing down, holding down State aid and
penalizing our children, while equalized impact aid payments
can keep tax rates down for shopping centers and golf courses.
We hope that this committee, sometime before the
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
would hold at least one hearing on this subject.
Finally, we are deeply concerned about the changing
demographics of the Impact Aid Program. Mr. Chairman, all 1,400
impact aid school districts receive money from the same pool.
Thus, when changes occur to one category of districts, causing
a drain on program resources, all districts are affected.
As the nature of the U.S. military quickly changes, the
demographics of the Impact Aid Program will change
dramatically.
Due to three ongoing Department of Defense initiatives,
impact aid will be forced to absorb tens of thousands of
military-dependent children, a fact ignored by the
Administration's fiscal year 2007 budget. One such initiative
is global re-basing. Over 70,000 uniformed service personnel
will return stateside from bases overseas, with an estimated
32,000 to 42,000 school-age children. Impact aid will have to
absorb the cost of these children, reducing basic support
payments to all.
Because of these initiatives, NAFIS projects an annual
increase of $36 million to $46 million for five years just to
maintain basic payments. Mr. Chairman, this will penalize all
federally impacted districts. Our challenges are sizable and
will require significant efforts by everyone. We can honor our
commitment to our children by providing them the highest
quality education possible, and we at NAFIS and NIISA are
committed to this goal.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Small appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
There are only 3 minutes left to go in the vote, so Senator
Murkowski has been able to go vote. So we will have to come
back, so we will have a very brief recess. I know that she is
on her way back, and then we will go to Ms. Kirsch.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for your testimony. She
should be here in just 1 minute.
The committee stands in recess for a few minutes until the
arrival of the Senator from Alaska.
[Recess.]
Senator Murkowski [Presiding]. All right. We will be back
on record.
I again apologize for the jack in the box routine that we
do around here. I know that so many of you come from relatively
far distances and I know you have a lot to say. Please do know
that we do listen, sometimes in not the most consecutive order,
but we do appreciate your being here.
I understand, Mr. Small, that you had finished your
testimony.
Mr. Small. Yes.
Senator Murkowski. With that, then we would go to Ms.
Kirsch. Welcome.
STATEMENT OF BETH KIRSCH, SERIES PRODUCER--BETWEEN THE LIONS,
WGBH BOSTON, ACCOMPANIED BY BERNIE TEBA, NATIVE AMERICAN
LIAISON, NEW MEXICO CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT
Ms. Kirsch. My name is Beth Kirsch, and I thank you for the
opportunity to speak before the committee today about the
American Indian Head Start Literacy Initiative that we have
done with Between the Lions. I am the Series Producer for
Between the Lions, which is an award-winning PBS children's
series that was created specifically to help children learn to
read.
In addition to broadcasting the series, we have a very
strong commitment to reaching those children who are most at
risk for reading failure. We began our efforts in Mississippi,
which as many of you know, has among the lowest literacy rates
in the country. We are now working with American Indian tribes
in New Mexico and Montana.
We decided to reach out to New Mexico because we saw a need
based on reading scores, which you heard a bit about today. We
also saw it as an opportunity to work with many different
tribes, and we felt that would be ideal for creating a model
that could then be offered to other tribes outside New Mexico.
We also decided to focus our efforts on preschool because
so many children enter kindergarten well behind their peers in
vocabulary and letter knowledge, and even such basic concepts
of how do you hold a book and know when to turn the pages and
reading from left to right. When kids start out so far behind,
it is just very, very hard for them to catch up.
To start this project, we invited Head Start directors to
an initial meeting in New Mexico, and there was great
enthusiasm for what we hoped to do because they saw the
importance of increasing literacy among their kids. They also
expressed a very strong interest in helping to shape the
materials that we planned to offer so that they would be
culturally sensitive and would succeed in their classrooms.
Eleven tribes agreed to participate. At the beginning of
the project, we spent time with directors, with teachers and
with cultural specialists from the tribes to get their input on
the content and the approach of all the materials. At their
suggestion, with our partner KNME, we created several new
segments of Between the Lions that featured American Indian
children, so that the kids would see themselves and their
environment reflected in the materials that they would be using
in their preschool centers.
The tribes also gave us significant input on the research
design and the measures, again so that they would be culturally
relevant.
What we provided to each Head Start classroom that
participated was a set of three DVDs, which had 16 of our
nationally broadcast shows edited specifically for preschool
age children. We provided a DVD player. We provided a teacher's
guide, which has extensive lessons that are also tried to
Federal Head Start outcomes; a classroom set of 32 children's
books. These books are just a sampling, but again, we made a
focus on including authentic American Indian literature,
stories set in the Southwest, as well as popular children's
books.
They also got a bin of classroom materials, which included
alphabet strips, bins of letters, poems, songs, et cetera, and
then we provided training and ongoing support throughout the
school year.
I want to just show a sample from the DVD segment. Each of
the DVDs has Five to six of our edited shows. They can watch
the whole episode. They can do scene by scene, so after they
have watched a show, if they want to repeat a song or focus on
a specific skill, they can do that. What I would like to show
is one of the segments we filmed in New Mexico, which we filmed
in the Cochiti and Ysleta Pueblos.
[DVD presentation.]
Ms. Kirsch. The project also has a research study as part
of it. We will be announcing the full results in a meeting in
New Mexico next week. What we have seen are very significant
gains in key literacy areas, including letter knowledge,
picture naming, which is a measure of oral language and
vocabulary, and phonemic awareness, which is a very important
foundational skill in literacy, how you blend the sounds
together to make words.
But perhaps the most promising funding, especially in
contrast to some of the other dismal statistics we have heard
earlier today, is that as a result of the project, the number
of children at risk for reading failure based on a tool called
the Get Ready to Read screener, decreased from 39 percent to 12
percent, and the number of children scoring above average
increased from 23 percent to 64 percent.
We are interested in expanding these materials. Right now,
we have 16 lessons. We would like to expand it to 32 for use in
the full school year. We want to expand the use both in New
Mexico and with tribes nationwide.
The success of this project has benefitted greatly from the
support of Native American leaders in the State, and the key
person who helped make the project a success is Bernie Teba, so
I would like to turn it over to Bernie Teba for a few remarks.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Kirsch appears in appendix.]
Mr. Teba. Thank you, Madam Chair.
My name is Bernie Teba. I am the Native American Liaison
for the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. I
have been working with tribes and tribal organizations for over
20 years. I did submit written testimony for the record, so I
am not going to repeat that, but the New Mexico No Child Left
Behind data shows that American Indian children are at the
bottom in terms of reading, math and science scores.
I have seen the enthusiasm of kindergarten and first
graders. Because they don't have literacy skills, they start
falling behind and become frustrated, and either drop out or
fall further behind. So I strongly believe that early English
literacy intervention is a critically needed step in the
education of our Indian children.
Our data shows that this program does work. We provide the
tools to a community-based program. Head Start is basically our
flagship for early childhood development at the community
level. So I strongly urge this Committee to provide the
resources to continue programs like this and strengthen
programs like this. So Head Start should be a priority,
especially tribal Head Start, because again it is the first
learning step for our Native American children.
I would finally like to publicly thank Senator Domenici for
his initial sponsorship of the appropriation that made this
project possible, and also the communities that we are working
with, the 11 tribes that we are working with. It is an
evidence-based program and because I do work in the State of
New Mexico, we have a pre-K program.
This past legislative session, the legislature provided 150
percent increase for pre-K funding. Unfortunately, none of our
tribes submitted under pre-K, so that is one of the things that
I will be working on. It is to get programs like this funded by
State government. But it is a Federal trust responsibility, so
I again urge the Committee to consider funding programs like
this.
Head Start is within the Department of Health and Human
Services. I am not sure if the BIA or the Department of
Education is talking to Head Start, but it is a critical
component for education of our Indian children.
Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Teba appears in appendix.]
Senator Murkowski. I will finally go to Dr. Gipp.
STATEMENT OF DAVID GIPP, PRESIDENT, UNITED TRIBES TECHNICAL
COLLEGE
Mr. Gipp. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I appreciate the opportunity to be here on behalf of tribal
higher education and United Tribes Technical College, of
course, in Bismarck, ND.
I also want to commend our chair and our vice chairman,
Senator Dorgan from North Dakota, for allowing us to be here.
I will summarize my remarks and ask that our record
statement be placed in the record, if that is at all possible.
Senator Murkowski. The full statement will be included in
the record.
Mr. Gipp. Thank you very much.
Let me focus, then, on some of the summary remarks that are
in that testimony, and a lot of the statistics and data that I
am going to talk about in general are in that testimony as
well.
I just want to point out that culturally appropriate higher
education by and for American Indians and Alaska Natives really
works. It is important that we make this a part of our policy
in tribal higher education throughout America.
It is deserving of the full support of Congress and the
executive branch. Indian people and Alaska Natives today want
quality, culturally appropriate higher education as never
before. We are busy building that through the 35 different
tribal colleges and universities that we have had since the
early 1970's.
United Tribes Technical College has been operating since
1969. We are a campus-based institution that is on an old
military fort. We have two early childhood centers and a K
through 8 elementary school on that campus. We serve over 1,100
students and we have grown about three times in the past 4
years to those 1,100 students and 500 children.
I look at this total number of students that we serve
across America, the 35 different tribal colleges serving close
to 35,000 students of the 180,000 or 175,000 American Indians
that are attending various colleges and universities across the
Nation.
We know that we are the fastest growing population when it
comes to this area in terms of service. It is very, very
critical, then, that Congress takes a hard look at how we can
be assuredly provided the resources to give those opportunities
to our various kinds of students that are up and coming.
Our college educated Indian population is contributing to
our national and tribal economies as well. When I look at this
kind of thing, we have many different kinds of programs, both
at the certificate, the two year and the four year levels, as
well as some graduate programs that are coming up through all
of these institutions.
It is very important to look at the 2000 census and see
that the percentage of the Indian population that had college
degrees was less than that of the national average. When you
look at the 25 percent or 27 percent that have college degrees
in the United States, we only see about 11.8 percent the Native
Americans that have completed.
And so it is very important that we deal with this
unacceptable set of statistics. The tremendous growth of higher
education has its price, and we know that the tribal colleges
and universities are only funded at about 75 percent of the
authorized amount in the Tribally Controlled Community College
Assistance Act. In the case of United Tribes, we have been left
out of the budget for four times, five times coming up with the
upcoming fiscal year, and so it is the same case with the
Crownpoint Institute of Technology.
And yet we have the data and the statistics to show that we
do a good job. We have 90 percent placement rates. We have
about an 80-82 percent retention rate. We have good data and
statistics to show and prove the Office of Management and
Budget and the Department of the Interior that we are doing a
great job when it comes to the challenges of meeting the
educational needs of our students.
This assistance is very, very vital for all of us. So we
ask that the Congress take a hard look at what kind of policy
needs to be in place, as well as the appropriate kinds of
appropriations.
I have attended just yesterday and the day before the
National Indian Budget Task Force, or advisory board, that
includes tribally elected officials and the BIA about things
like the 2008 budget. I have attended these and I have met with
the Office of Management and Budget. We know that we meet the
data requirements that are part of what they call PART.
We also heard that the BIA plans to cut higher education
scholarships by 100 percent in the year 2008 in its upcoming
plans. We know that they are going to cut higher education
scholarships in fiscal year 2007. We know that they are not
going to include United Tribes and Crownpoint in fiscal year
2007.
So we ask to assure that the Congress make sure that these
funds are there if we are going to have any kind of viability
for tribal students who attend any of the tribal colleges, as
well as mainstream universities and colleges throughout the
United States.
We particularly want to point out the programs that are
available not only through the BIA scholarships, but also
through the Pell Grants, the Department of Labor's Workforce
Investment Act, the Carl Perkins Programs under section 116 and
117 of the Vocational Education Programs, as well as the TRIO
Programs and the higher education programs enabled under the
Higher Education Act that go through the Department of
Education.
We believe that we need to be a major part of what is going
to be happening in 21st century learning when we talk about the
need for better facilities, institutional financial stability,
and the use of technology and the access to that technology for
learning purposes. We know that the return on investment is
about a 20 to 1 return when we talk about all of these kinds of
things.
We also would urge that Congress take a hard look at the
Executive Order passed or put into place by President Bush. We
believe that many of the Federal agencies that participate
under the White House Executive order on Tribal Colleges and
Universities needs to be better, better implemented. We believe
that there are existing resources that do not need to have to
cost additional dollars that could be done more efficiently. We
urge that Congress urge the Administration to use these
resources and these tools more effectively in dealing with
Indian country.
I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to be
here, and we appreciate this time.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Gipp appears in appendix.]
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Dr. Gipp, and thank you to
all of the panelists that have joined us here this morning.
I think the common theme, at least from those that I have
heard from this morning and in reading the testimony of the
other two gentlemen, it is all about how we make education
relevant to our American Indian and our Alaska Native children,
to encourage that learning so that they rise up through the
academic ladder and hopefully ultimately in some of the
colleges that are available to them.
Mr. Wilson, I appreciate your being here and all the good,
good work that you do on behalf of the National Indian
Education Association. I am sorry that I missed your comments,
particularly recognizing the efforts that we are making in
Alaska with the immersion programs.
I had an opportunity to go out to Chickaloon and go into a
very small school, but an opportunity to talk with and meet the
young students there who were, it was not a complete immersion
program, but speaking in their Native cultural language, and an
enthusiasm about school and about being there. You can tell
when a child, particularly when they hit about fifth or sixth
grade, if they are not enthused about school, it shows in their
whole body. It shows in how they conduct themselves in the
classroom.
These kids were genuinely happy to be in school. There was
a love for what they were doing that was just very transparent.
I would agree with you that Congress does need to look at how
we can facilitate such immersion programs, such language
programs to get that love for learning across to the children.
Ms. Kirsch, I so appreciate what you are doing at the early
stage in preparing the children for school, kind of instilling
in them the love for learning, but really to be ready to learn.
I could not agree with you more that it is these programs that
get the kids excited about what they are doing and comfortable
with school, that are a predictor of how they are going to feel
about school.
We have good Head Start programs in Alaska. I had an
opportunity to visit an Even Start program out in Hoonah, a
small Native village down in Southeastern Alaska, where I
learned that it is not enough to just deal with the, I guess
you would call it the pre-literacy or the early learning
literacy, but to help the parents with their literacy skills as
well. Because what we were finding was that many of these
parents could not read to their children.
So we can encourage the children all we want to read at
home, have your parents read, but if the parents are not
literate themselves, so what I learned through this Even Start
program was that if we can provide for the literacy for the
adults to work with their children, it kind of empowers the
kids, too, to be helping their parents, but it also helps them
with economic opportunities and jobs.
The question that I have for you, Ms. Kirsch, recognizing
that up in Alaska we have literacy rates among our Alaska
Native preschool children is very, very low right now. Do you
have any plans with Between the Lions to work with Alaska Head
Start directors to kind of replicate this program. Are you more
situated down in the South/Southwest, or do you have
opportunities elsewhere?
Ms. Kirsch. Well, we went to New Mexico really as a pilot.
Right now, we are very interested in working with other tribes.
We started working with the Cree Tribe at the Rocky Boy
Reservation in Montana. There is an American Indian Head Start
Directors Conference in Washington, DC in June, and we are
hosting a luncheon and inviting Head Start directors from those
States that have large American Indian populations in Head
Start.
So we are very interested in working with other States. We
feel now that we have had the research, we have a sense that
this can really work and it makes a difference not just for the
kids, but for the teachers themselves, when they find that the
material helps them organize their day, gives them a way to
plan and conduct literacy activities.
The teachers have also said that there has been a lot more
parent involvement as a result of them doing the project. One
of the teachers gave us an example of a parent picking up a
child one day and the child saying to their dad, ``You are big
and I am little.'' And the dad says, ``Oh, how do you know
that?'' And he says, ``We have been learning about big and
little today. We watched Little Big Mouse and a lion is big and
the mouse is little.''
And so the parents became interested in what they were
doing in the program, and so there has been a lot more
conversation about it. What we found in the work that we are
doing in Mississippi is that many of the teachers there are not
literate. It is not just the parents. It is the teachers. We
didn't come across that in New Mexico as much as in
Mississippi. And the teachers themselves are learning more
about reading and the sounds the letters make and strategies
for becoming good readers themselves.
Senator Murkowski. I will throw this out to any of you here
at the panel. How important is it, at the same time that we are
trying to encourage literacy and academic achievement, how
important is it that we have the parental involvement in terms
of coaching with the homework or just being supportive at all
about approaching school? Mr. Wilson?
Mr. Wilson. Yes, Senator; if I may. It is imperative. It is
critical. What we see in the schools is that, and you heard it
from the Department of Education today and from the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, that the environmental conditions are
inextricably linked to academic success. We know those problems
and issues in the home don't just stay in the home, and they
don't stay on the school bus. When those children get off of
that school bus, they come into the schools.
But there have been so many historical barriers to
inclusiveness with parents in Indian education, and that is
what we are trying to remove as well, those barriers. A lot of
that goes into local control, tribal control, functional school
boards, and parental outreach into the communities, strong
after school programs that engage parents. All those factors
you see in mainstream communities have not been replicated in
tribal communities because of a lot of these barriers. A lot of
them, unfortunately, have been driven by Federal Indian policy
and education policy as well. But we have to attack that and
really remove that and not use it as an excuse.
But those children in their homes, and if their parents are
not there, it just isn't going to work. There is going to be a
disconnect.
Mr. Teba. Madam Chair, I can speak from personal
experience. I have five children. Four of them are grown. With
our youngest child, she is currently in the sixth grade. We did
things a little more differently. We got involved as parents.
My child is in the sixth grade. She was tested at the 12.3
reading level. It was because of parental support, us getting
involved. We didn't do that much with our older children. They
struggled. So it does make a difference to have parents
involve.
Senator Murkowski. Mr. Gipp, did you want to make a
comment?
Mr. Gipp. Yes; I was just going to point out that that is
the kind of model we use at the United Tribes Technical
College, is the family model, if you will, and all of the
issues that relate to both learning, education, counseling, all
of those things. In other words, we are basically educating the
child in the early childhood centers, in the case of elementary
schools, and the adult attending post- secondary classes.
But also providing the supportive services, both for adults
and children, so that the whole family can really begin to
learn how to interact appropriately and become supportive of
each other as they learn both academically, socially and
vocationally, and building a model that includes a wraparound
system of bringing the resources to the family so they can pick
and choose and learn how to do that in more effective
constructive ways.
That is the kind of thing that we really employ when we
talk about education, as well as learning.
Senator Murkowski. How do we disseminate the information?
You can identify some best practices. You can identify things
that need to be done, but how do you get that out? For instance
within the National Indian Education Association, how do you
use that as a forum, Mr. Wilson, to advance the ideas, the best
practices, whether it is out to the teachers or out to the
local school board in an area?
Mr. Wilson. Well, part of the problem with that is the
standard best practices that we have all been looking at have
been non-Indian models. So there has always been a difficulty
in implementing those in tribal communities.
What we do at our convention is, you know, we get anywhere
from 3,000 to 5,000 people coming to it. We do create a venue
there for tribal best practices to be disseminated at that
convention. The constituency that we represent deals with
virtually all the 600,000 Native American children in America
here that are going to school. There is really serious
jurisdictional issues between tribal grant schools, Bureau of
Indian Affairs schools, public schools, our friend here, Mr.
Small, who deals with impact aid schools, and tribal lands and
all of those.
So what we are interested in is, wow, and I think the
Department of Education will be addressing this, their Office
of Indian Education, with their own best practices. We do want
to advance those. We do want to get those out there.
Senator Murkowski. Let me ask you about that, though. You
have identified some best practices, but you recognize that it
is not necessarily consistent with the model that is currently
being used for other schools across the country, that don't
deal primarily with American Indian or Native children. Do you
get pushback from the Department of Education saying your model
doesn't replicate what we envision coming from the Department
of Education?
Mr. Wilson. I am glad you asked that, Senator, because the
actual truth is there is a huge effort to only advance
scientifically based research. What we are saying is, we still
need time, they need research dollars. I am specifically
talking about those immersion schools and what they have
created and how they do longitudinal studies in tracking those
young people as well.
But what we have seen is an all out effort to really,
through this methodology that only acknowledges reading and
math and adequate yearly progress and what that means, which is
just geared toward these tests. Now what has happened is there
is this proliferation of just coaching the test, teaching the
test.
There has been a national alignment of curriculum,
regardless of what schools they are, to meet those State
standards and that information which is on the test. That is
not, I repeat, it is not allowing for innovative and creative
approaches, or acknowledging in tribal communities those best
practices that really incorporate cultural integrity in
education. I am specifically talking about these immersion
schools.
Senator Murkowski. Does the department say, well, there is
flexibility within the regulations, we can figure it out; or is
it, no, it just doesn't fit because your scores obviously
indicate that your school is not meeting AYP?
Mr. Wilson. You could actually ask that question better
than myself, because what you have done with Secretary
Spellings and prior to that Secretary Paige, you have
negotiated with them; you have worked with them to create
flexibility. As a U.S. Senator, that could huge effort. Imagine
little tribal communities trying to navigate just these
incredible obstacle and bureaucracy in doing so. It is very
cumbersome. It is very difficult.
We were told that. We were also several years ago, there
was even money appropriated by the Department of Education, I
believe $10 million, to help work with tribes to create their
own benchmarks and assessments, and through negotiated
rulemaking with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to really have an
assessment that would meet those unique needs.
Unfortunately, that effort failed. That never came to
light. What was adopted eventually was the State standards at
the Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. We really believe we are
at a point with our capabilities that we should be able to in
tribal communities, specifically those that have a critical
mass of tribal learners, create their own assessments and their
own tools and their own measurement.
So again, I am going to use that word, there is a
disconnect between the letter of the law and that flexibility
that is written in there, versus actual reality. There is a gap
between that promise and fulfillment in reaching that.
Senator Murkowski. Ms. Kirsch.
Ms. Kirsch. I just want to speak a little bit to the
research. One of the efforts that we made with this project was
in developing the materials to make sure they were culturally
relevant.
But we also made an effort on the research for some of
these very reasons. Just for example, if you are trying to
measure a child's mastery of vocabulary and their language
skills, if you use a standardized test like the Peabody Picture
Vocabulary Test, and you have a picture of a typical house that
most people in this room would recognize as a house, a child in
Cochiti Pueblo might not recognize that as a house. So they are
not going to say that that is a house. It will show that their
language skills are in deficit.
One of the things that we did is we sat down with all the
research measures that we were contemplating using, with
representatives from the tribes, and looked at all the
pictures. If something is a hat, but it is called a cap, or
vice versa, we really tried to select pictures that were going
to be culturally relevant. There were certain tribes where
their children cannot point to certain animals. So even if that
is the right answer on the test, they are not going to point to
that.
So I think there is also an issue with the research
measures themselves and how culturally relevant those measures
are and are they really capturing all of the skills,
particularly in literacy, that the children do have at that
age.
I think the challenge even in creating these materials, the
tribes that we worked with at the end were very, very grateful
to have had the opportunity to help create them, because what
they said is generally they are handed materials, whether it is
from Head Start or elsewhere, here is the curriculum to use,
and they haven't had any hand in what those materials are going
to feel like and look like, and how they can anticipate them
being used in their classrooms.
So I think that is just another important thing to look at
overall in terms of best practices on materials or even the
assessments that are being done.
Senator Murkowski. It is such a key point. I think perhaps
those that are not familiar with very distinct ethnic groups
that have unique aspects to them. I am thinking specifically of
our Alaska Natives. When I go into the classroom in some of the
villages, and you look at the little alphabet board up there
that has the animal attached to the letter "A,'' it is a very
different series of pictures than what I experienced as a kid
growing up in a more urban setting. It is pictures that these
kids can relate to, whether it is the berries or the animals or
the whale, or whatever. But they can relate to them instead of
having it be some foreign thing that the do not understand.
When you get into a standardized test and it is asking a
question that uses the word ``sidewalk,'' and you are a child
that has never seen a sidewalk, doesn't have any idea what it
is, you might be able to get to solving the story problem, but
your mind gets hung up on what is a sidewalk. And these are
things that we do need to take into account as we are talking
about how we assess the children; how we provide for a
meaningful measure.
This, I think, gets to your point, Mr. Wilson, about having
some flexibility. It is difficult to take a Federal standard
like we have with No Child Left Behind, and just evenly apply
it across 50 States and say, ``this is how we test our
children.''
My kids, both of my boys were part of a two-way Spanish
immersion program from the time they were in kindergarten
through the time they left the school. It is one of those where
you kind of hold your breath for the first couple of years
because, quite honestly, it doesn't seem like they are doing as
well in their English testing as you would like them to be. As
a parent, you are concerned that you might be jeopardizing that
academic opportunity.
But about midway through third grade, the statistics show
that that child is evenly matched up in the Native language,
the language that you speak at home, and the language that you
are learning there. After that, the kids blast off the charts
in terms of their academic proficiency in two languages.
We talk a lot here in Congress about how we need to
encourage our kids in science and math and technology. That is
a huge part of being a competitor in a global society. But
equally advantageous to us is when we can speak multiple
languages. If a multiple language includes your Native cultural
heritage language, that again, expansion fo the mind, the
brain, I only see it as a win.
But it is a struggle. In my son's school, we had to fight
every year for continued funding because it was a pilot
program. People thought we were experimenting with our
children's education. And it wasn't until they got through
about six years of the program and students were achieving and
doing very well, that the school board finally said maybe this
is a program that we want to keep around. What they have done
is they have expanded it, and the waiting list to get into this
public school is year after year. It draws students.
So the successes are there with immersion programs in
languages such as Spanish. We have Japanese, we have Russian
now in the Anchorage school district. So it ought not to be
such a struggle to get immersion programs within our Native
cultural languages. And yet it seems that it is that way, that
it is still being viewed as pilot and too experimental.
I would like to think that we have the research back there.
That is why I was interested in Mr. Cason's studies to
understand how other immersion schools are doing.
I am talking too much. I ask if any of you have any final
comments that you would like to make this afternoon?
Mr. Gipp. Madam Chair, the only thing I would like to
reiterate is the need for the Committee to look at the issues
of higher education, particularly in the area of, you mentioned
research, and then the research that is ongoing through some of
our tribal colleges and universities. Some of those include the
issue of language, culture and those kinds of things.
While I can't go into them here because of a lack of time,
we are doing significant things when it comes to language and
culture and history, and the restoration of those things back
to communities through the tribal colleges and universities.
The second part, of course, is research in academia itself,
in things like food and nutrition. We are doing a lot of work
in the area of food and nutrition, as are other tribal
colleges, because of the issues such as diabetes and because of
the issues of health and those dire circumstances that we have
all heard about out in Indian Country.
There is a very, very critical role for tribal colleges and
universities in this arena, and there is a whole list of things
that are ongoing right now that can be, and I think need to be
amplified in terms of resources available to them.
To do that I think is also essential to assure that higher
education scholarships and technical training resources are
available to students to do this kind of work, to enable them
to learn better.
Right now, we have seen really a loss in terms of the
priority by the Federal government, particularly the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, in this arena. I mentioned that they are
planning to wipe out higher education in the year 2008. The
endowments for tribal colleges are scheduled to be eliminated
100 percent by next year. I have already mentioned these other
cases.
Senator Murkowski. Is that the President's budget then?
Mr. Gipp. This is the President's budget incoming from the
Department of Interior. We need to assure that these resources
stay in place and in some cases need to be amplified.
I have students today, I was talking to one last night, a
White Mountain Apache student who is not getting the resources
to attend summer school, for example, right now at our college.
Our answer is, you keep on going, we will find the resources
somehow, so that you can have the scholarships to go on. This
thing is immediate.
I have seen so many GS-15s come in and talk to us at OMB
and at the Department of Interior, and the parade of speeches
the last two days. Give me 1.5 GS-15 FTE positions, and I will
fund 200 students for eight weeks, Madam Chair.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you. I appreciate your comments. I
don't know which GS-15 is going to volunteer back here.
Mr. Wilson?
Mr. Wilson. Madam Chair, again thank you for your time.
Like yourself, I am a parent of three children in a school
system. My one daughter goes to Mescalero Tribal School in New
Mexico. While she is not a Mescalero, I always say she is a
captive down there, and I am always worried about her, but they
go to such a beautiful school.
And then my son is in Seattle public schools where I
reside. And my youngest daughter is in a Native American
Montessori School in Portland, Oregon that is funded by the
Department of Education. So it is an interesting experience. I
share your concerns as a parent.
I want to thank you for carrying on the commitment of your
father as well, who was a pioneer in this immersion effort and
this revitalization effort. We don't like to use the word
``preservation.'' It is like we want to put our languages out
there and make them dynamic and living, not in a jar or on a
shelf somewhere in a museum or anything like that. We want them
living and real. Your family has really had that commitment.
The sad, tragic truth of this whole matter is that tribal
America, we are the only people really subjected to Federal
policies to quash their languages, to kill these languages. We
have an opportunity here. As I said earlier before you came in,
it is closing rapidly. We are in the last, last minute, the
59th minute of the last hour, I should say, if we are going to
do this and change this. We really have to reward, as you said
earlier, contextual learning, experiential learning and
expeditionary learning that reaches the same goals that we are
all desirous of. So I applaud you on that.
Prior to you coming in as well, Senator Dorgan and Chairman
McCain had issues with the report that came out about rural
schools and how our young people were doing there. We asked the
Committee on Indian Affairs to look into that, because the
simple truth is there are very few incentives now for highly
qualified teachers to come out into our communities, to come
out into these rural areas.
As you know, our Nation's highways and roads carry people
far away from where we actually live. They never see these
conditions. It is unfortunate, but what is facing those young
people there, they don't have after-school educational
opportunities. They don't have high quality libraries. They
don't have these state of the art facilities and technology.
They don't even have housing for teachers.
As you said so many times, you have places in Alaska where
you have teachers residing in closets on campus. This shouldn't
be, and this is part of the lack of equal opportunity that is
facing our young people.
What was also mentioned was this issue with the brick and
mortar and the BIA school construction. I would urge the
committee to form a commission to look into this because the
tribes keep blaming the BIA for dragging their feet on the
brick and mortar, and the BIA keeps saying that the tribes
aren't ready with their impact studies; they are not ready with
their blueprints; they are not ready with these things.
In the meantime, the cost of construction is going up
exponentially every day. Every hour it is getting higher. If we
don't solve this now, it is never going to get solved in a
proper manner and we are going to be having this same
discussion year in and year out. The priority list keeps
changing. As we are building these new ones, other buildings
are crumbling and we are going to be spending more and more
money on that.
Chairman McCain asked, what would it take; what would that
investment take to fix these schools now? I urge you guys to
form that commission to look into that because right now
everybody is pointing fingers and nobody is coming up with
those solutions for how we need to keep moving on that backlog.
Finally, it was mentioned about suicide before you came in
as well, and this epidemic. This is not an epidemic, what is
happening now. This is a continuation of something that has
been very sad and tragic in our country, only now there is more
media on it; there is more attention on it, because the
Committee on Indian Affairs has taken a serious interest in it.
Where my mentor, Dr. Gipp, is from, they had an epidemic
outbreak there back in 1997 and 1998. Assistant Secretary
Glover tried to address it at that time. Here we are, all these
years later, Mr. Cason is expressing concern on that as well.
But what have we actually done? What is the safety net that we
have created for these children?
I will tell you, there is a finality in hanging yourself or
shooting yourself, but there is also a slow death in alcoholism
and drug use and these other things. It is just the same. It is
suicide.
What we have to do is get back to this culture, our
languages, and this whole sense of resiliency, and bicultural
competence and bilingualism creates the healthiest minds. The
best that we have in Indian country comes from those people
that can fluctuate smoothly between these both worlds.
So I would just leave you with that final note. I thank you
for your time, your commitment. We appreciate it.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
Mr. Small, just very briefly because we are going to have
to conclude.
Mr. Small. The National Association of Federally Impacted
Schools and the National Association of Indian Impacted
Schools, also support the S. 2674 of language survival. It is a
proven fact that children do learn, just as you say, in two
languages. Window Rock, AZ, under Superintendent Deborah
Dennison, last year made AYP and they had a full immersion
school, and have done very well. She has since moved on to
another school.
We talk about facilities. Mr. Wilson has asked about taking
a look at the facilities in the BIA schools. We serve 93
percent of the Indian children in the public schools. Our
facilities are in need also. Along with that study, just as I
say in my testimony, we really need a GAO study on that issue,
and especially the issue of equalization of our impact aid
funds.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
Mr. Small. Thank you.
Senator Murkowski. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. I
appreciate your testimony this afternoon.
With that, we stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:20 a.m., the committee was adjourned, to
reconvene at the call of the Chair.]
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A P P E N D I X
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Additional Material Submitted for the Record
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Prepared Statement of Beth Kirsch, Series Producer, Between the Lions
Hello, my name is Beth Kirsch, and I'd like to thank you for the
opportunity to speak before this committee. I am the series producer
for Between the Lions, the award-winning PBS children's show created
specifically to help children learn to read.
In addition to the broadcast series, which reaches 4 million weekly
viewers nationwide, Between the Lions is committed to reaching those
children most at risk for reading failure. We began with a project in
Mississippi, which has the lowest literacy rates in the country, and
most recently have been working with American Indian tribes in New
Mexico and Montana. The results so far have been very encouraging, and
I will tell you more about the work we've done in a minute. First I'd
like to give you a little more background about Between the Lions.
The television series premiered in April 2000 and airs daily on PBS
stations around the country. To date, we have produced 90 episodes, all
focused on building children's love of reading and improving key
literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary,
comprehension, and fluency. The series is produced by WGBH--the public
television station in Boston, along with Sirius Thinking in New York,
and Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
Between the Lions was created with reading experts from around the
country, and every character and segment of the show draws on
scientific research about how children learn to read. Scientifically
based research has also demonstrated that children who view the series
gain more literacy skills and at a faster rate than children who don't
watch the show. Between the Lions was one of the first new PBS series
supported by Ready To Learn funding, and we are very grateful to
Congress for continuing to support the Ready To Learn program.
Through our initial work with two communities in Mississippi, we
learned three important lessons:
No. 1. It is essential to focus attention on preschool literacy,
because so many children enter kindergarten well behind their peers--in
vocabulary, letter knowledge, and even such basic skills as knowing how
to handle a book. When you start out so far behind, it is very, very
difficult to catch up.
No. 2. Preschool teachers often have little or no early childhood
education or training in how to teach literacy. In fact, many are not
even aware of the critical role they play in helping children become
good readers once they enter kindergarten.
No. 3. Preschool teachers need easy-to-use, sequenced materials
that help them plan and carry out literacy activities.
With all this in mind, we decided to create a project for American
Indian children in New Mexico, because we saw a tremendous need based
on national reading scores, and because we would have the opportunity
to develop our materials with the input of many different American
Indian tribes. We saw this as a pilot that, if successful, could then
be offered to other American Indian Head Start programs.
When we first presented the idea to tribal Head Start directors we
were greeted with much enthusiasm as well as a strong interest in
helping us shape the materials so that they would be culturally
appropriate to each of the tribes. In partnership with KNME, the public
television station in Albuquerque, we spent considerable time with
directors, teachers, and cultural specialists from the tribal Head
Start programs, getting their input on the content and approach for all
the materials we provided. In fact, at their suggestion, with KNME we
filmed several new segments featuring American Indian children, so they
would see kids like themselves in familiar landscapes reflected in the
materials they viewed. The tribes also gave us significant input on the
design of the research study and the measures that were used, again to
make sure they were culturally sensitive.
For example:
<bullet> \\\\\\A typical drawing of a house would be instantly
recognizable to anyone here, but that's not what a house looks
like in Cochiti Pueblo. So, a standardized test might show that
that child doesn't know the meaning of the word ``house.''
<bullet> \\\\\\Some tribes have prohibitions against children
pointing to pictures of certain animals, so a child won't point
to that picture even if it's the right answer. We avoided
pictures of any animals that fell into this category.
Eleven tribes agreed to participate in the project, which began in
fall 2004, with Federal funding that Senator Domenici helped secure.
For each of their Head Start classrooms we provided:
<bullet> \\\\\\A set of 3 DVDs, with 16 of our episodes edited so
that they were better suited for preschool children.
<bullet> \\\\\\A DVD player.
<bullet> \\\\\\A teacher's guide, with extensive lessons designed to
meet Head Start literacy outcomes and state preschool
standards.
<bullet> \\\\\\A companion set of 32 children's books, 2 per lesson,
carefully selected to feature many authentic American Indian
stories based in the Southwest.
<bullet> \\\\\\A bin of classroom materials, including alphabet
strips, poem charts, songs, magnetic letters, word cards,
flannel boards, et cetera.
We also provided considerable training for the Head Start teachers,
to familiarize them with the materials and how to carryout the lessons.
KNME and WGBH provided follow-up support and visited the classrooms
throughout the school year.
Dr. Deborah Linebarger, assistant professor at the University of
Pennsylvania, conducted a research study to determine whether this
intervention improved the children's early literacy skills. She will be
presenting her full findings at a meeting with the tribes in New Mexico
at the end of this month. The initial findings are very positive, with
the participating children making statistically significant gains in
several key areas of literacy, such as:
<bullet> \\\\\\Letter knowledge.
<bullet> \\\\\\Picture naming: Oral language/vocabulary.
<bullet> \\\\\\Phonemic awareness: blending sounds to make words.
Perhaps the most impressive finding is that the number of children
at risk for reading failure decreased from 39 percent to 12 percent,
and the number of children scoring above average increased from 23
percent to 64 percent, based on the Get Ready to Read screening tool.
The Head Start teachers have told us that they have seen a real
difference since they began using the Between the Lions materials. The
children use more complex and expressive language, they're enthusiastic
about what they're learning, and the teachers find it easier to plan
and organize their day.
We are seeking to expand the materials from 16 lessons to 32, to
cover a full school year. We are also interested in expanding the
project within New Mexico, and to other American Indian tribes
nationwide. Already we have begun working with the Cree Tribe at the
Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.
Since the beginning of the project, we have benefited from the
support of Native American leaders in the state. One of the people who
has helped make the project a success is Bernie Teba, who will talk
more about the impact of this Between the Lions American Indian Head
Start Literacy Initiative in New Mexico.
Thank you for your interest.
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Prepared Statement of William H. Wilson, chair, Hawaiian Studies
Division Ka Haka'Ula O Ke'elikolani College of Hawaiian Language
University of Hawai'i at Hilo
Aloha members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. My name is
Dr. William H. Wilson. I am a division chair within the Hawaiian
language college establish by the State of Hawaii to provide education
through the medium of the Hawaiian language. Our college includes a
B.A. program, a teacher certification program, a master's program, and
a Ph.D. program planned to begin this fall. These programs are all
taught through the Hawaiian language and are the first programs of
their kind in the United States. In addition, our college includes a
preschool through grade 12 laboratory school which provides education
in the model called Native American Language Nest/Survival School
Education. The college operates in consortium with the non-profit 'Aha
Punana Leo, Inc. which runs 11 Hawaiian language nests throughout the
State while providing additional support to the entire preschool to
graduate school Hawaiian medium school system.
My testimony is provided as supportive information relative to the
academic benefits of education through Native American Language Nests
and Native American Language Survival Schools. Our Hawaiian language
college and the affiliated 'Aha Punana Leo are among the most
experienced entities relative to Native American Language Nest/
Survival School Education in the country.
Native American Language Nests and Native American Language
Survival Schools have been very successful academically. Normally,
Native American students, including Native Hawaiian students, have a
higher drop out rate, than other students in surrounding communities.
Yet our laboratory school program, and Hawaiian language survival
schools statewide, have a very high rate of high school graduation--100
percent at our laboratory school. Similar results exist for the model
nationwide.
Native American language survival schools also have a high college
attendance rate. The rate of college attendance for students from our
laboratory school is 80 percent. Again similar rates are occurring for
other places using the model. The students who are going on to college
are succeeding and remaining in college to graduate. We not only have
students enrolling in local colleges and universities, but also
students in major national and international universities. Our
laboratory school has former students in such well known universities
as Stanford, Loyolla Marymount, and Oxford.
With less than 100 high school students, our laboratory school this
past year won a State robotics contest, had State champions in
athletics, and had 2 of the 10 students chosen statewide from
approximately 10,000 eligible Native Hawaiian students for a summer
science biomedical science program at Harvard.
While the academic record of Native American Survival Schools is
impressive, the reasons for establishing these schools and the Native
American Language Nests go beyond improving academic performance. As
others have testified, Native American languages, and thus the cultures
dependent on those languages, have been nearly exterminated by
compulsory schooling forbidding use of Native American languages. For
many Native American peoples, the extermination of traditional
languages is also an issue of religious freedom. Schooling that results
in eliminating a child's knowledge of a traditional language prevents
that child from participating in traditional religion conducted in the
language upon reaching adulthood. By teaching through the medium of
Native American languages, the Native American Language Nests/ Survival
School model assures the survival of Native American languages.
The right of indigenous peoples to schooling through the medium of
their own languages is recognized and assured by advanced democracies
such as Great Britain, New Zealand, and Finland and even Third World
countries such as India and China. The United States recognizes the
importance of this educational right of indigenous minorities as part
of its support for emerging democracies in other countries. Indeed, the
United States developed an Interim Iraqi Constitution that established
a constitutional right for education through their own languages for
the indigenous peoples of Iraqi such as the Turkomen, Kurds, and
Assyrians. These indigenous minority peoples had formerly been
forbidden education in their own languages by Saddam Hussein who
insisted on sole use of the majority national language--Arabic. These
indigenous language education provisions were voted into the subsequent
Iraqi Constitution by the Iraqi people themselves.
Native Americans, including Native Hawaiians, are fighting today in
Iraq in support of that Iraqi Constitution guaranteeing government
provision to indigenous Iraqi children of schooling through their own
indigenous languages. The sad fact, however, is that the Native
American soldiers fighting in Iraq do not have access to comparable
education through their own Native American languages for their own
children back in the United States.
While the United States has indicated its own support for the
democratic ideal of the choice of education through their own languages
for indigenous peoples through the Native American Languages Act of
1990, that policy statement has been largely ignored. The Native
American Languages Act has been thwarted by those who have been
disregarding the act, including Federal education officials, States,
school administrators, and colleges. In addition Federal funding
targeting schools taught through the medium of Native American
languages does not exist. The result is that Native American languages
continue to be diminished and exterminated while children who could
benefit academically from Native American language education continue
to flounder in the schools.
Changes need to be made in the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act as well as in the Higher Education Act to reflect U.S. policy
regarding Native American language medium education as expressed in the
Native American Languages Act to assure that U.S. Native American
language policy is carried out. Furthermore, dedicated funding for
Native American Language Nests and Native American Language Survival
Schools is desperately needed to maintain existing programs and expand
them to served more Native American languages and children.
You have in the Congress three bills that can provide needed
dedicated funding for Native American Language Nests and Native
American Language Survival Schools, namely S. 2674, H.R. 5222, and H.R.
4766. I strongly urge that Congress make use of these vehicles to
provide support to Native American Language Nests and Native American
Language Survival Schools this session.
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