Bridging the divide; raising the bar

Education leaders focus on Native American students at conference

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Story Published: Oct 1, 2009 at 11:36 PM PDT

Story Updated: Oct 1, 2009 at 11:36 PM PDT

By Matt Loveless

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LEWISTON - The 7th Annual Idaho Indian Education Summit comes to Lewiston this week.

Education leaders from Coeur D' Alene, Shoshone, Kootenai, and Nez Perce Tribes met at the Red Lion Thursday to focus on a student group that's falling behind.

The analysis is in black and white: Native American students fall close to 20 percentage points below their Caucasian counterparts in state testing for reading, math, and language.

"We're not where we need to be," said Idaho Indian Education Committee Chair Bryan Samuels. "That means all education systems throughout Idaho need to be looked at."

As Tribal Executive Committee Chair Sam Penney puts it, understanding culture and family history can help bridge the divide between the student groups. State Superintendent Tom Luna said while they're continually concerned with a lack of success, he's encouraged by the progress. But Luna said it's a hard time to expect more, citing the first education budget reduction from year-to-year in Idaho history.

"If our students need assistance today, we cannot tell them they need to wait for better economic times," said Luna. "If a student is a third grader today and will be a fourth grader next year, they have to make academic progress every year. If a student is struggling in math today, we can't tell them they have to wait a year to get help."

Luna said they need to get away from the "No child left behind," law and philosophy, repeating the phrase "Every Child Graduates." But Samuels said it's not just in K-12. Native American college drop-out rates are higher, and Samuels said it's because of a lack of preparedness. Luna said, in the face of opposition, they have to expect more.

"We have to continue to raise the bar," said Luna. "And there's some resistance to that. There are some who will argue, if you do that, you'll drive up the dropout rate. But the fact is that's the way we're are going to make sure our students are prepared for college. We have to raise our standards."

The Summit wraps up Friday at noon.

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