ORDER NO. 3334
THE SECRETARY OF THE
INTERIOR
WASHINGTON
Subject: Restructuring the Bureau
of
Indian Education
Sec. 1 Purpose. Under the Federal Trust responsibility, the United States
has
charged itself
with significant moral obligations to American Indian tribes.
We
cannot ignore a history
of
mistreatment and destructive Federal policies that have hurt tribal communities, including
repudiated policies regarding the education
of
Indian children.
The
boarding school era and
other historical failures have created a complicated and difficult legacy for Indian people and
their relationship with the Federal Government. The United States must do better. The future
of
Indian Country rests
on
ensuring American Indian children receive a high-quality education that
honors their cultures, their languages, and their identities
as
Indian people. To achieve this goal,
the Department
of
the Interior will: (1) strengthen and support the efforts
of
tribal nations to
directly operate Bureau
of
Indian Education (BIE) funded schools; (2) help tribes to identify,
recruit, retain, and empower diverse, highly effective teachers and principals to maximize the
highest achievement for every student in all
BlE
funded schools; (3) build a responsive
organization that provides resources, direction~ and services to tribes so they can help their
students attain high levels
of
student achievement; ( 4) foster parental, community, and
organizational partnerships to provide the emotional and social support BIE students need in
order to be ready to learn; and (5) develop a budget that is aligned with and supports BJE's
new
institutional focus
of
providing resources and services to tribes.
The purpose
of
this Order is to begin the process
of
implementing those reforms by redesigning
and restructuring the BIE into an innovative organization that will improve operations for both
tribally-controlled and BIB-operated schools.
The
redesign and restructuring
of
the BIE will
occur in two phases to ensure an orderly and minimally disruptive transition and will emphasize:
(1) improving responsiveness
of
BIE operational support to schools; and (2) improving
performance
of
individual schools.
Sec. 2 Background. In the area
of
Indian education, tribal self-determination has become the
dominant mechanism for providing education
to
Indian children.
In
education,
as
in other areas
of
Federal Indian services, Congress and the Administration have recognized that Indian
education is most successful when Indian tribes manage their schools. Today, far more BIE
schools are run by tribes than by the BIE. However, given the long historical challenges faced
by Indian students,
it
will take time and resources to achieve significant improvement.
The
Department has comprehensively reviewed the operations
of
BIE to achieve improvements in
Indian education,
as
described in Findings & Recommendations Prepared by the Indian
Education Study Group. The review revealed that significant organizational changes are
necessary to provide tribes the resources and support needed to directly operate high-performing
schools, to remove institutional obstacles that hamper student achievement, and
to
enable
principals to focus
on
instructional leadership.
The
review also highlighted the need to provide
targeted and highly customized technical assistance that meets the unique instructional needs
of
each BIB-funded school, including instmction
on
the tribe's language, history, and culture.
2
Sec. 3 Authority. This Order
is
issued in accordance with the authority provided
by
Section 2
of
Reorganization Plan No. 3
of
1950 (64 Stat. 1262) and 25 U.S.C. §
13
and§
2006.
Sec. 4 Organizational Changes - Phase I. Phase I will be a transitional phase expected to be
operational before the start
of
School Year 2014-15. Phase I will utilize existing resources and
Phase I will focus
on
improving BIB operational support to schools.
a.
Establishment
ofa
School Operations Division. The School Operations Division
shall be established and will report directly to the Director, BIB. The Division will focus
on
teacher and principal recruitment, acquisition and grants, school facilities, educational
technology, and communications.
b.
Restructuring the BIE. The BIE shall
be
restructured as follows:
i) Realignment
of
the Associate Deputy Directors (ADDs). The three
current BIB ADD positions will be realigned to the fol1owing responsibilities: ADD-Navajo,
ADD-Grant Schools, and ADD-BIB-Operated Schools.
ii) Establishment
of
Education Resource Centers and School Improvement
Solutions Teams. The Education Line Offices (ELOs) shall be restmctured and re-named
Education Resource Centers, each to
be
staffed
by
a School Improvement Solutions Team. The
teams will provide customized technical assistance to schools in such areas as: curriculum and
instruction, data systems, intervention strategies, local
job
embedded professional development,
and school leadership.
iii) Establishment
of
the Office
of
Sovereignty and Indian Education. There
shall
be
established
an
Office
of
Sovereignty and Indian Education, reporting to the Director,
BIB.
The
Office will focus on supporting tribal sovereignty
by
building the capacity
of
tribes to
operate high performing schools and allowing tribes to shape what their children learn about
their tribes, language, and culture. It will also supp01t grant status for schools, provide support
and guidance for effective use
of
incentive grants, and provide curriculum support for tribal
culture, language, and traditions.
Sec. 5 Organizational Changes - Phase II. Phase II completes the institutionalization
of
the
redesign and restructuring
of
BIB, which
is
anticipated to occur by the end
of
the 2015-2016
school year. Phase II will focus on providing the resources and customized technical assistance
to support tribes in establishing and operating high-performing schools
of
their own.
a Creation
of
School Support Solutions Teams.
At
the start
of
Phase II, School
Support Solutions Teams will be created
in
the office
of
each
of
the three ADDs (ADD-Navajo,
ADD-Grant Schools, ADD-BIB-Operated Schools). The Team members will be experienced
professionals who can provide exceptional customized technical assistance to the schools in the
areas
of
teacher and principal recruitment, professional development, and evaluation; acquisition;
school facilities, financial management, and technology. The teams will work with individual
schools and tribes to help maximize school pe1formance.
b.
Realignment
of
Support
of
BIE-Operated Schools.
At
the start
of
Phase II,
appropriate resources will be transferred from the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs (AS-IA)
and the Bureau
of
Indian Affairs to the Director, BIE, for assignment to School Support
Solutions Teams.
3
c.
Enhancing School Improvement Solutions Team Services.
At
the start
of
Phase II,
School Improvement Solutions Teams will become responsible for expanding their capacity to
support schools
by
developing local school improvement teams in each school to build and
sustain a high quality education, including "cradle to the classroom" assistance with such
services as parenting, early literacy, numeracy, vocabulary, local parent counseling, training, and
mentoring (parents as trainers and mentors).
Sec. 6 Implementation.
a.
The
AS-IA
will perform a Phase I functional analysis for the new functions and
develop a workforce plan to
be
submitted to the Secretary by August 31, 2014.
b.
The
AS-IA
will perform a Phase ll functional analysis and develop a workforce
plan, to be submitted to the Secretary before September 2014.
Sec. 7 Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. The
AS-IA
will ensure that progress is
monitored toward the goal
of
American Indian children receiving a high-quality education that
honors their culture, languages, and identities, as Indian people.
Sec. 8 Administrative Provisions. The AS- IA and the Assistant Secretary - Policy,
Management and Budget will take appropriate steps to implement the provisions
of
this Order.
Sec. 9 Effective Date. This Order is effective immediately and will remain in effect until its
provisions are incorporated into the Department Manual, or until it is amended. suspended,
or
revoked, whichever occurs first.
Date:
JUN
1 2
2014
1
Findings and Recommendations Prepared by the Bureau of Indian Education Study Group
Submitted to the Secretaries of the Departments of the Interior and Education
Date: June 11, 2014
“Education is how we lift people from poverty to a bright future … The only way
to lift people out of poverty is to give them an education that honors their culture,
their identity, and who they are as human beings.”
- Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior
“The President and I believe the future of Indian Country rests on ensuring that
your children receive a high-quality education. Improving academic outcomes for
Native American children has never been more important. Unfortunately, too
many Native American children are not receiving an education that prepares them
for college and career success, too few of them are going to college, and far too
many of them drop out of high school. We need to do better.”
- Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
“If we’re going to be in control of our destiny, then we have to be in control of
our own education.”
-Everett Chavez, Governor, Pueblo of Kewa
“What I believe should be the ultimate role of the BIE: to encourage tribes and
tribal communities to take over their schools and run those schools themselves.
BIE’s efforts should be to fulfill the goals of the TCSA.”
- Bryan Brewer, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) – housed in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) – is
the legacy of the Indian boarding schools established by the Department of War in the mid-19th
century. The Federal Government created the boarding schools as part of a larger assimilation
policy that sought to eradicate Native cultures and languages through Western education. Many
of the children who attended Government-run boarding schools were taken forcibly from their
homes and sent to schools hundreds or thousands of miles away in an attempt to separate them
from their families and cultures. Over time, the schools evolved, many becoming day schools
for the children in nearby tribal communities. Slowly, educators and the Government began to
recognize that assimilation was not the answer, and that tribes possess vast cultural resources
that might be completely lost if not fostered both in tribal communities and in schools. The
Government ended the devastating policy of assimilation, but sought to fulfill its treaty
obligations and trust responsibility to tribes by continuing to provide and fund education to
Native students.
Although the Federal assimilation policy ended several decades ago, BIE schools – still funded
and many still operated by the U.S. Government – have produced generations of American
Indians who are poorly educated and unable to compete for jobs, and who have been separated
for years from their tribal communities. All of this has contributed to the extreme poverty on
many reservations throughout the country. This Administration is determined to address this
2
stain on our Nation’s history by turning the BIE into an organization dedicated to supporting
each tribe’s capacity to educate future generations of students who are prepared for college
and career and know and value their heritage. Therefore, Secretary Sally Jewell of the U.S.
Department of the Interior and Secretary Arne Duncan of the U.S. Department of Education
(ED) have formed an American Indian Education Study Group, consisting of academics, school
practitioners, lawyers, and experts in American Indian affairs.
I. Executive Summary
After several discussions with tribal leaders regarding systemic issues within the BIE, in
September 2013, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
appointed the American Indian Education Study Group (Study Group). They directed the Study
Group to diagnose the causes of too common academic failure in BIE-funded schools, which are
some of the lowest-performing schools in the country. Charged with developing and
implementing recommendations to transform the BIE, the Study Group combines management,
legal, education, and tribal expertise to ensure that the Study Group’s recommendations are
grounded in a comprehensive, institutional understanding of how schools work, how effective
teaching and learning occur, and American Indian affairs.
1
Based on extensive listening sessions in fall 2013 with tribal leaders, educators, and community
members across Indian Country, and analysis of a wide range of primary and secondary data,
the Study Group proposed to tribal leaders a redesigned BIE. The redesigned BIE reflects its
evolution from a direct education provider to an expert service and support provider, which
promotes self-governance and self-determination through tribal operation of schools. The Study
Group conducted four tribal consultations on its proposal in spring 2014. The redesign seeks to
achieve one overarching goal: that all BIE students receive a world-class education delivered by
tribes and supported by the Department of the Interior.
The Study Group, based largely on written comments and feedback received during tribal
consultations, recommends that the BIE focus on fostering five areas of reform:
Highly Effective Teachers and Principals – Help tribes to identify, recruit, develop, retain, and
empower diverse, highly effective teachers and principals to maximize the highest achievement
for every student in all BIE-funded schools.
Agile Organizational Environment – Build a responsive organization that becomes an expert
in its field and provides resources, direction, and services to tribes so that they can help their
students attain high levels of achievement.
1
The Study Group is chaired by the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Kevin Washburn, and
members include Charles Roessel, the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education; William
Mendoza, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska
Native Education; Charles Rose, former General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education;
Marilee Fitzgerald, former Director of the Department of Defense Education Agency; Kenneth
Wong, Chair and Professor of the Department of Education at Brown University; and Don Yu,
Special Advisor to Secretary Duncan.
3
Promote Educational Self-Determination for Tribal Nations – Strengthen and support the
efforts of tribal Nations to directly operate BIE-funded schools.
Comprehensive Supports through Partnerships – Foster parental, community, and
organizational partnerships to provide the academic as well as the emotional and social
supports BIE students need in order to be ready to learn.
Budget that Supports Capacity-Building Mission – Develop a budget that is aligned with and
supports BIE’s new mission of tribal capacity-building and exchanging best practices.
Once reformed, the redesigned BIE will sharpen the education priority within the Office of the
Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by realigning existing staff positions and resources to
support tribes in building the capacity of their schools, particularly in the areas of talent
acquisition and management, strategic and financial management, and instructional
improvement. Its organization and budget will be aligned to its new structure, providing greater
flexibility and freeing resources to support much-needed educational reforms. Further, departing
from the “command and control” culture that is often driven from Washington, DC, the
redesigned BIE will facilitate sharing of effective practices among tribally-controlled and BIE-
operated schools and open up new opportunities in tribal communities to broaden and sustain
school improvement in Indian Country. Finally, the new BIE will promote tribal self-
governance and self-determination by encouraging tribes to operate BIE-funded schools, while
continuing to fulfill its trust responsibility and treaty obligations.
This report will discuss the nature of the systemic challenges facing the BIE, including insights
and input from numerous tribal listening sessions and consultations the Study Group conducted
across the country (see Appendix A). It will then detail the Study Group’s recommendations in
each of the key areas of reform, highlighting relevant input received in each area of reform. The
Study Group hopes the Secretaries will benefit from these recommendations as they proceed to
formulate policies for BIE and related American Indian education programs.
II. The Urgent Case for Reform
The BIE has never faced more urgent challenges. These challenges include difficulty in
attracting effective teachers to BIE schools located in remote locations, achieving compliance
with academic standards in 23 different States, promoting research-based reforms in tribally
controlled schools, resource constraints, and institutional and budgetary fragmentation. Both a
lack of consistent leadership and strategy – which is evidenced by the BIE having 33 Directors
since 1979 – and an inconsistent commitment from political leadership, have hampered the BIE’s
ability to improve its services. While operation of Federal Indian education has been transferred
to tribes in approximately two-thirds of BIE schools, the BIE has not been adequately
restructured to recognize its new primary role of supporting tribal programs (rather than being
the primary provider of Indian education). Each of these challenges has contributed to poor
outcomes for BIE students and has made it increasingly difficult for BIE leadership to deliver the
resources and support tribes need for their schools to be successful.
4
A. Concentrated Poverty Coupled With Geographic Isolation
Many American Indian students in tribal communities face unique educational challenges,
including severe poverty. For instance, according to the U.S. Census, four of the Nation’s five
poorest counties overlap at least partly with American Indian reservations. These communities
experience a high rate of unemployment and a higher concentration of residents who are
18 years old or younger. For example, the Pine Ridge community experiences an 80 percent
unemployment rate and the per-capita income is less than $8,000 a year. In an interview with
Education Week, the executive director of the Oceti Sakowin Education Consortium (a group
representing tribal schools on Pine Ridge and other South Dakota reservations) described the
schools’ challenge: “[W]e have a lot of young people on the reservation and not nearly enough
jobs. So that presents challenges to us as educators when we are trying to convince our young
people to stay in school, to do well in school, to graduate, to go on to college.”
2
This chronic
high unemployment contributes to substance abuse and domestic violence in tribal communities,
factors which present additional obstacles to quality education.
Geographic isolation also contributes to the lack of economic opportunity in tribal communities.
Many reservations are located at great distances from cities and do not benefit from the private
investment and market-based resources that other communities receive. The remote location of
many BIE-funded schools makes it difficult to recruit effective teachers and leaders and to
provide them with ongoing professional development. At the same time, remote locations also
hamper the delivery of needed complementary services.
B. BIE Students Perform Worse than American Indian Students Attending
Public Schools.
Students in BIE schools perform consistently below American Indian students in public schools
on National and state assessments. For example, based on estimates from a 2011 study using
data from the National Assessment on Educational Progress (NAEP), BIE fourth-graders scored
on average 22 points lower in reading and 14 points lower in math than Indian students attending
public schools.
3
The gap in scores is even wider when the average for BIE students is compared
to the National average for non-Indian students.
4
Furthermore, in reviewing the data on
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2012-13 (see Appendix C), the Study Group found that only
one out of four BIE-funded schools, including both tribally-controlled and BIE-operated schools,
met the state-defined proficiency standards. These performance indicators suggest that factors
about the BIE system compound the social and economic disadvantages in Indian Country.
2
Education Week, December 4, 2013, p. 18.
3
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education
Statistics, Nationsal Assessment of Educational Progress, 2011.
4
Ibid.
5
C. BIE Students Perform Worse than Students Attending Department of
Defense Schools and Other Schools with High Minority Populations.
Student outcomes in the two sets of schools funded by the Federal Government – the BIE
and Department of Defense Educational Activity (DODEA) – are dramatically different. For
instance, in 2009, DODEA fourth graders outscored their BIE counterparts by 33 points in math
and by 47 points in reading on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP).
DODEA eighth graders outscored BIE eighth graders by 39 points in math and 43 points in
reading. These scores place BIE students at approximately the 13-17th percentiles in the entire
U.S. (and DODEA students at the 49-57th percentiles). Furthermore, when compared to the
eighteen urban school districts with high minority populations that were selected for NAEP’s
Trial Urban District Assessment, the BIE underperformed all of these school districts except
for Detroit Public Schools.
5
D. Despite the Bureaucracy and Lack of Support, There are Indications of
Progress.
In a recent study by the Northwest Evaluation Association, student achievement “appears to have
improved, most notably in math and for students in lower grades. So, while student achievement
[in BIE schools] still trails that of other students across the United States as of 2012-13, [the
NWEA test] results appear to indicate that student achievement in most grade and subject areas
seems to be trending upward (or remaining stable) from prior years.” This is important because
it indicates that, when education leadership uses diagnostic tools to address students’ academic
weaknesses, improvements in student achievement occur.
This pattern is reflected in two particular examples concerning BIE-funded schools. Dibe Yazhi
Hablti’n O’lt’a, Inc., is a tribally controlled school that had a history of poor academic
achievement in mathematics and reading. When new leadership arrived and helped educators
there organize around the NWEA assessment system, profound improvements in student
achievement followed tremendous academic growth across the school year. Years of stagnation
were replaced with dynamic improvement.
Likewise, NWEA has been a staple of the education program at Nenahnezad, a BIE-operated
school. Because of the school’s leadership and reliance upon diagnostic data to guide
instruction, Nenahnezad consistently out-performs all other elementary schools in the region,
public and private included. In 2012-13, students attending Nenahnezad Community School
were among the highest performers participating in the NWEA’s subset of BIE schools and have
consistently improved or maintained performance since 2009-10 in both math and reading.
6
These examples of successful progress show us that improvement is possible and that BIE must
adapt to better support schools and tribes in their efforts at improvement.
5
U.S. Department of Education, Trial Urban District Assessment, the Nations’ Report Card.
6
Bureau of Indian Education Report on Student Achievement and Growth: 2009-10 to 2012-13,
Northwest Evaluation Association, February 2014.
6
III. Institutional and Budgetary Fragmentation and Legal Provisions Prevent the
Adoption of Research-Based Reforms.
As discussed further below, after reviewing several studies on the BIE and meeting with
numerous stakeholders, it is the Study Group’s conclusion that organizational and budgetary
fragmentation and several legal provisions prevent the BIE from adopting and implementing
significant reforms and limit the BIE’s ability to provide the support that its schools need in
order to be successful.
7
A. Recent Reports Identify Key Management Issues Impacting Delivery of
DOI’s Educational Services.
The Study Group reviewed and accepted the findings and recommendations of two recent
reports: (1) the March 2012 Bronner Final Report (the Bronner Report);
8
and (2) the Government
Accountability Office Report 13-774, “Better Management and Accountability Needed to
Improve Indian Education” (the GAO Report).
1. The Bronner Report states that Differences Between BIA and BIE
Missions Impairs BIA’s Ability to Effectively Deliver Support Functions
to BIE.
The Bronner Report found that the Indian Affairs’ Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Management (DAS-M) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) face enormous challenges across
a wide range of core support functions and casts doubt on whether the BIA can manage and
support the BIE effectively. Notably, the Bronner Report states that the “BIA and BIE are
dramatically different from both mission and operational perspectives. As a result, points of
view concerning support function effectiveness do not necessarily originate from a similar
organizational culture or mindset.”
9
This difference in mission goals and operational perspectives between the DAS-M’s office, BIA,
and BIE causes shortages and unmet needs at the school level. For instance, the Bronner Report
states that the BIA’s procurement office fails to distinguish between the needs of a school system
and that of a Federal Agency, which causes a failure to timely deliver services, supplies, and
textbooks during the time schools are in session.
10
This difference also manifests itself when DAS-M employees conduct the hiring of BIE
principals, teachers, and other educational specialists. The Bronner Report discusses the
7
The Study Group will be proposing several amendments that would address some of these
statutory provisions.
8
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Final Report: Examination,
Evaluation, and Recommendations for Support Functions, Bronner, 2012, p. 11, available at
http://www.bia.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/text/idc017342.pdf .
9
Ibid. p. 11
10
Ibid, p. 54.
7
perceived lack of understanding, on the part of DAS-M staffing specialists, regarding the
qualifications for reading specialists and special education teachers.
11
One report found that there is a large number of outstanding school maintenance projects,
including many that involve safety violations in schools.
12
It also found that, if DOI were to
replace or perform building rehabilitation on all of the 68 highest-risk school facilities, it could
cost an estimated $1.3 billion.
13
2. GAO Report Indicates that DOI has Difficulty Delivering Administrative
Services to BIE.
The GAO Report, dated September 13, 2013, documents similar management and operational
issues within the BIA, the DAS-M’s office, and BIE, noting that “[f]ragmented administrative
services and a lack of clear roles for BIE and Indian Affairs’ Office of the [DAS-M] …
contributed to delays in schools acquiring needed materials, such as textbooks.”
14
Among other recommendations, the GAO recommended that DOI revise its “strategic workforce
plan to ensure that employees providing administrative support to BIE have the requisite
knowledge and skills to help BIE achieve its mission and are placed in the appropriate offices to
ensure that regions with a large number of BIE schools have sufficient support.”
15
The GAO
also recommended that DOI develop a strategic plan that includes detailed goals and strategies
for BIE and for those offices that support BIE’s mission, including BIA, to help Indian Affairs
implement realignment.
16
After the GAO Report was released, the Appropriations Committees, in their Joint Explanatory
Statement on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, stated their expectations that DOI
implement certain management reforms:
The Committees are concerned that management challenges within
the Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of
Indian Education (collectively, “Indian Affairs”), as identified in a
September 2013 report by the Government Accountability Office
(GAO-13-774), may impact the overall success of the students in the
system. Although the Committees are encouraged that Indian Affairs
concurred with all of GAO’s recommendations and that a full-time
director of the Bureau of Indian Education is in place after a vacancy
of more than a year, the Committees expect the Secretary to oversee
implementation of these management reforms.
17
11
Ibid, p. 89.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid, p. 80.
14
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Better Management and Accountability to Improve
Indian Education. Government Printing Office, Month 2013, p. 1.
15
Ibid, p. 27.
16
Ibid, p. 27.
17
Explanatory Statement on H.R. 3547, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act , 2014", (P.L.
8
B. Study Group’s Listening Sessions Build on the Findings in the Bronner and
GAO Reports.
Using the recommendations in the Bronner and GAO Reports as a foundation, the Study Group
then conducted additional, first-hand listening sessions in South Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma,
Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, and Washington, DC (see Appendix A for participants in
the listening sessions). The Study Group met in person with over 300 stakeholders, including
BIA and BIE staff, principals and teachers at numerous BIE-funded schools, tribal leaders, and
national organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians and the National
Indian Education Association. The Study Group also set up an e-mail account
([email protected]) where it received over 150 comments that contained
recommendations regarding how the BIE could improve the delivery of educational services
(see Appendix B for illustrative e-mail comments). The Study Group then received additional
feedback during the consultations it conducted in April and May 2014.
In general, the recommendations the Study Group received from stakeholders mirrored some of
the recommendations cited in the Bronner and GAO reports. For instance, the Study Group met
with dozens of principals of BIE-funded schools who largely complained that the BIE’s
complicated bureaucracy made school operations so disorganized and inefficient that it
prevented them from focusing on their primary mission of instructional leadership. Many
expressed frustrations regarding the DAS-M’s office and the BIA, and the BIE’s inability to
affect operational decisions made by the BIA, especially regarding major repairs to school
buildings. Numerous principals complained about overly burdensome regulatory requirements
and that they routinely had to respond to duplicative data calls from different offices within the
BIE, including the Division of Performance and Accountability and the Associate Deputy
Director Offices. Numerous stakeholders also complained about the BIE’s “command and
control” culture, its poor customer service, and the need for BIE to focus itself on supporting
tribes in building the capacity of their schools.
Additional concerns from the listening sessions in Indian Country included:
● Many school facilities are in poor and failing condition and not conducive to a 21st
century teaching and learning environment;
● Many principals and teachers expressed concerns that funding appropriated by Congress
to the BIE is not reaching the school level and may be paying for unnecessary overhead
costs;
● BIE schools have difficulty recruiting and retaining effective teachers and leaders due to
the remote location of their schools, lack of teacher housing, and poor school conditions;
● BIE programs and policies are too restrictive and prevent schools from implementing
Native language and culture classes;
● Principals and teachers feel unprepared for implementation of the Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) and schools lack the information technology (IT) infrastructure to
administer cutting-edge assessments aligned with the CCSS;
113-76, Jan. 17, 2014); Jan. 15, 2014 Cong. Rec. at H975.
9
● BIE and BIA are sometimes unresponsive to BIE schools’ requests for assistance
regarding alternative definitions of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) accountability
workbooks, and facility repairs; and
● School boards and tribal councils lack training on their roles and responsibilities, often
micromanage day-to-day affairs at schools, and are not prepared to make effective and
efficient hiring decisions.
It is clear from the comments received that stakeholders continue to express frustration and
confusion about the BIE school system and the roles of schools, principals, BIE, BIA, DAS-M,
DOI , and ED. In addition, it is important to note that the Study Group encountered many DOI
and BIE employees who were extremely committed to their jobs and remarkably talented. In
many cases, employees were performing at impressive levels given the constraints placed on
them.
C. The BIE’s Fragmented and Prescriptive Budget Cannot be Used
Strategically to Support School Reforms.
The Study Group analyzed the BIE’s budget structure and found it to be highly fragmented and
prescriptive. Specifically, the BIE’s annual budget typically consists of 46 different budget sub-
activities, and the BIE receives this funding from Congress through multiple sources (ED, Health
and Human Services, BIA and DAS-M). Furthermore, approximately 99 percent of the BIE’s
funding is formula-based and designated directly to schools. BIE has no direct access to these
funds, leaving the BIE Director with less than 1 percent of the total budget for discretionary
purposes. This is in sharp contrast to a typical school district, where the school board and the
superintendent would maintain 12 to 15 percent of funding for discretionary purposes. The lack
of discretionary allocation authority substantially weakens the BIE’s ability to exercise strategic
leadership or achieve educational priorities. In other words, the BIE’s budget structure reduces
the BIE to a mere pass-through and constrains the BIE’s ability to leverage the funding it
provides to schools to drive reforms.
Moreover, due to a unique provision in the Tribally Controlled Schools Act, tribally controlled
schools are permitted to retain Federal carry-over funds and also place any current or carried
over grant funds in interest-bearing accounts prior to expenditure. In other words, the Tribally
Controlled Schools Act provides an incentive for tribally controlled schools not to spend funding
they receive from BIE and ED. Under the Act, schools already may spend any interest income
earned on any school costs, but must spend the principal in accordance with the purposes of the
respective programs. The BIE has contributed to this issue by not implementing policies that
encourage schools to fully utilize funds and discourage schools from planning for carryover.
According to our review of fiscal year (FY) 2012 A-133 audits of tribally controlled grant
schools, a substantial amount of carryover funds exists in some schools. For instance, although
the audit information is incomplete, approximately 80 BIE-funded tribally controlled schools
have retained approximately a total of $125 million in unspent funds that have accumulated over
time. ED and BIE should provide tribes with technical assistance and practical guidance with
respect to the activities and projects for which these can be expended under current laws.
10
D. The Self-Determination Context of BIE’s Unique School System Challenges
DOI to Deliver Services and Resources to Tribally Controlled Schools Using
Different Models.
In addition to organizational and budgetary fragmentation, important Federal Government
principles unique to the field of Indian affairs challenge the BIE to improve performance in its
schools with specialized attention.
1. Mandates are Inconsistent with the Purpose of the Tribally Controlled
Schools Act.
The DOI fully supports the principles of self-determination that are embedded in the Tribally
Controlled Schools Act (TCSA) and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act. The TCSA prohibits DOI from issuing regulations that address the planning, development,
implementation, and evaluation of the Tribally Controlled School Act grants.
18
In general, if a
tribally controlled school meets the statutory eligibility requirements (generally financial in
nature), the Secretary of the Interior must continue to provide the school with funding.
19
As a
result, DOI cannot, for example, require tribally controlled grant schools to adopt a performance-
based evaluation system that includes student achievement as a measure, or remove chronically
ineffective full-time employees (FTEs) from BIE-funded schools. This is not just an issue
important to the BIE; tribes similar challenges in holding their tribal schools accountable. As
discussed in further depth below, the Study Group recommends that the BIE provide incentives
to tribally controlled schools, since such an approach is more closely aligned with the purpose of
the Tribally Controlled Schools Act.
2. BIE is not eligible for certain Federal programs that provide
assistance to States and local school districts.
The BIE has been ineligible to participate in several funding opportunities available only to State
Educational Agencies (SEA) and Local Education Agencies (LEA). Lack of access to certain
programs that are designed to build SEA and LEA capacity further constrains DOI’s ability to
reform the BIE-funded schools. ED and DOI have already agreed to explore potential avenues to
increase the resources that are available to BIE for that purpose.
3. Appropriations Legislation Generally Prohibits BIE from Funding
New Charter Schools.
Public Law 112-14 generally prohibits BIE from funding any new charter schools (some were
already in existence prior to 1999): “Funds made available under this Act may not be used to
establish a charter school at a Bureau-funded school (as that term is defined in section 1141 of
the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. § 2021)), except that a charter school that is in
existence on the date of the enactment of this Act and that has operated at a Bureau-funded
18
25 U.S.C. § 2509.
19
25 U.S.C. § 2505.
11
school before September 1, 1999, may continue to operate during that period…”
Several tribes are already operating charter schools under applicable state charter school
legislation. The Study Group encourages the Department to consider changes in future budget
proposals that would indicate support for tribally controlled, operated and funded charter schools
in States that authorize charter schools. If legislation is amended to allow BIE to fund additional
charter schools, we would also propose the Department evaluate charter school funding requests
on a case-by-case basis to ensure alignment with state charter requirements and in a manner that
would prevent duplicative funding, dilution of per student funding and is consistent with
legislation that addresses grade expansion. Such an assessment conducted on a case-by-case
basis would also ensure that tribal education priorities are preserved.
IV. Recommendations for Transforming the BIE
Federal efforts in American Indian education have been fraught with the legacy of boarding
schools and the lack of consistent leadership and long-term strategy for the BIE. As in all other
areas of Government services, Federal American Indian programs generally work best through
tribal self-determination, when tribal institutions are enlisted to direct them. The goals for the
BIE that are presented in Section I of this report are aligned with President Obama’s agenda to
(1) ensure that our Nations’ students are ready for college and careers; and (2) promote tribal
self-determination. Accordingly, in order for the BIE to achieve these goals, it must shift
significant attention towards providing the services, resources, and technical assistance that
tribes need in order to operate high-achieving schools, while also ensuring quality education in
the remaining BIE-operated facilities.
A. A Federal and Tribal Vision: A World-Class Instruction for All BIE
Students Delivered by Tribes
Support tribes in their efforts to ensure that all BIE students are well-prepared for college,
careers, and tribal citizenship.
If redesigned, the BIE can help provide the services, resources, and technical assistance that
tribes need in order to directly operate high-achieving schools. In turn, this restructuring will
result in schools that can adequately prepare their students for college and the workforce. The
BIE should also provide tribes with high-quality professional development in the areas of parent
involvement, Common Core State Standards, high-quality assessments, integration of language
and culture, and effective use of data in decision-making. The Study Group envisions a
redesigned BIE becoming a resource center and provider of technical assistance to all tribally
controlled schools.
A redesigned BIE must also make instructional improvement a top priority. High-performing
school systems have focused on multiple instructional improvement strategies, including:
improving the curriculum through the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and aligned
high-quality assessments; implementing job-embedded professional development (e.g., using
technology to deliver support) with coaches (essential for the remote and geographical dispersion
of its schools); and supporting/enhancing the skills of principals and other school leaders to
effectively evaluate teacher performance. These reforms recognize that delivering excellent
12
instruction requires teachers and principals to develop a repertoire of technical and strategic
instructional and leadership skills. Further, turnaround research has found that the best
performing school systems intervene at the level of the individual student, developing processes
and structures within schools that are able to identify whenever a student is starting to fall
behind, and then intervening to improve that child’s performance. There are strategies that
schools can use to compensate for the disadvantages resulting from some students’ home or
community environment.
20
As discussed above, to achieve world-class instruction for all BIE students, the Study Group
proposes that DOI focus on the following five core areas of reform: (1) highly effective teachers
and principals; (2) agile organizational structure; (3) promotion of self-governance; (4)
comprehensive supports through partnerships; and (5) budget aligned with previously stated
priorities. The five core areas of reform are discussed further below:
20
How the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better, McKinsey & Company,
November 2010.
13
B. Reform Area One: Highly Effective Teachers and Principals
Help tribes to identify, recruit, develop, retain, and empower diverse, highly effective teachers
and principals to maximize the highest achievement for every student in all BIE-funded
schools.
Student outcomes can improve only with changes in classroom teaching and learning. While
research has suggested many ways to improve a school system’s outcomes for students, three
factors matter most: (1) hiring effective teachers and principals; (2) developing teachers and
principals continuously; and (3) providing targeted support to ensure every child can benefit
from high-quality instruction. Research demonstrates that the main driver of the variation in
student learning at school is the quality of teachers and principals. Seminal research based on
data from Tennessee showed that if two average 8-year old students were given different
teachers—one of them a high performer, the other a low performer—their performance deviated
by more than 50 percentile points within 3 years.
21
Effective principals are also critical to
student achievement. Replacing an “average” principal with an outstanding principal in an
“average” school can increase student achievement by over 20 percentile points.
22
There is no one-size-fits-all model of reforms for low-performing school systems. The reform
literature suggests that the starting point for a school’s improvement is a deliberate examination
to determine its deficiencies and its capacity to reverse its own course. From this process, each
school develops a school improvement plan that applies best practices and interventions that
meet the unique needs of each school. Accordingly, the Study Group’s recommendations focus
on how a redesigned BIE can help tribes recruit, hire, and develop effective teachers and leaders
(new and tenured), and promote teacher and school accountability. Such support from the BIE
will include innovative recruitment and outreach, professional development, collaborative
practice, coaching, career tracks, rigorous certification and selection requirements, and sustained
support from the BIE to tribes.
Because talent recruitment is a serious challenge in many rural BIE and tribally controlled
schools, the Study Group recommends that the BIE focus on developing the skills of current
instructional staff by providing them with robust, sustained professional development, including
incentives for teachers to enroll in the National Board Certification program. The BIE should
also implement a portfolio of talent recruitment, retention, and career development strategies.
Such a plan may include several components, including a gap analysis between academic needs
and the supply of qualified teachers by subject areas, creating housing and other incentives for
potential teachers, and supporting a school climate that is conducive to teaching and learning.
During recent consultations, several BIE stakeholders emphasized that the lack of adequate
housing for teachers on reservations was the most significant challenge they faced when trying to
recruit teachers to their schools. These stakeholders requested that the BIE and ED provide them
21
Sanders and Rivers, Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Academic
Achievement, 1996.
22
Marzano, Waters, McNulty, School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results, 2005.
14
with greater flexibility to spend Federal education funding on capital investments such as teacher
housing.
An essential element of developing instructional and leadership talent capability is a
performance-based teacher and principal evaluation and support system that has multiple
measures, including student growth, to inform professional development. The BIE is currently
piloting such an evaluation system in BIE-operated schools in two of its regions and intends to
scale up implementation of this system to BIE-operated schools in the East region during the
next school year. Based on the implementation experience during the pilot phase, the Study
Group supports sharing the successes of the performance-based evaluation system with tribally
controlled grant schools for their consideration in the near future. At the same time, the Study
Group recognizes that the BIE may need to provide incentives to tribally controlled schools to
highlight the opportunities of adopting such a system.
The Study Group also recommends a system of performance-based evaluation for non-certified
staff, including business managers/personnel, home living specialists, food services
supervisors/leads, school transportation leads, and facility managers. This system would enable
schools that have experienced enrollment declines in the classroom to identify its most effective
staff in the face of required cuts.
The Study Group analyzed the staff-to-student ratio across all BIE-funded schools (see
Attachment D). For BIE-operated day schools, the ratio of certified teaching staff to students
was 1 to 10. However, the ratio was lower in tribally controlled day schools, which had an
average of 1 certified teaching staff to 8.7 students. Similar patterns were found regarding the
ratio between non-certified employees and students. In BIE-operated day schools, that ratio was
1 to 5.2, as compared with a ratio of 1 to 4 in tribally controlled day schools. In other words,
when faced with a declining enrollment, tribal school boards would be able to make hiring
adjustments, informed by staff performance, especially in the non-certified positions.
During recent tribal consultations, several BIE stakeholders stated that some BIE schools have
high numbers of non-certificated staff due to lack of access to services that are available to other
school systems. School staffing decisions must take into account the unique circumstances of
each school. For instance, because many of these schools are located in remote regions, they
must hire water technicians, firefighters, boiler operators, plumbers, electricians and carpenters.
In addition, BIE operates 65 facilities with residential programs that require full time staffing 24
hours a day, 5 to 7 days a week. Critically, however, BIE lacks the ability to ensure that tribally
controlled schools adopt certain human capital reforms, including performance-based evaluations
tied to student achievement. Accordingly, as discussed in greater detail in Section D below, the
Study Group recommends that Congress provide BIE with incentives to promote such school
improvement efforts in tribally controlled schools.
Human Capital Recommendations:
● Improve BIE’s existing internal capacity to provide technical assistance to tribes around
professional development, modeling, coaching, and the monitoring and evaluating
process;
15
● Upgrade the skills of existing teachers and principals (e.g., instructional coaches at the
school level, professional development focused on differentiated instruction, project-
based learning, and cooperative learning) by providing incentives for instructional staff to
voluntarily enroll in the National Board Certification program and professional
development process;
● Improve BIE’s ability to help tribes develop and resource talent management and
acquisition programs within tribal educational agencies;
● Create new, high-quality teacher pipelines from colleges, including tribal colleges and
universities (TCUs), to BIE schools by providing TCUs with support to improve and
expand effective teacher education programs;
● Provide incentives to recruit effective teachers and principals (e.g., allow schools to
spend funding on teacher housing, providing housing stipends, loan forgiveness, and
educational benefits);
● Provide incentives to tribes to adopt certain staffing formulas and performance-based
evaluations that are tied to student achievement; and
● Ensure appropriate reward and remuneration structure for teachers and principals.
C. Reform Area Two: Agile Organizational Environment
Build a responsive organization that provides resources, direction, and services to tribes so
that they can help their students attain high levels of achievement.
The second area of reform focuses on addressing the numerous complaints that principals at BIE-
funded schools have regarding the bureaucracy at BIE, BIA, and the DAS-M’s office.
According to this feedback, this bureaucracy requires principals to focus an inordinate amount of
time on school operations, rather than focusing on their primary mission of instructional
leadership. This governance structure—where decision-making power over school operations is
divided among the BIE, BIA, and the DAS-M’s office—also hinders attempts to reform the BIE
in a systematic and comprehensive manner. These multiple centers of power and competing
priorities affect BIE’s policy agenda and make it difficult to implement reforms or sustain any
meaningful progress.
Research shows that management redesign that co-locates decision-making authority and reduces
bureaucracy can enable low-performing school systems to leverage resources and talents to raise
student academic performance. In an extensive analysis of a U.S. Department of Education
longitudinal school achievement database (1999-2003) of over 100 school districts, a research
team found that an integrated management system enabled school districts to improve their
academic performance.
23
School districts that shifted from a fragmentary system to a
coordinated, integrated system saw a closing of the achievement gap with the statewide averages
in core subject proficiency.
24
23
Wong, et al., The Education Mayor, 2007.
24
In statistical terms, districts with integrated management, relative to other districts in the state,
improved their net proficiency standing on the average by approximately 0.15 to 0.19 standard
deviations in elementary reading and math. A more recent analysis on 10 years of student
achievement data (1999-2010) for all the schools across three states (New York, Massachusetts,
16
In the remaining schools run by the BIE, and in tribally controlled schools supported by the BIE,
an integrated management structure for the BIE could improve student outcomes in similar ways.
While acknowledging that BIE-funded schools are unique, it helps to address the problem of
institutional fragmentation within this set of schools.
An integrated management structure would also help the BIE better provide services to tribally
controlled schools. In order for the BIE Director to perform his/her responsibility to raise Native
student performance, the Director—and not the BIA or DAS-M’s office—must be enabled to
make decisions regarding functions that affect school quality and performance. Schools must
receive primary attention in meeting their needs in talent management and acquisition (namely,
hiring qualified teachers and principals in a timely manner), strategic and financial management,
IT infrastructure, facilities, data management, and instructional resources, including support for
implementation of the Common Core. Such an integrated management system would create the
necessary conditions to enable schools to improve their academic performance, as evidenced in
other districts that implemented the change in their management and governance systems.
Redefining the role of BIE’s central office as a school improvement organization with an
improved focus on building the capacity of tribes and tribal education agencies would allow the
redesigned BIE to accomplish the following:
● Fulfill the directive in the Tribally Controlled Schools Act that BIE be responsive to the
needs of tribal communities;
● Improve services that are delivered to tribally controlled schools, including services
involving new school construction, major repairs, and other operations and maintenance
issues for facilities;
● Ensure that decisions affecting school operations, including the design of buildings and
IT needs, at BIE-funded schools are aligned to educational goals and priorities; and
● Provide incentives to replicate successful tribally controlled school structures.
The DOI can achieve this goal by transforming the BIE into a lean and efficient school
improvement organization, which is primarily focused on providing services and resources to
BIE-funded tribally controlled schools that improve school operations and instruction, rather
than expending its resources on the direct operations of schools. The Study Group proposes that
the redesign recommended here occur in two phases for two reasons: first, to provide principals
at BIE-funded schools with immediate relief; and, second, to ensure that BIE’s long-term
trajectory is aligned with increased tribal control over schools and improved delivery of services.
In short, BIE must become an expert educational agency before it can effectively support tribally
controlled schools.
and Illinois) provides additional supportive evidence on the positive relationship between
integrated management system and student achievement. In New York State, there is a
significant, positive relationship between a school in an integrated system and achievement
growth in 8th grade math and reading, and in 4th grade math. In Chicago, there is a significant
positive relationship between integrated management and achievement growth in 8th grade math
and reading. In Boston, integrated management has a significant, positive effect on 4th grade
math proficiency.
17
The first phase of this transformation plan will address long-standing concerns that the Study
Group heard from principals and other school officials regarding poorly managed school
operations. Major stakeholders such as the National Indian Education Association have
recommended that, in order to address poor school operations, that BIE have control over
decisions affecting school operations in its schools. In order to immediately address these
concerns, we recommend that BIE operationalize this transitional phase before the start of the
2014-15 school year. To the greatest extent possible, to avoid the need for additional hiring, the
Study Group recommends that the initial phase would be staffed with existing full-time
employees (FTEs) and resources from the DAS-M’s office, BIA, and BIE, and will focus on
improving the operational support that BIE should be providing to its schools. This school
operations division will report directly to the BIE Director, thereby improving efficiency and
accountability.
Accordingly, the Study Group recommends that the BIE create Education Resource Centers,
geographically positioned close to schools and staffed with mobile School Solutions Teams that
can be deployed to schools to provide customized support that meets the unique needs of each
school. Instead of issuing mandates to schools, these teams will ensure that principals and
teachers have the resources and support they need in order to operate high-achieving schools.
These teams can be effective in assisting schools in their improvement efforts by making
available data-supported best practice models in such areas as school management and climate,
professional development, curriculum, and instruction. The teams will not be micromanaging or
directing reforms in schools, but would be directed to listen to principals and teachers and then
provide the support that is requested.
The second phase of the BIE redesign will ensure that BIE’s resources and staff are focused on
BIE’s longer-term mission of transferring control over schools to tribes. Accordingly, it will also
ensure that tribes have the necessary resources and customized support they need in order to
succeed. At the start of the second phase, School Support Solutions Teams located in regional
offices will be deployed to schools to provide customized technical assistance. Each tribe and
school is different, but these needs could include additional support in the areas of teacher and
principal recruitment, professional development, and evaluation; acquisition; school facilities;
financial management; and technology.
Agile Organizational Structure Recommendations:
● Support BIE-funded schools to develop and resource or improve their own talent
management, logistics, and information technology divisions;
● Offer tribes financial management and budget execution guidance and training;
● Provide customized technical assistance to enable tribal educational agencies to perform
LEA-like functions to manage their schools;
● Facilitate tribal consortia for purchase of universal products and services to reduce costs
(e.g., textbooks, technology, and special education related services);
● Assist tribes by training human resource staff at tribal schools and recruiting highly
effective teachers and principals through the use of effective marketing and through the
use of National connections and the development of a database;
18
● Develop a toolbox of interventions to meet and/or customize to the needs of schools in
varying states of performance;
● Share best practices and research in teaching, learning, and leading schools (e.g.,
effective interventions to improve student achievement and reduce the achievement gap);
and
● Provide, if necessary, training to school boards.
D. Reform Area Three: Promote Educational Self-Determination for Tribal
Nations
Strengthen and support the efforts of tribal Nations to directly operate BIE-funded schools.
In order to align the BIE’s redesign with President Obama’s core policy of self-determination for
tribes, we recommend that the BIE support tribal Nations in assuming control over BIE-funded
schools. Increasing tribal control over BIE schools would recognize the sovereign status of
tribes and provide them with greater discretion to determine what should be taught to their
children. This includes the decision-making authority to determine whether students should be
taught their Native languages, cultures, and histories in BIE-funded schools.
Supporting the efforts of tribal Nations to govern their own schools will also lead to improved
student achievement. As demonstrated in other areas in which tribal Governments have assumed
control of Government services, tribal Nations often improve the delivery of services because
tribes: (1) understand the needs of their communities better than the Federal Government does;
and (2) are more likely to be held accountable for results by local communities.
Further, supporting the efforts of tribal Nations to govern their own schools would help
accountability and reduce institutional fragmentation throughout the BIE-funded school system.
Under the current statutory and administrative framework, the BIE acts as a quasi-SEA for some
funding purposes, while its grant and contract schools operate as LEAs. These tribally controlled
schools receive funding directly from the BIE, are directly operated by local school boards, and
are highly independent agents.
25
As a result, the current structure does not provide tribal
Governments an opportunity to manage the schools located on their lands as an LEA does. This
contributes to the overall institutional fragmentation of the BIE-funded school system, making it
more challenging to implement reforms in a comprehensive and system-wide manner across a set
of schools located on a single reservation.
The Department of the Interior fully supports tribes’ sovereign right to determine the structure of
their own tribal government and school systems; however, that support can be strengthened by
facilitating the sharing of information on and exploration of particularly efficient and successful
school structures.
25
There are exceptions to this general practice. For instance, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw
operates their eight tribally controlled grant schools as a single LEA. Here, the Tribal Nation is
the direct recipient of BIE funds. The Study Group considers this integrated governance structure
a best practice.
19
Self-Determination Recommendations:
● The Study Group recommends providing incentives to tribal Governments to assume
control over remaining federally operated schools, including providing full funding for
contract and grant support costs and addressing facility needs for schools;
● Encourage and provide opportunities for tribal Nations to operate and manage their
schools and receive funding directly from the BIE;
● Clarify the maximum amount of discretion that tribally controlled schools have to teach
Native languages, cultures, and histories to their students;
● Provide technical assistance on how curriculum regarding Native languages, histories,
and cultures can be aligned to Common Core State Standards; and
● When requested, provide customized technical assistance through School Solutions
Teams to support tribes when tribes request assistance regarding resources or support for
improving school operational practices at BIE-funded schools.
E. Reform Area Four: Comprehensive Supports through Partnerships
Foster family, school, community, and organizational partnerships to provide the academic as
well as the emotional and social supports BIE students need in order to be ready to learn.
BIE students, and American Indian students generally, face a multitude of challenges, including
emotional trauma and depression due to numerous environmental factors such as high
unemployment, rampant crime, substance abuse, and poor health outcomes. In order to address
the unique needs of this student population, the Study Group recommends that DOI and its
partners live up to BIE’s mission and take a holistic approach to provide comprehensive support
to BIE students so they can come to class ready to learn.
Facilitating public and private partnerships between tribes and local, regional, and National
organizations will ensure that all schools have the opportunity to benefit from resources made
available. Leveraging local and National expertise, for example, will enable schools to more
effectively address student needs, such as social and emotional counseling, bullying prevention,
parent engagement, and early childhood education. The DOI can take a critical first step in
creating public-private partnerships by reinstating the National Fund for Excellence in American
Indian Education (the Fund), a congressionally chartered non-profit foundation with the mission
of supporting BIE-funded schools. With a strong Executive Director and an active Board, the
Fund – which was organized and incorporated in 2004, but has been inactive since early 2007 –
could support the BIE in addressing needs in a more expedient and strategic manner. It would do
so by soliciting and managing private donations to support BIE’s important work. Further, with
constrained budgets at both the Federal and tribal levels, partnerships have become increasingly
important in equipping the BIE to continue fulfilling its trust responsibility for American Indian
education. At the local level, BIE-funded schools should also be encouraged to collaborate with
local public schools on issues such as school calendars, professional development, and
curriculum implementation to increase consistency as students transition between school
systems.
20
In addition, the Study Group recommends that the BIE’s approach cut across all Federal agencies
and their community-based programs that serve tribal communities. Because each agency has
traditionally implemented these programs in separate silos, tribes experience redundancy,
disconnection, and a waste of Federal resources. On the other hand, if Federal agencies work
hand in hand (with each other and with tribes), and break out of those silos that stifle reform,
they can fundamentally transform BIE schools and the distressed tribal communities in which
they are located.
Comprehensive Supports through Partnerships Recommendations:
● DOI can take a critical first step in creating public-private partnerships by reinstating the
National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education, a congressionally chartered
non-profit foundation with the mission of supporting BIE-funded schools;
● Coordinate with other Federal agencies so that community-based tribal grants help
provide wraparound services to students attending BIE-funded schools;
● Work with Indian Health Service (IHS) to increase and institutionalize the practice of
providing of school-based services to ensure that students are ready to learn and can
focus (e.g., provision of immunizations in time for start of school and counseling
services);
● Provide incentives to tribes to co-locate other tribal support services near BIE schools;
and
● Work with the tribal grant schools to improve applications and obtain all available E-rate
funding.
F. Reform Area Five: A Budget Aligned to Support New Priorities
Develop a budget that is aligned with and supports BIE’s new institutional focus of providing
resources and services to tribes.
In order to properly serve tribally controlled schools, the BIE’s budget must be aligned with its
new priorities as identified in the circles of reform discussed above. There are some budget
supports that cut across all four circles – e.g., investments in IT infrastructure and 21st century
teaching and learning environments – and others that are specific to particular circles of reform.
These budget supports are described in more detail below.
1. Reform Areas 1 – 4: Invest in Infrastructure to Improve Teaching
and Learning
Based on tribal consultation and other available information, the Study Group believes BIE
currently lacks the necessary infrastructure that would undergird any serious effort to reform this
set of schools. During recent tribal consultations, the Study Group repeatedly heard that issues
related to the poor condition of school facilities demanded so much time and attention from
principals that they were diverted from their primary mission of instructional leadership.
Furthermore, in an official Federal report published in 2011, a negotiated rulemaking committee
found that “63 [BIE funded] schools remaining in poor condition as of September 2011 require
21
an estimated $1.3 billion to elevate them to an acceptable condition.”
26
The same report
estimated that approximately $967M is needed to address BIE’s repair and maintenance
backlog.
27
The Study Group finds that DOI’s Federal appropriations for BIE school facilities
have not kept pace with the deterioration of school facilities and the essential educational
requirements for 21st century teaching and learning, e.g., integration of technology and multi-
media in instruction. Of the 183 BIE schools, 34 percent (63 schools) are in poor condition, and
27 percent are over 40 years old. These substandard conditions are not conducive to educational
achievement, and they unfairly restrict learning opportunities for students.
Although buildings alone do not make a 21st century teaching and learning environment,
research has found that the quality of where we learn affects the quality of how we learn.
Multiple studies have found significant links between inadequate facility conditions and poor
performance for students and teachers.
28
In addition, the quality of physical environments –
including those impacting temperature, lightning, acoustics, and age – affect dropout rates, test
scores, student behavior, and teacher retention, which are all issues at BIE-funded schools. For
example, researchers at Georgetown University have found that improving a school’s physical
environment can increase test scores by up to 11 percent. Other studies have found a difference
of between 5-17 percentile points in the achievement of students in poor buildings and those
students in educationally appropriate school buildings (when socioeconomic status of students is
controlled).
29
Thus, the condition and upkeep of BIE-funded schools must be addressed in the
ongoing discourse about student achievement, teacher effectiveness, and accountability.
In recent hearings regarding DOI’s 2015 budget, there appears to be evidence of bipartisan
interest from both the House and Senate Appropriations and Authorizing Committees to address
BIE school facilities issues. The Study Group recommends that DOI seek an increase in funding
to support new school construction, the Study Group will assist BIE in developing a 6-year
facilities plan to bring all schools in poor condition to an acceptable condition level. This plan
would be based on a similar 6-year strategy used by DODEA to successfully replace and upgrade
70 percent of its schools in poor condition – a $3.7 billion investment. This plan could be used
in future budget formulation.
The Study Group also recommends that DOI invest in broadband, as well as seek additional
funding from other agencies, for all BIE-funded schools since such an investment cuts across the
other four circles of reform. Many of the BIE’s schools are located in the most remote locations
in the country, and most schools have only a T1 level of connectivity – woefully inadequate to
meet the demands of 21st century teaching and learning. To ensure that BIE students have equal
access to the College and Career Ready and aligned computer-based online assessments (either
26
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Report “Broken Promises, Broken Schools,” at p. 9,
available at http://www.bia.gov/cs/groups/xraca/documents/document/idc1-025523.pdf.
27
Id. at p. 9.
28
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Report “Broken Promises, Broken Schools,” at p. 9
(“These studies have found that the quality of physical environments—including temperature,
lighting, acoustics, and age of facilities —affects dropout rates, teacher retention, test scores, and
student behavior”) and appendix c (citing studies).
29
Ibid.
22
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) or the Partnership for Assessment
of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)), the Study Group proposes a critical one-time
start up investment on a sound IT infrastructure.
By helping connect teachers to students and parents, and helping schools share classes, curricula,
and other resources, broadband-enabled teaching and learning has begun to fundamentally
reshape education at all levels and has improved access to expanded educational opportunities
for all students. Broadband access is particularly important for schools located in remote
locations because it can mitigate the devastating impact that geographic isolation can have on
student achievement, particularly lack of access to deep applicant pools of effective teachers and
principals. Still, research shows that rural schools and communities have insufficient broadband
coverage when compared with their non-rural counterparts and are in danger of falling further
behind, particularly as the rest of the country races forward with implementation of the College
and Career Ready Standards and aligned assessments.
The information technology infrastructure in virtually all BIE schools requires significant
upgrades. In an initial assessment of BIE IT capabilities, it is estimated that 25 percent of BIE
schools still use the Windows XP operating system. Smarter Balanced and PARCC require, at a
minimum, Windows 7. Many new computers must be purchased that are capable of running
Windows 7. Additionally, 60 percent of BIE-funded schools do not have the bandwidth or
computers to administer a test 3-5 times annually (as proposed by Smarter Balanced). An
investment must be made in network bandwidth to bring BIE-funded schools up to the necessary
bandwidth levels. Additionally, the technology infrastructures within the schools need
improvements across the board. New wiring, switches, routers, wireless access devices, and
more need to be purchased so schools have well-functioning networks. Lastly, teachers need
professional development so they can effectively use the new tools and technology.
The Study Group suggests a one-time, start-up investment of funding that would be used to make
the following basic upgrades to the BIE’s IT infrastructure: (1) procure the type of computers
and software necessary to administer online assessments; (2) increase bandwidth in schools to
ensure digital delivery of these assessments; and (3) provide the resources and training that staff
need to administer these online assessments effectively and efficiently. Management
performance metrics will include the number of BIE-funded schools that have computers,
software bandwidth, and staff to effectively administer 21st century academic assessments.
2. Reform Area One: Aligning Budget to Support Self-Determination
In order to support the BIE’s efforts to promote tribal control over schools, the Study Group
proposes that DOI request and increase in tribal grant and contract support costs for tribally
controlled grant schools in its 2016 budget request. The Indian Affairs 2015 budget request for
grant support costs for schools is $48.2M, the same as the 2014 operating plan level. According
to the DOI 2014 Budget Justification, $48.2M “will fund approximately 67 percent of the need”
of tribally run BIE funded schools.
30
During tribal listening sessions and consultations,
30
Dept. of the Interior, Indian Affairs, Budget Justifications, Fiscal Year 2014, at p. IA-BIE-2 &
IA-BIE-3, available at http://bia.gov/cs/groups/xocfo/documents/text/idc1-021730.pdf.
23
numerous tribal leaders and other BIE school officials at tribally controlled schools explained
how the shortfall impacts their schools and stated they were using instructional funds to pay for
administrative and operational costs as schools.
The Study Group believes that this shortfall is a major obstacle to tribal operation of BIE funded
schools and a major deterrent for tribes considering assuming operations over BIE run schools.
Grant and contract support cost funds are expended on administrative overhead costs for schools
including business operations, payroll, personnel, annual audits, information technology, and
reporting. During tribal consultation and listening sessions, principals and tribes reported that
the shortfall forces schools to use funding from their base instructional budget to pay for
administrative costs which, in turn, reduces the amount of funds available for classroom
instruction.
The Study Group believes that the best ideas with respect to Indian education do not originate in
Washington, DC. At the same time, the Study Group also believes that the BIE is an a position
to (1) see which programs are working well for BIE-funded schools across the country, (2) make
connections between successful tribes and those that are struggling; and (3) share best practices.
Mindful of the principles of tribal self-determination, the Study Group knows that it would be
inappropriate and wholly inconsistent with tribal sovereignty for BIE to mandate tribally
controlled schools adopt any “best practice,” as determined by BIE. At the same time, given that
BIE’s unique position in relation to tribally run schools, BIE may identify programs being
implemented by other tribes with successful outcomes. The Study Group therefore recommends
the BIE offer funding incentives for tribes that choose to voluntarily adopt and implement BIE
identified best practices that are currently being implemented by other BIE-funded schools or
another schools system.
The Study Group believes that it is critical for DOI to have funding to offer these incentives to
tribally run schools. With that funding, the Study Group recommends DOI consider adapting the
successful, competitive grants approach currently being used by the U.S. Department of
Education as models. Such a competitive grant would target resources to help tribes align tribal
educational priorities to President Obama’s education reform agenda to improve student
outcomes and ensure all BIE students are college and career ready. Performance metrics for the
incentive grant could include student and teacher attendance rates, graduation rates, college
enrollment rates, measures on educator accountability, and performance on standardized
assessments.
2. Reform Area 2: Aligning Budget to Support Effective Teachers and
Principals
The investments in infrastructure and broadband described above would help recruit and retain
effective teachers and principals to BIE-funded schools (e.g., the provision of teacher housing
and professional development delivered online). The Study Group believes that it is also critical
to grant the BIE necessary funding to provide additional incentives to recruit effective teachers
and principals. For instance, the Group recommends providing the BIE with the funding
capacity to provide housing stipends, loan forgiveness, and educational benefits would make
BIE-funded schools a more attractive place to work. In addition, the Group suggests that DOI
24
also invest in posting available positions at BIE-operated schools on the USAJOBS website.
Nonetheless, even with these benefits, due to the extreme geographic isolation of these schools,
it is critical to invest in upgrading the skills of existing staff. The Study Group would
recommend that BIE should have the budgetary capacity to provide high-quality professional
development to staff in tribally operated and BIE operated schools —for instance, support for
National Board Certification of teachers—would help the BIE make progress towards achieving
its goals.
3. Reform Area 4: Aligning Budget to Create an Agile Organizational
Structure
Congress appropriates a significant amount of money to the BIE each fiscal year,
31
but this
funding cannot be leveraged to the maximum extent in driving reforms because: (1) the vast
majority of this funding is formula-based; and (2) other entities, including BIA and the DAS-M’s
office, have significant control over its execution. Furthermore, ED provides $200M in funding
to DOI, and those funding streams are also fragmented. The Study Group believes that one way
to reduce this budgetary fragmentation, would be to address the issue in future BIE budgets by
providing the BIE with flexibility to control over how its own budget is executed. An alternative
model would be the DODEA budget structure, which receives one appropriation from Congress
(e.g., DODEA does not receive any funding from other agencies nor do other offices within
DOD control how DODEA’s funding is used). This integrated budget structure provides the
Director of DODEA with a sufficient amount of discretion to ability to set educational priorities
for the entire school system.
Similarly, a more integrated budget structure would enable the BIE Director to be more
responsive to changing circumstances and better equipped to meet the unique needs of diverse
tribes and schools on a case-by-case basis. The Study Group believes that eliminating the
multiple players that control various aspects of BIE’s budget would free BIE from unnecessary
bureaucracy, provide for flexibility and, in turn, help support the creation of a more agile
organizational environment.
Finally, for each of the investments proposed by the Study Group, the Group recommends that
BIE monitor progress through the adoption of performance metrics and conduct evaluations to
identify effective strategies for continued investment.
31
According to a study conducted by BIE staff in 2011, the per pupil expenditure for BIE’s K-12
day schools was approximately $13,116, and $15,550 for its boarding schools. Much of BIE’s
remaining budget is used to fund non-K-12 programs, including funding for 32 tribal colleges
and universities ($89M), operations at eleven dormitories ($24.5M), and a scholarship program
for American Indian youth ($32M).
25
VI. Conclusion
The foregoing proposals are underpinned by a fundamental belief that all students, especially
American Indian students attending BIE schools, can learn. Accepting anything less says
nothing about these students, but rather speaks volumes about a failure of leadership and political
will. Every child can learn; every school can succeed. Challenging educational circumstances,
however, require vision, uncompromising values, conviction, and the courage to make difficult
decisions, especially when redesigning a broken institution. Challenging circumstances present
opportunities: an opportunity to unleash untapped potential; to be bold; to solve a problem
previous generations refused to tackle. That is the challenge the BIE presents to us today.
26
27
APPENDIX A
Participants at Listening Sessions and Tribal Consultations
Last Name
First Name
Title
Organization
Aaron
Michael
Superintendent
Muckleshoot Tribal School
Abeita
Fernando
Council member Isleta Tribal Council
Abeita
James
Council member Isleta Tribal Council
Abeita
Juan Rey
Council member
Isleta Tribal Council
Aceveda
Casemro
Acosta
Geneva
School Board Member Tohono O’odham Nation
Adson
Lemuel
Superintendent Shonto Prep School
Allery
Aaron
Gila Crossing Community School
Alvares Cesar
National Congress of American
Indians
Anderson
Greg
Superintendent
Eufala Dormitory
Antone
Phyllis
Gila River Education
Antone
Cynthia
Tribal Council Member
Gila River
Antone
Priscilla
Gila Community Crossing School
Archambault
Dave
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Archambault
Sunshine
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Arviso
Emily
Education Specialist
Bureau of Indian Education
Ashley
John Assist. Director-Office of
Information
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Ashley
Martina
Casa Blanca Community School
Barehand
Dora
Gila River Community School
Basnau
Rick
Director Chief Leschi School
Baum
Dawn
Office of the Solicitor
Begay
Edwin
Chooshgai
Begay Margie RS
Navajo Dine Bi Olta School Board
Association, Inc.
Begay
Cordella
Administration
Begay
Catherine
Hotevilla Bacavi Community School
Begay
Michelle
Program Specialist
Bureau of Indian Education
Begaye Irene
Black Mesa Community School
Begiasiua
Dr. Noreen
Director
Tribal Education Department
Belone
Phil
Navajo Nation
Benally
Jacqueline
Executive Director
Many Farms Community School
Benally Tim
Navajo Nation
28
Benjamin
Joyce Flournoy
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Benneman
Charlene
Human Resources
Blackwater Community School
Big
Rosemary
Gila Crossing Community School
Birdletter
Lydia
Tribal Education
Oglala Sioux
Biscoe
Catherine Belinda
Director
University of Oklahoma
Bixby
Norma
Tribal Education
Blue Earth Emersen
Standing Rock Community School
BlueEyes
Faye
Dzilth-Na-O-dith-hle-School
Bohanon
Joseph
Consultant
Muskogee, Ok
Bordeaux
Deborah
Principal
Loneman School
Bough
Brian Education Specialist Bureau of Indian Education
Bowlier
Connie
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal
Education Agency
Bradford
Jim
Pine Ridge
Bradley
Jacque
Blanca Community School
Brady
Bob
Associate Director
Human Resources Team
Brave Eagle
Dayna
Director
Tribal Education Department
Bravo
Robert
Hualapai
Brawr Elma
St. Stephens WY
Breuer
Jody
Lakota Sioux
Brewer
Jodie
Program Specialist
Bureau of Indian Education
Brewer
Bryan
Oglala Sioux Tribal President
Bundy
Dr. Michael
Superintendent Two Eagle River School
Butler
Edwina
Governor
Shawnee, Ok
Byrnes
Erin
Partner
Udall Law Firm
Campa
Lucie
Bureau of Indian Education
Campbell Katherine Education Specialist Bureau of Indian Education
Campbell
Matt
Tribal Education
Cardenas
Freddie
Principal
Jemez Day School
Castillo
Shawna
Cedar Face
Francis
Union Steward Pine Ridge High School
Chapin
Jake
Pyramid Lake
Chavez
Everett
Navajo Nation
Chavez
Ruby
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Chavez
Ervin
Dzilth-Na-O-dith-hle-School
Chelsea
Mike
Teacher
Pine Ridge High School
Chimoni
Emelda
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Claymore
John
Superintendent
Quileute Tribal School
Coffland
Don
Principal Tuba City Boarding School
Coin
Leora
School Board
Second Mesa Day School
29
Conroy
Bradley
Pine Ridge School
Cook
Robert
Teach for America
Craddock Steven
Cumming
Harley
Chairperson
Oglala Sioux
Cummings
Charlie
Oglala Sioux Tribe Education
Chair
Curley
Ray
Little Singer Community School
Curran Jim Teach for America
David
Jerry
Chief of Logistics
Davis
Rosie
Associate Deputy Director
Bureau of Indian Education
Dawasema
Donald
Dawasema Madonna
Hopi Tribe
Dearman
Tony L.
Superintendent
Riverside Indian School
Dee
Chester
Navajo Nation
Delome
Betrice
OST Legal Dept.
Dorpat
Norm
Director Chief Leschi School
Dorsett
Teresa
Director
Cheyenne Arapahoe
Dosahue
Leon
Pine Ridge
Dunn
Steve
Chickasaw
Duran Shawn
Taos Pueblo
Dworakwoski
Patrick
Asst. Associate Director of
Ed.
Academic Accountability Team
Eaglestaff
Donna
Education Line Officer
Bureau of Indian Education
Eastman Nadine Superintendent Tiospa Zina Tribal School
Edgar
Melissa
Special Assistant
Chickasaw Nation
Elkin
Tom
Eskeets
Emerson
Supervisory Civil Engineer
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Espinoza Derid RST-TFA
Fapans
Anthony
Little Wound School
Faria
Debra
Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
Farlo Dr. Cherje
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Agency Education
Fatheree
Catherine
Education Line Officer Bureau of Indian Education
Fingston
Cindy
Court Reporter
Fitzgerald
Marilee
(Former) Director
U.S. Department of Defense
Floyd
Kay
Oklahoma State Legislature Oklahoma City, Ok
Flyingman
Franda
Supervisory Program Analyst Bureau of Indian Education
Fohrenkan
Robin
Gila Crossing Community School
Foreman
Sherri
Muckleshoot Tribal School
Fourier Paula
Little Wound
Fred Rebecca
Moencopi Day School
30
Fritzler
Charitina
First People's Center for
Education
Fyant Shelly
Salish &Kootenai
Garro
Myra
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Germany
David
Mississippi Choctaw
Gibbons
Lynn
Tribal Education
Oglala Sioux
Gilman Glenn
Hopi High School
Godinez
Lucinda
Greasewood Spring Community
School
Gonzales
Theresa
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Gonzalez
Ruben
Gila Crossing Community School
Gregores
Wendy
Council member Isleta Pueblo
Gregory
Orena
Sac & Fox Nation
Gross
Shirley
Administrator
Pierre Indian Learning Center
Gulibert
Felicia
Principal
Santa Fe Indian School
Haarstad
Erick
Salt River Elementary School
Haas
John
Hacker
Bob
Oglala Sioux Tribe Education
Coordinator
Hale
Jonathan
Member Navajo Nation Navajo Nation
Hamley
Jeff
Associate Deputy Director
Bureau of Indian Education
Harjo
Lucyann
Indian Ed. Coordinator
Norman Public Schools
Hartman
Tracy
Director Eastern Oklahoma Tribal Schools
Hastings
Jim
Education Line Officer
Arizona South
Hawkes
Michael
Executive Director
Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc.
Hejtmanek
Mike
Superintendent
St. Stephens Indian School
Hence Bernadette White House Intern
Herrera
Roy
Superintendent
Santa Fe Indian School
Hettich
Tom
Director/Human Resources
Bureau of Indian Education
Haas
Cecelia
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Honahni
Dan
Tribal Council Member Hopi Tribe
Honanie
Doris
Hopi-Moencopi Day
Hughes
Michael
Consultant on Indian Affairs
Humetewa
Howard
Pueblo of Santa Ana
Hunter
Sharon
Federal Programs Coordinator Riverside Indian School
Jackson
Dr. Mark
Quileute Tribal School
Jaime
Leticia
School Board Member
Quileute Tribal School
Jaramillo
Cynthia
Council member
Isleta Tribal Council
Jaramillo
Larry
Vice-President Isleta Tribal Council
Jewell
Sally
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
31
Jiron
Douglas
Council member
Isleta Tribal Council
Jiron
Phillip
Council member
Isleta Tribal Council
Johansen
David
Chief, Special Education
Johnson
Wayne
Tribal Education
Johnson
Lynn
Regional Solicitor's Office
Johnson
Victoria
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Johnson Manuel Intergovt. Liaison Gila River
Johnson
Sherry
Director
Sisseton Wahpeton
Johnstan
Tyson
Quinault
Jojola
Denise
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Jojola
Geraldine
Tribal Education Department Isleta Pueblo
Jones
Genevieve
Big Pine Pauite Tribe
Jose
Verlon
Tohono Oldham Nation
Juan
Marjorie M.
BIE Boarding School
Tohono Oldham Nation
Keel
Dale
Chief -- Office of Facilities
Management and
Construction
Bureau Indian Affairs
Keel
King
Jefferson
Carmen
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
King
Gaye Leia
Education Specialist Bureau of Indian Education
Kinnison Akilah
Hobbs Straus Dean &Walker
Kip
Penny
Chairperson
Two Eagle River School
Kitsopoulos
Gloria Coats
Superintendent
American Horse School
Knight Patricia
Duckwater
Krech
Sandra
Gila Crossing Community School
LaPlante
Mike
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Laurkie
Richard
Governor
Laguna Pueblo
Lawton
Ray
Superintendent Chief Leschi School
Lee Deborah Program Support Bureau of Indian Education
Lente
Michael Allen
President
Isleta Tribal Council
Lessensl
Rior
Lewis Stephen Lt. Governor Gila River Indian School
Little Eanie
Little
Justin
Loneman School
Little Axe
Troy
Modoc
Little Singer
Leo John
Little Singer
Etta Shirley
Logan
Leilla
Winnebago Tribal Health
Lolnitz
Darlene
Koyukuk Tribe
Lomahaftewa Gloria
Second Mesa Day School
Lomahaftewa Jolene
Second Mesa Day School
32
Lomtv
Leo
Chickasaw Nation
Longie
Joel
Academic Achievement
Bureau of Indian Education
Lopez
Julia
San Simon School
Lords
Eric
Principal
Shoshone-Bannock Tribal School
Lovin
Brenda
Assistant Principal
WaHeLut Tribal School
Lucas
Lucy
Hopi Tribe
Lucero
Joseph
Council member Isleta Pueblo
Lunderman
Richard “Tuffy”
Tribal Council
Rosebud Tribal Education
Lyan
Michelle
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Macias
Esther
Education Specialist
Bureau of Indian Education
Malo Rachel
Chooshgai Community School
Marquez
Fernando
Gila Crossing Community School
Martinez
Elizabeth
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Martinez
Racheal
Assistant Principal
To'Hajiilee Community School
McArthur
Hank Edmo
Operations Manager Shoshone Bannock Tribal School
McIntire
Chris
Salt River Pima
McIntosh
John L.
Education Line Officer
Navajo Region
Mendoza
Gregory
Governor
Gila River Community
Mendoza
William
Executive Director U.S. Department of Education
Merdenian
Tina
Oglala Sioux Tribe-
President’s Office
Mike
Jeffrey
Pinon Community School
Mitsel
Mikayla
Oglala Sioux Tribe Education Agency
Miyasato
Mona
Acting Principal Pine Ridge High School
Molina
Mario
Director
Gila River Indian Community
Monroe
Elsie
Leupp Schools, Inc.
Moore
Henry
Tribal Council Member
Arizona
Moore
Jacob
Inter-Tribal Council Arizona
Moore
Patrick
Principal
Riverside Indian School
Morehead
Jellene
Sac and Fox Nation
Morris
Kay
Principal
Laguna Elementary School
Morrison Anthony Assistant Principal Second Mesa Day School
Nelson
Danielle
Pine Ridge Line Office
Nelson
Dan
Nelson
Steve
Education Northwest
Nez
David
Principal Santa Clara Day School
Nez
Victoria
Black Mesa Community School
Nite
Jerome
Retired
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Norris
Debora
Department of Education
Arizona State
North
Eric
Education Line Officer Bureau of Indian Education
Nuttle
William
Program Specialist
Bureau of Indian Education
33
Old Chief
Bill
Blackfeet Nation
Olsen
Eric
Chief Financial Officer
Santa Fe Indian School
Oosahwee
Sedelta
Associate Director
White House Initiative AI/AN
Education
Otero
Katie
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Ouco
Karen
Coordinator
Pablo
Christina
Gila Crossing Community School
Pablo
Winfred
Gila Crossing Community School
Padilla
Josephine
Council Member
Isleta Tribal Council
Palmateer-
Holder Lynn Tribal Leader Coville Tribe
Pankovits Tressa
Parker
Allan
Awanuiavapgs
Parton
Terry
President
Wichita & Affiliated Tribes
Pauley Linda
U.S. Dept. of Education
Pedro
Anita
School Board Member Auburn, WA
Perkins
Danielle
School Board
ShoBan School
Pickering
Dwight
Department of Education
Oklahoma
Pieper-Jordan Seanna
Pino
Henry
Blackwater Community School
Plummer
George
Navajo Nation
Poououma
Melvin
School Board Member
Moencopi Day School
Power Jacquelyn Superintendent Blackwater Community School
Provost Irving Oglala Sioux Tribe
Quimayousie
Cheryl
Associate Deputy Director
Bureau of Indian Education
Ramirez
Renee
Hopi Tribe
Raymond Tom
Record
Caryn
Indian Education Coordinator Moore Public School
Redbird
Ernest
School Board Member
Riverside Indian School
Reedy
Patricia
Regional Solicitor's Office
Reimer-Edef Constance
Tanana Chiefs Conference-Alaska
Reinhardt
Marty
Professor
Roanhorse
Maxine
Dineyazhe
Santa Rosa Day School
Roberts Hystop
Julie
Tanana Chiefs Conference Vice
President
Rodin
Jenni
Oglala Lakota College-Dev.
Ed. Dept.,
Rodriguez
Dennis
Office of Facilities
Management and
Construction
Bureau of Indian Affairs
RomanNose
Director Tribal Education Departments
34
Quinton
National Assembly
Rose
Jolyn
Principal
Sequoyah High School
Ross Margaret
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Member/educator
Rousseau
Anthony
Director –Information
Resources
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Rullianus
Georgeous
Sakiestewa Norma
Hopi Tribe
Saladera
Kevin
K-12 Coordinator
Pine Ridge High School
Salyers
Denise
NASIS
Bureau of Indian Education
Sam Walt
Sanchez Virginia
Duckwater Shoshone
Sanchez
Barbara
Council Member
Isleta Pueblo Council
Sandoval
Patricia
School Administrator
Santa Fe Indian School
Sandoval
Yolanda
Parent Navajo Nation
Sauer Linda
Gila River Indian Community
Sauve
Michalle
Administration for Children
& Families
Scott
George
Government Accountability Office
Scribner Zach
Chickasaw Nation
Secakuyva
Corey
Hopi tribe
Segrove
Michael
Planner
Eastern Oklahoma Tribal Schools
Seworestewa
Alden
Hopi-Moencopi Day
Shaw
Claudia
Chief Financial Officer,
Comptroller
Shaw
Lesa B.
Projects
Absentee Shawnee Tribe
Shendo
Kevin
Pueblo of Jemez
Shirley Etta Principal Little Singer School
Silas
George
Hopi
Sinquah
Alma
Second Mesa Day School
Sly
Gloria
Education Liaison
Cherokee Nation
Smith
Grace
Teacher Edmond Public School
Sovo
Casey
Education Line Officer
Bureau of Indian Education
Spoon
Tresh
Director of Education
Absentee Shawnee Tribe
Starr
Goldie
Stevens Bart Associate Deputy Director Bureau of Indian Education
Stevens
Joan
Parent
Tah
Andrew
Superintendent
Navajo
Tahy
Emery
Arizona State University
Taken Alive
Jesse
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Talayumptewa
David
Education Line Officer
Bureau of Indian Education
35
Talley
Nikki
WIHAIANE
Tapija
Emma
Hualapai
Taylor April
Chickasaw Nation
Tehraar
Rita
Special Education Team
Teller
Verna
Secretary
Isleta Tribal Council
Tepp
Rose
Tewa
Marilyn
Tribal Council Hopi Tribe
Thomas
Dr. John L.
Thompson
Patricia
Bureau of Indian Education
Thompson
Patti
Thunder
Adrienne
Tribal Education
Tinnt
Jason
Oglala Lakota College STEM
Tokeinna
Robert
Native Village of Wales
Topash
Tom
Pokagon Band Potawatomi
Torres
E. Paul
Governor Isleta Pueblo
Trahan
Rodney
Sioux Tribe
Trottier
Neal
Principal
To'Hajiilee Community School
Tso
Matthew
Legislative Analyst
Navajo Nation
Tsosie Katleen
Cove Day School
Tsotigh
Jacob
Technical Assistance Co.
Tyen
Barbra
Loneman School
Valentine
Rebecca
Santa Rosa Ranch School
Valenzuda Patricia
Gila River Indian Community
Walker
Bill
Regional Director
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Wauwow
Loretta
Weatherly
Jim
Jamestown S'klallam
Webster
Catherine
Administrative Support Bureau of Indian Education
Wells
Danny
Executive Officer
Chickasaw Nation
West
Mark
Acting Principal
Pine Ridge High School
White
Kalvin
Director
Navajo School Board
White Crust
Frankie
SIG Coordinator Pine Ridge High School
White Eagle
Robert
Oglala Lakota
Whitebear
Ronald
Winnebago Tribal Health
Whiteeyes
Robert
Acting Education Line
Officer
Bureau of Indian Education
Whitehorse
Brenda
Principal Aneth Community School
Whitford
Harvey
Principal
Wa He Lut Tribal School
Williams
Marie
Special Education
Little Singer School
Williamson
Jeff
Gila River Community School
Wilson Ryan
Oglala Lakota
October
Manuella
Casa Blanca Community School
36
Witherspoon
Dwight
Wohnson
Rondi
Karuk Tribe
Wright Kara
S'Kiallam Tribe
Yatsattie
Charlene
Teacher
Isleta Pueblo Elementary
Yazzie
Emma
Leupp Schools, Inc.
Yazzie
Lorraine
Black Mesa Community School
Yazzie
Rena
Education Line Officer Bureau of Indian Education
Yellowfish
Sydna
Director
Edmond Public School
Yepa
Gloria
Supervisory Ed. Specialist
Bureau of Indian Education
Young
Cynthia
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APPENDIX B
Illustrative Comments from Tribal Leaders and Other BIE Stakeholders During Study
Group Listening Sessions and Tribal Consultations
Reform Area 1: Highly Effective Teachers and Leaders
Just some challenges that I want to let you know what we deal with. [H]iring is a huge
issue.[U]ntil we get HR under our belt or underneath our umbrellas, it's always going to be an
issue. When we go to hire teachers and we're dealing with it right now, they can be certified in
the State of Oklahoma but they can't BIE's requirement, then we lose them. Right now we're
trying to hire a Spanish teacher that can go anywhere in the State of Oklahoma and teach but she
doesn't meet qualifications of the BIE. Tony Dearman, Superintendent Riverside Schools
(Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
Why don't we have teachers, counselors, principals, superintendents, and all the other
maintenance workers and those things wanting to come here? Why can't we recruit these people
to come here? Well, they're not going to come here just because we tell them we love them.
They're going to come here and work because we pay them a competitive wage and we've got to
teach them a trade and respect them for what they do when they get here. Jefferson Keel,
Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation (former President of the National Congress of
American Indians) (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
Housing for teachers is very inadequate. As a result, Northern Cheyenne cannot get and keep
qualified teachers. The teachers have to travel from Billings, which is far away, and if there is
inclement weather than there may not be class that day. Housing is a priority that needs to be
addressed. Northern Cheyenne Nation via Quinton Roman Nose, Executive Director, Tribal
Education Departments National Assembly (TEDNA)
We need well-trained administrators and teachers and staff. The only way to get that is offer
salaries that are higher, provide some kind of housing assistance to get there. Where I am, we
have teachers driving 160 miles a day to get to school. If they get offered jobs in their hometown,
I know we're going to lose them. Mark Jacobson, Principal and Acting Superintendent, Quileute
Tribal School (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
They have been trying to get new school for a long time. The current building does not have
sufficient heating, it leaks, and there is a roof issue. Children have to wear their coats in class in
the winter. Leech Lake is supposed to be a high priority, but nothing has come of it yet. This
needs to be addressed. Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe via Quinton Roman Nose, Executive Director,
TEDNA
Offer all teachers a grant to become board certified (free whether they pass or not) Bradley
Budinger
But one of the things we notice is that we can't get teachers to stay. They come and we have even
had some drive through the parking lot and go and leave. Right? And they've already had a
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signed contract. Michael Hawk, Executive Director, Alamo Navajo School Board (Gila River,
Arizona Consultation)
If you're not educating your local people you're not going to ever fill all those slots. It's
impossible. You don't have the capacity or the population to do that with all the openings, at least
in Navajo country. I'm sure other tribes are the same. Michael Hawk, Executive Director, Alamo
Navajo School Board
One of the things we've done in Alamo, we've had teachers come through that we have recruited
and it's very hard work. We are isolated by 62 miles of nowhere. And one of the things that we
have done is provided incentives because we have broadband, we have infrastructure, we have
those types of things. We have upgraded the school to make it less institutionalized and more
receptive for the children that come to school. It's a learning environment. Michael Hawk,
Executive Director, Alamo Navajo School Board, (Gila River, Arizona Consultation)
The 2014 operating plan that BIA central office put together provides only $169,000 for teacher
pay for the schools. So that's only 7.8 percent of the amount that's needed to adequately fund
teacher pay to retain quality -- attract and retain quality teachers, so that has to be looked at.
That's not good. Michael Hughes (Gila River Consultation)
But we also need to make sure that have we have the proper tools and materials for our teachers
to -- because the community I come from, housing is really difficult for people coming in, so we
can retain them at the schools. We have about 90 houses but 50 of them are just not liveable.
And so it just leaves us the few that are out there that we are trying to renovate. It's very hard to
do that as well because these are homes that were probably there back in the 30s or, you know --
yes, they have asbestos that you have to do and it's very expensive to demo those places. And so
we try to retain our teachers and when we ask them to come out to live on the reservation and to
try to fight the dirt and the wind just like the gentleman said. And so you know, in our homes we
try to fight that as well. They are falling apart as we speak. So I want to see if there's certain
restrictions that we can eliminate, so we can bring home and bring in good teachers and
effective, highly qualified teachers and just this year I had -- this gentleman said someone came
to see the campus and they drive in and turn around and left. It's the same thing happened to me.
They saw the housing and said no, thank you, and they left… And teachers are really hard to
find. Our SPED teachers are very hard to find. Nurses are hard to find. I had to, you know, try to
talk them into staying… Sometime they stay for a couple of months and then they can't handle it.
Jacqueline Benally, Many Farms Community School (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
Additionally, when President Carter enacted the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 he eliminated
the retirement system for Bureau-funded schools. So we are on the 401k plan which really hurts
us. The reason it hurts us is because we are competing with the Arizona Retirement System, and
so when teachers want to come out to Hopi High think say, what kind of retirement do you have?
We don't. It's all self-funded. And so I would recommend then to the federal government that we
look at reinstituting the pension plan for teachers and administrators for zero funded schools. It
would help a lot in our recruiting efforts. Glenn Gilman, Principal, Hopi High School (Gila
River Tribal Consultation)
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One of the things that I would tell you that I would dearly love to see is a leadership academy for
administrators and principals and those people who are coming into the BIE system like myself. I
had to totally learn alone. Michael Bundy, Superintendent, Two Eagle River School (Auburn
Tribal Consultation)
There should be a training program for new superintendents, new principals that come to BIE
schools, because it's the blind leading the blind. We're just doing what we think is best and trying
to muddle through as best we can. I have no idea or had no idea what reports were due or when
they were due or anything like that. And you get that call when you're going to lose your funding
by March 31st unless this report is done. What report? Mark Jacobson, Principal and Acting
Superintendent, Quileute Tribal School (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
Since Native students travel between the public, BIE, charter, and tribal contracted or grant
schools in their communities, the BIE should work with local non-BIE school systems, tribes,
and their education agencies to ensure school calendars, professional development, and CCSS
curriculum implementation support one another and provide consistency for Native students.
National Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education Association
The Study Group should also provide concrete steps, such as offering premium pay and housing,
or preparing local tribal citizens to teach, in order to assist schools having trouble recruiting and
retaining experienced teachers and administrators. National Congress of American Indians and
National Indian Education Association
Reform Area 2: Agile Organizational Environment
I really, truly appreciate the upfront points on the bureaucracy. Because tribal schools have
historically followed the same organizational structure of top down management, top down
decision making. And that needs to change. Lynn Palmanteer-Holder, Tribal Council Member,
Confederated Tribe for the Colville Reservation (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
We as Schools report to our ELO, to our ADD West Director, and to the DPA. In the course of a
week there are usually one to two reports due. I usually work on my reports from 5am to 6am so
that I have some time to go into the classroom. Reports in Native Star, which is many, also
NASIS requirements, Annual/Academic reports, Special Education reports, Finance Reports, HR
Paper Work always needed, etc. and the list goes on. I only have 79 students, however I work on
reports usually from 5 to 6 am as stated before and then at least another hour at work. Oh, I
forgot quarterly budget reports. A major problem with being a Principal is you are more a
manager and data entry administrator vs. a leader in the educational system (LEARNING).
Along with these reports, the requirements in Safety, going Green, etc. come into play. If you
factor in all the teleconference meetings or meetings that require one to go to the BIE Office
most of the day is covered with requirements towards federal policies instead of ensuring
learning is going on in the classroom. Gary Tripp, Principal, T’siya Day School
Currently, teachers have been cut from using copy paper. Pencils, sharpeners and other materials
are so inferior they break constantly. Teaching positions are unfilled. And, wireless Internet goes
unused without wireless computers to use them on (all most all computers hadn’t had wireless
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cards installed when wireless networks were made available). Bradley Budinger
It is critical to remember without resolving the facility funding issue, the schools in the north will
have to shut down in March because there will be no funds to pay electric, phone or heating
bills! This funding is appropriated by Congress to the schools to be used specifically for the
above bills but is being constrained by BIA Facility Management Offices! AHS is not asking for
extra funding (even through the SIG allowed us to hire 7 more teachers and raise our academic
scores), we only are asking for what Congress has already approved for our school – 100 percent
facility funding, 100 percent administration cost funding and federal healthcare for our school
employees. The cuts in the facility and admin costs have to be made up with the students ISEP
funding which is supposed to be used to hire instructional staff and purchase curriculum and
resources for our students. Gloria Coats-Kitsopoulos, School Superintendent, American Horse
School
[Human resources] has many problems, the biggest is unqualified staff. People are
unprofessional, never return phone calls, emails and mailed or expressed mail correspondence,
everything takes months to accomplish, and if qualified people worked in [human resources] I
believe processes would function faster and more efficient. I constantly have to resend
documents repeatedly, which is a waste of time and material. To bring on a new staff it takes a
minimum of three months, not conducive if you’re trying to run a school. Still using a DOS
based program called FPPS, not tied into FBMS or Quicktime, having to use multiple systems is
a waste of time and money. Sydney Gates, Business Technician San Ildefonso Day School
Acquisitions is a major disaster, four years later we still have the same issues with no resolve –
The DOI should have an ongoing data base of approved vendors for which we can pull, again the
business tech’s have to be well rounded in purchasing IT equipment, textbooks, instructional
material, facilities and operations, again we should only be the processors. Utilize the experts to
make special purchases not the [business technicians]. We are business people, not IT or
teachers. Often time we are responsible in finding Speech therapist and creating documents to
meet acquisitions requirements. Professional staff should be researching therapists, IT equipment
etc. The [business technicians] have to research and find qualified vendors to meet the mission of
the principal and IT and other areas of school function with very little tools and knowledge. The
[business technicians] finds and procures the contractor, creates the requisition, processes the
requisition, pays for the requisition, adjusts costs in FBMS if necessary no separation of duties.
Where are the internal controls? Sydney Gates, Business Technician San Ildefonso Day School
The Bureau funded schools struggle with knowing which acronym to go to for assistance when
they need help. Often when in need of help with facility issues the schools will go to the BIA and
are told to go to the BIE and the BIE will state they have to wait for the BIA or OFMC before
they can help. When help is needed with other issues there is no clear directions given as to
which acronym to go to for help. Very often reservations or geographic areas are played against
each other. Deborah Bordeaux, former Principal of Loneman School
When it comes to reports, there's so many more reports and things and almost like duplication
that the BIE is requiring. Let me give you a good example. School improvement, you have your
school improvement plans. And I was doing that. At the same time, I'm doing what the state of
41
Montana is requiring. We're an accredited school, and we were getting in trouble for
accreditation. How come? You're missing school improvement reports. So I'm supposed to be
doing school improvement to the state of Montana. At the same time, I have got school
improvement reports that are going out to BIE. Totally different creatures. Michael Bundy,
Superintendent, Two Eagle River School (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
The education system within the BIE in my estimate needs a great deal of changes or
improvements. Let me start by talking about the difficulties a school has with Human Resources.
It is very difficult to get someone hired or even get volunteer assistance in the Schools. I believe
it takes 2 to 3 months to run someone through the whole process (with ever going new paper
work and changes) and get a teacher to come into the school. HR is their own identity, and
therefore employees answer to a supervisor instead of a Superintendent or Bart Stevens, the
ADD West Supervisor. HR really needs to be under the control of ADD west.
Food contracts are not negotiable? Currently the contract with Sysco has been renewed, but the
prices are higher than some other food vendors. Why does BIA keep this vendor? Other vendors
also have a better variety and quality of food. Another thing with the Sysco accounts, we have no
point of contact to speak with regarding the contract or invoices being posted. The contract
amount that is on the UDO reports that we receive are not correct. The invoices are being
charged to the wrong “line” so now it shows that we are in the negative. Nona J. Narango,
Business Technician, Santa Clara Day School
The Tribe has been waiting for years, literally years, for an inspection to be conducted by the
BIE Albuquerque Office to finalize occupancy permits. The Albuquerque office has still not
come out to do the necessary inspections to finalize the permits. This and other inefficiencies
need to be corrected. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians via Quinton Roman Nose,
Executive Director, TEDNA
BIE has not yet released the standardized test scores to the Schools. These scores are essential
determined if AYP was met, and BIE needs to release those scores as soon as possible. Quinton
Roman Nose, Executive Director, TEDNA
Alternative AYP -- ED and DOI have never provided a final response to the efforts being made
to develop and Alternative AYP by several schools. Deborah Bordeaux, former principal
Loneman School
I had the honor of working at a unique school, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte. Since it is part public
through the state of South Dakota and part BIE (operated) under a collaborative agreement, that
school is probably the only school that received an AYP status from two entities. Three years
ago the school received a “made AYP” status from the state of South Dakota and a “didn't make
AYP status from the BIE for the same exact students, same exact accountability plan that really
belonged to the BIE. I sent an appeal and tried to argue the point with BIE, but my argument was
too logical and I simply asked, "Why wouldn't the BIE want to use the Accountability Plan
correctly to determine AYP and have more of their schools make AYP?” Now, we are at another
impasse with the new online testing. Nadine Eastman, Superintendent, Tiospa Zina Tribal
School
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One thing I would like to say that I haven't heard is the question, have we satisfied the GAO
Report and address the issues in the Bronner Report. I think we have, with the presentation this
morning... I think we have addressed those issues so I think we're going forward with that. Greg
Anderson, Superintendent of the Muskogee Creek Nation Dormitory (Anadarko Tribal
Consultation)
I agree and support the Centers of Excellence, but we need to start educating a new wave of
Native American teachers because right now we have very few Native American teachers, very
few community teachers that we have. Lieutenant Governor Steven Lewis, Gila River Indian
Community (Gila River Consultation)
The BIA has a very, very bad practice of forcing people to submit data for reports that are just
based on the idle curiosity of someone in the central office and nobody ever uses it and it's a
huge waste of time. So you don't want to end up with that. Michael Hughes (Gila River Tribal
Consultation)
One of the problems of moving forward is that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is not a full-fledged
bureau. If you go to the Department of the Interior internet site.. and you click on "who we are,"
the Department of the Interior, and click on "organizational chart," you will see an organization
chart for the Department of the Interior. And under the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs you
will see Bureau of Indian Affairs but that there is no Bureau of Indian Education there. And
people say, well, what happened to the BIE? I say, “there is no BIE.” It's sort of a stepchild of
the BIA that gets neglected and forgotten about most of the time. So one of the things that should
be considered is the establishment of a real Bureau of Indian Education in the process of doing
the 2016 budget. So what would that mean? Well, a real BIE would have its own annual budget
justification, a reboot that some of you know about that's separate from the BIA... A real BIE
would have its own administrative budget and staff who would be responsible for accounting,
budget, contract and facility information technology and not have to go over to the BIA. Michael
Hughes (Gila River Consultation)
We call Albuquerque. We don't get a correct answer. We can't reach anybody. We send an email
to Billings, and then it goes to Albuquerque, and then it comes back through Billings, and then
back to me again. It just makes it kind of frustrating. Harvey Whitford, Principal, Wa He Lut
Indian School (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
One of the things I'm happy to see in the Report is that there appears to be pushing things out of
the central office and more into the field with technical assistance. And I'm hoping that that
technical assistance will also create either bureau offices, like our office or tribally created
offices like our office, to give the schools the technical assistance they need to maintain the
buildings. Michael Segroves, Eastern Oklahoma Tribal Schools (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
Unfortunately, DOI continues to fail at including education experts and educators in key policy
and budget decisions. As we work to find ways to increase the effectiveness of the BIE and
improve the state of Native education, we must have people leading in Washington who
understand the needs of our students and have the authority to drive successful reform. National
43
Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education Association
Reform Area 3: Promote Self-Determination
I want to give a suggestion that you add another pillar. It's not enough what you have down here
[in the draft Report]. And to me it's unconscionable that you've left off what should have its own
pillar, culturally based education and immersion schools. And I'm not talking about teaching our
Native languages for one hour a day or for half an hour a day. What I'm talking about is
immersion magnet demonstration schools within existing Bureau of Indian Education schools.
This is something that's deserving of its own pillar. Ryan Wilson, President, National Alliance to
Save Native Languages (Pine Ridge Tribal Consultation)
Just this past week I was at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania [the first federal school
for American Indian students]. I looked at the facilities and those kids -- in fact, the school there
gave me a picture of the very first class that came from -- the students that came from Pine Ridge
Reservation, and you look at those faces -- and they're very proud of this. But if you look at the
faces of those children, of these kids, they're not proud to be there. In every picture you ever see
of Indian schools during that era, you don't see any smiles. You don't see any acceptance. What
you see are people -- are kids that have been trained to sit, act, a certain way for fear of a lot of
things. Jefferson Keel, Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation (former President of the
National Congress of American Indians) (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
I read the Study Group pillars, and I don't see any concrete recommendations that allow for self-
determination. I don't see recommendations for waivers to NCLB rules and regulations or [tribal]
alternatives to AYP… The United States Government must give free reign in determining and
implementing our own educational programs. I think there's still time to do this, and I hope you
will change your education pillar to reflect this official request, because I don't see anything in
your study yet. Jesse Taken Alive (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
Looking at the preliminary report, I've read it and I do appreciate the fact that the Study Group
seemed to have listened and heard what we have said. So I look at the tribes having -- that
capacity builds and helping with the capacity to operate these bureau-funded schools, because I
do believe that we have those children's interest at heart and we know more about them at the
local level than they do in Washington D.C. Gloria Sly, President, Tribal Education
Departments National Assembly (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
I appreciate the tribal leaders that are here because ultimately it starts at home… I've been to a lot
of tribal education (inaudible), and I think until our tribes actually take ownership of [education],
and say, we've got to get a head start, we've got to get a kindergarten, we've got to start reading
programs in our homes, it's -- we're always going to have problems in our education system.
Tony Dearman, Superintendent of Riverside Schools (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
I'm Chickasaw and I grew up in Oklahoma and I grew up going to an Indian Health Service
hospital, a couple of them. We lived in different places, but I grew up going to Indian Health
Service hospitals. About the time I went off to law school my tribe took over our Indian Health
Services hospitals. And it was quite controversial when it happened. My aunts and uncles, I
44
remember them saying, the government is crazy. There is no way we can run that health center
better than the federal government can. Why would we want to take that over? So I mean, it was
literally a risky thing for him to do to say well I'm going to take this over. But you know what, in
about three or four month everybody started seeing improvements. We could -- my tribe could
run IHS better than IHS could run IHS. It's not a big surprise that that might be the case because
tribal employees are a lot more accountable to the community than federal employees are, you
know, and so -- but it quickly improved the service at our his hospital, and that was the -- I
became a believer then when I was still very young. And I really believe in self-determination.
Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary -- Indian Affairs (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
And I just want to that say that worrying about the Navajo Nation is not exactly a bad thing. It's
actually a good thing; it's building the capacity of tribes. And I think one thing is to be able to
give the Navajo Nation the resources to be able to help and service our schools and that's what I
see as one of the great concepts that's contained in this is helping the tribe build its capacity
because one of the causes that's come up is the tribe is not ready. It's really a heart breaker to
think that your own people, your own nation, your government can't do it. It just doesn't fly. The
only way the tribe can do it is if it's allowed the ability to do it. And I'm hoping through
something contained in this document that the Department of Education and other tribal
educations departments are allowed that same opportunity to do for their own schools. Matthew
Tso, legislative analyst, Dine Department of Education (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
A part of tribal sovereignty and self-determination is our right to fail. We have that right, and we
are asking for that right. But we also have the right to succeed, and we have the know-how, as it
was pointed out earlier, we have the knowledge. Basically we're talking about tribal control.
Robert “Tuffy” Lunderman, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council Member (Pine Ridge Consultation)
We talk about building foundations and how tribes can take over these schools. We've got to give
the tribe a reason to take over this school. They've got to want to do that. You know, and you've
got to get a foundation -- you've got to give a foundational reason for wanting to give you money
to help these students. The only way we can do that is to give them evidence that we truly mean
what we say when we say we're going to reform this system and raise the level and quality of
education in this country for our Indian students. And if we truly believe that, then we can do it.
Jefferson Keel, Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation (former President of the National
Congress of American Indians) (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
Immersion programs not only increase academic achievement, but also guarantee that a student’s
language will be carried forward for generations. Our communities’ unique cultural and
linguistic traditions are crucial for the success of our students and are critical cornerstones for
providing relevant and high quality instruction as part of an education that ensures Native
students attain the same level of academic achievement as the majority of students. NIEA and
NCAI request the BIE ensure that reform strengthens the ability of the federal government to
support tribes in the delivery of culturally-relevant curricula. National Congress of American
Indians and National Indian Education Association
The report says the BIE will transition from running schools to serving tribes. However, the BIE
must ensure it has the ability to continue serving tribes who decide their trust principles would be
45
violated if the agency forces a tribe to assume operational responsibility of a former BIE school.
National Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education Association
Rather, we need a change in capacity and a restructuring that supports community collaborators
who will sit with a principal chief in Oklahoma or a pueblo governor in New Mexico to find
solutions to local problems. National Congress of American Indians and National Indian
Education Association
The three-year competitive incentive-based grant, similar to existing Race to the Top initiatives
for which BIE continues to be excluded, could provide much-needed resources to tribes for
accelerating local reforms and aligning education services to tribal education priorities that
include language and culture. Further, performance metrics for the grant could include student
attendance rates, graduation rates, college enrollment rates, and measures on educator
accountability. In order to catalyze reform efforts and create a set of high-performing, tribally
controlled grant schools, BIE could also provide on-going technical assistance to building the
capacity of those schools that applied for, but did not receive, a grant. National Congress of
American Indians and National Indian Education Association
It is important to note that a competitive grant idea has garnered some opposition in remarks
from tribes. To address this, such a competition should not replace existing funds from other
much-needed programs. National Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education
Association
Reform Area 4: Comprehensive Supports through Partnerships
The kids that come to these schools, in many cases, come from troubled backgrounds. Many
times they come from broken homes; they come from places where they're not wanted; they're
not love and they're not treated very well because of a lot of things. Regardless of whether we
can blame it on drugs, alcohol, or the dysfunctional family unit. Whatever it is, these kids come
here and they come here with an expectation that they need to be treated in a humane way, in a
loving way. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it's not so good. I'm not saying that just
about Riverside, I'm talking about all the BIE schools across the country. Jefferson Keel,
Lieutenant Governor (and former President of the National Congress of American Indians)
(Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
The next thing is that our students suffer from trauma. This is another thing that we to at Alamo
since we have a clinic there we have -- how many people -- how many schools here believe that
their students have because of poverty and unemployment and the issues going on at home their
students have ideations of either suicide or homicide or a combination? Everybody here, right?
Everybody. Michael Hawk, Executive Director, Alamo Navajo School Board (Gila River
Consultation)
If we want to really do innovative work to support these gaps and bridge these gaps and
problems that our children are falling through the cracks, then we need more innovative ways of
looking at partnerships in regards to these social problems. Our children are, the majority of our
children in some way or another have been or are victims of the emotional trauma, of historical
46
trauma, and so we -- without dealing with those social problems as well, that's when you start to
see the high dropout rate, the cycle of, you know, most of our children not getting through high
school, let alone starting to see the changes and actually making it to the 8th grade so we need to
start to look at that in a very innovative way including the students as well with -- excuse me --
with teachers. Lieutenant Governor Steven Lewis, Gila River Indian Community (Gila River
Tribal Consultation)
I like the information that's being shared. But I am concerned about the factors of the students
suffer from trauma. That's kind of the psychosocial issue that's identified here as impacting
academic performance. And many of our tribal students not only come from families of trauma,
we can list all of those social ills, and we all would understand. But my concern is that they tend
to be more of our transient students. And that's something that's not being tracked… But when
we have transient students coming and going and rolling over, possibly 30 percent of the
population in our tribal school is in and out, relocating from one community to another, .that has
an impact on academic performance. Lynn Palmanteer-Holder, Tribal Council Member,
Confederated Tribe for the Colville Reservation (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
Reform Area 5: Budget Alignment
The Blackwater Community School’s education program from early childhood through grade
two receives funding from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Education. Since
school year 2009-2010 funding has risen only 5 percent, less than $330.00 per student.
Historically funding would have risen by 12 percent over the same three year time period.
Insufficient funding has resulted in the school not being able to provide raises to its faculty and
support staff for the past four years, there by affecting retention of high quality instructional
staff. The No Child Left Behind legislation requests schools to hire and retain highly qualified
staff. This is impossible to do given the current budget situation, as we have to complete with
other schools in our area. We have also been unable to provide professional development of
opportunities for teachers to ensure they remain current in practices that are changing due to the
implementation of the Common Core standards. Without adequate funding schools in the BIE
school system are not able to meet this requirement. Due to lack of funding we have been unable
to purchase new textbooks and computers to support the move to the new standards that are
supported by the Department of Education and Arizona State Department of Education We also
have not been able to provide extra -curricular activities, summer education programs to retains
and enhance learning, and address much needed deferred maintenance. Henry Pino, Blackwater
School Board President (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
The other thing [we are] on the same page is, I think I hit on the budget is not aligned with the
school improvement. I do think you need to look into de-categorization of funding because it
makes you more nimble and multi-faceted in the construct of its approach. You might look into
that because now it's very rigid when you try to -- we went through this in early childhood and
Head Start funding where we couldn't commingle funds and then we got that. There is pass
through the bond administration so that helps. Michael Hawk, Executive Director, Alamo Navajo
School Board (Gila River Consultation)
The proposal by the Study Group to build capacity of tribal the organizations and grant school is
47
commendable, however, it is also noted there are additional resources to support this effort.
Suzanne Acuna, Blackwater Community School, School Board Member (Gila River Tribal
Consultation)
[O]ne of the biggest obstacles to tribal control of schools is inadequate funding for tribal grant
support costs. The CFO for the Santa Fe school mentioned that this morning. One of the great,
great things that happened right now with Assistant Secretary Washburn is full funding for
contract support costs for tribal 638 contracts in self-government. That's a historic change. So
they're doing it with 630, tribal 638 and it's time to do that with the schools. The budget request
for 2015 for tribal grant support costs is $48 million which is the same as the 2014 operating
cost. In last year's read back it was pointed out that $48 million would fund 67 percent of the
need. Well, full funding need for tribal grant support costs is $5 million. So if we remove that
impediment to tribal contracting or grant status for schools, BIA should request $75 million for
tribal grant support costs in the 2016 budget. Michael Hughes (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
We face the dilemma by having to use our ISEP funds to pay for electrical bills, custodial help,
heating and general maintenance. We pay about $250,000 out of our ISEP funds alone for this
every year. And administrative cost grants are being seriously constrained, so we are having have
a little bit of a problem with segregation of duties. Shirley Gross (Pine Ridge Consultation)
The question about using carry over money for other unallocated type projects, my experience
over many, many years… money that's carried over, because it has such categorical rules, you're
restricted and don't use it -- you can't just go out and do, you know, a project for the school or
like playground equipment. Title I says you can buy supplies, but you can't buy textbooks with it.
The rule always has been that textbooks are expected to be purchased out of your school budget,
which would be your general fund. So there are these rules that you have to learn. [K]nowing the
rules is important in understanding how you can use that extra carry over money. Most of the
time, if it's in category funding, special education, for example, you can't just go out and use it
for anything. I would love to use my carry over money, special education, Title I, and so on, but
I'm restricted in the rules that that funding came down through. The auditors will come calling
and ask, why are you spending that money? And I have to be able to justify that… Great, [the
stimulus funding] will help us, but because it was in Title I or special education, we could not
use it in our general education fund, which is where we needed it. So if I'm laying a math teacher
off, for example, special education fund, I couldn't use that. And also Title I is limited to
supplement, not supplant. So that's the foundational principle. So it's something that the school
should be doing or offering, is general education, which would be our general fund. We couldn't
use these other dollars. Michael Bundy, Superintendent, Two Eagle River School (Auburn Tribal
Consultation)
I have a comment as an administrator. I'm like freaking out if somebody has carry over. Why
are you not spending your money? There has to be a really good justification why there's any
money left, especially with the underfunded programs that we're all operating. I mean,
sometimes in my opinion, in my observation, that has been because of the lack of administrative
fiscal management experience of an administrator… So I would be wanting to assess why there's
so much carry over. Is it a spending mechanism that has restrictions? They don't know how to
spend it? Whatever. There has to be some kind of intervention somewhere. Lynn Palmanteer-
48
Holder, Tribal Council Member, Confederated Tribe for the Colville Reservation (Auburn Tribal
Consultation)
[C]arry over funds flexibility would be greatly enhanced if administrators could take any carry
over funds that they have and use them for the purpose of for their school board, and where they
as the leader of the school feel that it will advance the students in their culture, social, and safety
practices at the school. My focus is on all of that. Harvey Whitford, Principal, Wa He Lut Indian
School (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
To support BIE budget autonomy and tribal negotiations, we also request that BIE reform
include the creation of a Tribal Education Budget Council that functions similar to the Tribal
Interior Budget Council. National Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education
Association
For too many years, DOI had made other programs under its purview priorities while Native
Education programs and the BIE were considered afterthoughts. National Congress of American
Indians and National Indian Education Association
As a result of BIA authority over the BIE budget, the BIE is often low in priority when compared
to other programs. National Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education
Association
The BIA currently funds only 65 percent of support costs in the 126 tribally managed schools
and residential facilities under the BIE purview. This forces the schools to divert critical
classroom education funding in order to cover the unpaid operational costs, which make it
unrealistic to improve educational outcomes and bridge the achievement gap among Native and
non-Native students. National Congress of American Indians and National Indian Education
Association
Cross-Cutting and General Comments
Another recommendation is to streamline bureaucratic operational processes such as hiring staff,
contracting for services, purchasing basic supplies, requests for repairs, and improve
responsiveness of service to meet the unique needs of a school and school year operations...
Another is to prepare our principals and teachers for the implementation for the Common Core
and insure an effective information technology infrastructure to administer the 21st Century
assessment... And lastly, improve the quality of technical assistance and support to all schools
including safety and capacity of schools to transition to tribally-controlled schools. Again, these
are our recommendations. Thank you. Greg Mendoza, Governor, Gila River (Gila River
Consultation)
Thanks for being upfront. Seriously. I'm talking about the fact that we have somebody who
actually comes from Department of Education who's actually speaking the truth and sitting next
to BIE. And this is collaboration. And that's a good thing. Lynn Palmanteer-Holder, Tribal
Council Member, Confederated Tribe for the Colville Reservation (Auburn Tribal Consultation)
49
I have heard from tribal leaders that, oh, the BIA is having another consultation. Why should we
go? We go, they're going to tell us what they're going to do anyway. And so with that kind of
attitude I think it's permeated for a long time because of the BIE process. But I can tell you that,
you know, through this process and the people involved in this, they're committed to make
changes. In the past decade or maybe more we've never had an opportunity to make some
meaningful changes within the BIE's system. I heard a former BIE Director who spent a year up
in Washington D.C. and said “I spent all my time listening to people telling me why we can't
change this. Why we can't do this; why we can't do that.” And I think this process here is an eye-
opener. You know, we've got here not only the Secretary but also -- both the Department of
Interior and Education but also the Administration. They want to make changes. We need to
have changes. Quinton Roman Nose, Executive Director, TEDNA and member of Riverside
Indian School Board (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
I think there are so many significant flaws in this [draft Report], it's almost, you could say an act
of folly so much that's in it, but there's also some really powerful important things in here that I
hope you don't lose sight of because there's so many significant flaws. And so one of the things is
they validated a lot of issues the tribal people have been saying for decades that is wrong with
the Bureau of Indian Education, Bureau of Indian Affairs. For the first time it's been validated.
It's been put in a report for everybody to look at, so I commend you guys for that. That's
transparent; that's honest. And that's something that we all can go forward and work with. There
are also some really positive solutions in here as well, and I hope we don't lose sight of that.
Ryan Wilson, President, National Alliance to Save Native Languages (Pine Ridge Tribal
Consultation)
I am so appreciative of the Bureau's efforts to solicit input in what I see will become
transformational in terms of the journey of education that our institutions [will undergo]. And it's
good to see our tribal leadership here, and our tribal educators who will be charged with helping
to implement the vision that you have outlines. And these four pillars are amazing in what they
propose. They will provide a basis for, again, the transformation that is necessary to move us
away from a bureaucratic monster that is cumbersome and unresponsive and lacking in the
compassion that is conveyed by some of the staff members that we have here in our midst. I
think it's important for us to feel that the institution is responsive. And I think the findings of the
study go a long way. I know there's trepidation, I know there's concern that maybe we will bite
off more than we can chew. But as my colleague, Mr. Anderson, conveyed, we have to look at
the ending, it doesn't matter what our beginning was. Jacob Tostigh, former Indian Education
Director, Anadarko Public Schools (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
We need to keep moving forward. If we lose some of the acceleration we've had, we're not doing
justice to the families, the tribe, and the children that come into our gates. I'll give you a small
example. Our testing started this week, the Washington state test. We had a rally on Friday.
We're going to rock it. We're going to rock the test. We prepare the children for the rally that
week. We had a lot of thinking go into it… We're all in it, including the families, the tribes and
the communities the kids come from. The state test is all of us, including the custodians, the
cooks, the bus drivers. We're all there. Harvey Whitford, Principal, Wa He Lut Indian School
(Auburn Tribal Consultation)
50
Just to close, I think one of the things that has bothered me for the longest time is how we can
build schools in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we can buy buildings there, but we can't find the
millions of dollars that we need to fix [the BIE]. And I think that's what we need to do, and use
all the leadership and power that we have to do that. Michael Segroves, Eastern Oklahoma
Tribal Schools (Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
So once [American Horse School] got the School Improvement Grant, I thought, “here we go,
we're going to make a difference.” And we did. We went up our 60 points. And the next year we
had our advanced education accreditation inspection at American Horse School. The lowest
score we received we got a two in technology because our BIE bandwidth was not wide enough
so we could take the exams that we were supposed to take. Gloria Coats-Kitsopoulos, School
Superintendent, American Horse School (Pine Ridge Tribal Consultation)
I have seen a lot of initiatives come and go. I've seen a lot of initiatives start and fail and get
sidetracked. And it's not often that I get an opportunity to talk positively about something I see
the federal government trying to do. And I'm glad to be able to do that today. Michael Hughes
(Gila River Tribal Consultation)
If you go to any branch chief at any agency in the BIA and say, what are your GPRA measures
they can't answer that question because there's no communication, no discussion, no training,
within the BIA and every BIA staff person is expected to figure that out on their own. Michael
Hughes (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
Blackwater Community School supports the Bureau's effort to improve educational opportunities
for all Indian students. Many of the recommendations contained in the study group's report
reflected many recommendations from previous reports on Indian education beginning in 1920s
including those from the National Academy of Public Administration in 1995 and 2001... This
has been a pattern of Indian Affairs to start an initiative but fail to continue them. We urge Indian
Affairs to carry through with this initiative. Suzanne Acuna, Blackwater Community School,
School Board Member (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
The focus for our Tribe will follow the four pillars of reform. The Hopi tribe wants to identify,
recruit, retain, and empower diverse, highly effective teachers and principals. We want to build a
responsive structure with appropriate authority, resources, and services so that our students can
attain high levels of student achievement. The budget will be established to build capacity to
insure best practices are implemented. And, finally, we want to cultivate family and community
to partner with all state holders to ensure all students are successful. Hopi Tribal Chairman,
Herman Honanie (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
[W]e do not want the federal government to abrogate, to stop, to in any way start to back away
from their trust responsibilities to Indian Country in regards to education. I think that's what
tribal leaders, especially me, are most concerned about. Lieutenant Governor Steven Lewis, Gila
River Indian Community (Gila River Tribal Consultation)
By the occupation that you've had today, just by looking at your plan, in theory it looks good, on
paper it looks good. But when you actually implement it at our school, at our Navajo Nation, it's
51
going to be hard to implement it the way that you want because of the political clout of some of
these people and our tribal history of managing money and managing programs... I think in
theory it looks like a good model and it could be workable, but with people who knew how to
manage and be able to have the right credentials and not be politically motivated, then it could
work. Jeffrey Mike, Pinon Community School, School Board President (Gila River Tribal
Consultation)
I have spoken to the general assembly on the need for tribal leaders to step up and elevate
education on our agenda and to begin to actively participate in issues related to education and
education planning. Why? You can talk about AYP, all the issues structurally within the --
administratively within the school system. But the reality is, tribal leaders are the ones who have
-- we are the ones ultimately responsible to set policy, prioritize what is going to be funded, how
we're going to allocate those funds, what percentage of funds goes where. Lynn Palmanteer-
Holder, Tribal Council Member, Confederated Tribe for the Colville Reservation (Auburn Tribal
Consultation)
I do like what you're saying. I do like what is in the report -- the preliminary report that you have
put out. You will be in the work-study group and I'm looking forward [to working with you]…
Other individuals, in the same capacity, as the Director of BIE and OIE who have not been able
to move and make reform, but I think that with the President, who is listening, who is ordering
this, two Secretaries and more who are willing to come together to work on these issues, that this
may be the time when we can see improvement in our BIE-funded schools and the changes and
reforms that you make. Gloria Sly, President, Tribal Education Departments National Assembly
(Anadarko Tribal Consultation)
Sometimes, as you've heard, our bandwidth is so bad in our most of our tribal schools, there's
email I don't even get. I can click on the email, I'll go get up and visit a classroom, and come
back, and it hasn't opened. I live in an RV park five days a week. My RV has better connectivity
than the school. And I'm just using a little jetpack through Verizon. We have got to solve that
problem too. Our kids are lacking educational opportunities, because we can't access the Internet.
Mark Jacobson, Principal and Acting Superintendent, Quileute Tribal School (Auburn Tribal
Consultation)
I don't know where BIE is on the community net or the USDA fiber work that's being done
across the nation, but there was -- every state has been receiving funds for rural communities to
gain access, and schools are a priority. Schools and hospitals. It's kind of scary to hear that
Quileute is still out there not having fiber or broadband access, and that should be federally
funded. I mean, that's what's happening across the nation. And a number of schools like Tulalip
and Yakima Nation and a number of nations or tribes around Washington State have benefited
from that program. So I wish that BIE would be in there fighting with USDA to get some of
those dollars and break some ground to get fiber out to our schools. That's a priority. Lynn
Palmanteer-Holder, Tribal Council Member, Confederated Tribe for the Colville Reservation
(Auburn Tribal Consultation)
Currently, teachers have been cut from using copy paper. Pencils, sharpeners and other materials
are so inferior they break constantly. Teaching positions are unfilled. And, wireless Internet goes
52
unused without wireless computers to use them on (all most all computers hadn’t had wireless
cards installed when wireless networks were made available). Bradley Budinger
The SWO operates two PL 100-297 Grant schools which encompasses nearly 700 Sisseton
Oyate Children. The 2013 facility funding is constrained 48.56 percent which forces the school’s
to supplement needed facility operational funding from other budgets. We are requesting field
hearings regarding the constrainment of facility funding. This funding level is vastly inadequate.
Further cuts due to sequestration of 14/15 school year budgets will be devastating. Chairman
Robert Shepherd, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
One of the biggest concerns Northern Cheyenne has is the construction program. They have a
100 year old building for their school. It has no new technology and is dilapidated. BIA has
given the Northern Cheyenne some temp buildings, but there was nothing that went with them.
Thus, these buildings are not in use. Further, if they don’t have computers and new instruction
materials, the buildings can only go so far. Northern Cheyenne Nation via Quinton Roman Nose,
Executive Director, TEDNA
Despite the overwhelming data on the school facility construction and renovation needs, and a
plethora recommendations submitted by tribes and the School Facilities and Construction
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, the BIE has yet to make significant changes or initiate a
thoughtful, deliberative approach in resolving the issues. At a minimum, the BIE must comply
with the congressional directive to reopen the school construction priority process. Equally
important though, BIE and the Administration must advocate for replacement school
construction funding. In our view, the Administration should seek a similar five-year, $5 billion
special funding package that was employed to bring parity among the Department of Defense
funded schools through repair or replacement. We also note that, unlike the BIE Facilities Plan,
the DOD five-year Facilities Plan includes the replacement schools costs for projects anticipated
to occur during that period. Submission Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Community Grant School
53
APPENDIX C
Academic Performance for BIE-Funded Schools as Measured by the Status on Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP), 2012-13
AYP Status SY2012-
13
BIE-Operated
Schools
Tribally Controlled
Schools
Total
No. of Schools
58
117
175
Met AYP
9
17
26
Met AYP in New
Mexico (2011-12)
5
3
8
Total Schools Met
AYP
14 (24%)
20 (17%)
34 (19%)
No. of Schools under
“Restructuring” (Low
Performance for
years)
17 (29%)
42 (35%)
59 (34%)
54
APPENDIX D
Numbers of Full-Time Employees (FTEs) at BIE-Funded Facilities
1. Numbers of FTEs at BIE Day Schools (Non-Dormitory Facilities)
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
CA 6th – 12th 115 Tribal Noli School 44 18
ND 6th – 8th 319 BIE Turtle Mountain Middle School 80 40
NM 6th – 8th 98 Tribal Laguna Middle School 34 9
AZ 7th – 12th 623 Tribal Hopi Jr/Sr High School 159 53
NC 7th – 12th 459 Tribal Cherokee High School 112 66
NM 7th – 12th 216 Tribal Shiprock Northwest High School 137 48
NV 7th – 12th 78 Tribal Pyramid Lake High School 41 13
MS 7th – 8th 167 Tribal Choctaw Central Middle School 41 23
AZ 9th – 12th 115 BIE Tohono O'odham High School 20 10
ND 9th – 12th
455 Tribal Turtle Mountain High School 261 119
WA 9th – 12th 67 Tribal Yakama Nation Tribal School 37 10
WA 9th – 12th
107 Tribal Lummi High School 117 63
IA K – 12th 260 Tribal Meskwaki Settlement School 98 43
AZ K – 12th 322 Tribal Rock Point Community School 76 32
AZ K – 12th 424 Tribal Dishchii'bikoh Community School (Cibecue) 90 30
FL K – 12th 117 Tribal Miccosukee Indian School 55 33
KS K – 12th 46 Tribal Kickapoo Nation School 33 10
MI K – 12th 106 Tribal Hannahville Indian School 50 31
55
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
WI K - 12
th
224 Tribal Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa School 105 46
WI K - 12
th
372 Tribal Oneida Nation School 130 100
WY K - 12
th
184 Tribal St Stephens Indian School 71 36
AZ K-2
nd
201 Tribal Blackwater Community School 42 14
NM K-3
rd
84 BIE Bread Springs Day School 23 12
NM K-3
rd
52 BIE Sanostee Day School 12 5
AZ K-4
th
89 BIE Pine Springs Day School 20 5
AZ K-4
th
280 Tribal Casa Blanca Community School 48 23
NM K-4
th
58 BIE Beclabito Day School 21 12
NM K-4
th
96 BIE Tse'ii'ahi' Community School (Standing Rock) 28 16
ND K-5
th
708 BIE Turtle Mountain Elementary School 111 78
NM K-5
th
208 Tribal Laguna Elementary School 32.5 17
SD K-5
th
219 Tribal Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Elementary School 31 9
AZ K-6
th
77 Tribal Little Singer Community School 27 7
AZ K-6
th
172 Tribal Kin Dah Lichi'i Olta 46 8
AZ K-6
th
123 BIE First Mesa Elementary School 28 15
AZ K-6
th
154 Tribal Hopi Day School 38 12
AZ K-6
th
87 BIE Keams Canyon Elementary School 16 8
AZ K-6
th
196 Tribal Moencopi Day School 48 14
AZ K-6
th
265 Tribal Second Mesa Day School 57 19
AZ K-6
th
399 Tribal Salt River Elementary School 61 40
AZ K-6
th
44 BIE Cove Day School 8 5
56
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
MS K-6
th
628 Tribal Pearl River Elementary School 99 71
MS K-6
th
126 Tribal Standing Pine Elementary School 33 17
NM K-6
th
247 Tribal Atsa' Biya' a'zh Community School 41 17
NM K-6
th
29 BIE San Ildefonso Day School 7 3
NM K-6
th
124 BIE Santa Clara Day School 23 13
NM K-6
th
14 Tribal Te Tse Geh Oweenge Day School 8 4
NM K-6
th
166 BIE Isleta Elementary School 29 18
NM K-6
th
143 BIE Jemez Day School 27 14
NM K-6
th
352 BIE Baca/Dlo'ay Azhi Community School 61 39
WA K-6
th
181 Tribal Lummi Tribal School System 117 63
NM K-7
th
400 BIE San Felipe Pueblo Elementary School 64 44
NM K-7
th
76 BIE T'siya Day School (Zia) 18 11
AZ K-8
th
39 Tribal Black Mesa Community School 21 5
AZ K-8
th
246 BIE Cottonwood Day School 34 13
AZ K-8
th
131 Tribal Chilchinbeto Community School 40 14
AZ K-8
th
219 BIE Tonalea Day School 37 16
AZ K-8
th
185 BIE Santa Rosa Day School 33 19
AZ K-8
th
72 BIE Havasupai Elementary School 11 6
AZ K-8
th
108 Tribal Hotevilla Bacavi Community School 38 12
AZ K-8
th
191 BIE Red Rock Day School 37 20
AZ K-8
th
473 Tribal Gila Crossing Community School 83 32
AZ K-8
th
211 BIE John F. Kennedy Day School 45 28
57
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
AZ K-8
th
254 BIE San Simon School 46 31
AZ K-8
th
150 BIE Santa Rosa Ranch School 16 8
ID K-8
th
113 Tribal Coeur d'Alene Tribal School 35 13
ID K-8
th
90 Tribal Shoshone-Bannock School District No, 512 36 21
ME K-8
th
101 Tribal Indian Township School 58 21
ME K-8
th
97 Tribal Beatrice Rafferty School 40 24
MI K-8
th
283 Tribal JKL Bahweting Anishnabe School 102 46
MS K-8
th
200 Tribal Bogue Chitto Elementary School 55 36
MS K-8
th
249 Tribal Conehatta Elementary School 58 39
MS K-8
th
144 Tribal Red Water Elementary School 40 23
MS K-8
th
140 Tribal Tucker Elementary School 36 22
NC K-8
th
511 Tribal Cherokee Elementary School 102 68
ND K-8
th
524 Tribal Tate Topa Tribal School 179 67
ND K-8
th
140 Tribal Theodore Jamerson Elementary School 66 27
ND K-8
th
205 BIE Dunseith Day School 43 23
ND K-8
th
248 BIE Ojibwa Indian School 56 27
ND K-8
th
33 Tribal Twin Buttes Day School 50 24
NM K-8
th
84 Tribal Ohkay Owingeh Community School 21 9
NM K-8
th
159 BIE Taos Day School 37 21
NM K-8
th
208 BIE Sky City Community School 39 24
NM K-8
th
106 Tribal Na'Neelzhiin Ji'Olta (Torreon) 44 13.5
NM K-8
th
163 BIE Ojo Encino Day School 25 13
58
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
NM K-8
th
134 Tribal Dibe Yazhi Habitiin Olta', Inc. (Borrego Pass ) 42.5 11
NV K-8
th
12 Tribal Duckwater Shoshone Elementary School 4 1.5
SD K-8
th
261 Tribal American Horse School 43 12
SD K-8
th
209 Tribal Loneman Day School 55 12
SD K-8
th
172 Tribal Porcupine Day School 46 14
SD K-8
th
133 Tribal Wounded Knee District School 38 14
SD K-8
th
52 Tribal Rock Creek Grant School 31 9
SD K-8
th
83 Tribal Sitting Bull School 33 7
SD K-8
th
155 Tribal Enemy Swim Day School 68 22
WA K-8
th
119 Tribal Wa He Lut Indian School 38 14
WI K-8
th
202 Tribal Menominee Tribal School 43 26
FL PK-12
th
120 Tribal Ahfachkee Day School 59 24
LA PK-8
th
91 Tribal Chitimacha Tribal School 25 13
ME PK-8
th
87 Tribal Indian Island School 36 22
25611 TOTALS 6848 3277.2
59
2. Number of FTEs at BIE Boarding Schools (having a BIE-funded academic unit)
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
SD 5th - 8th 173 Tribal Pierre Indian Learning Center 93 26
OK
4th - 12th
476
BIE
Riverside Indian School
195
59
ND 5th - 8th 89 Tribal Circle of Nations 91 19
SD 6th - 12
th
252 Tribal Crow Creek Reservation High School 26 13
AZ
6th - 8
th
100
Tribal
Theodore Roosevelt School
23
8
MS
7th-12
th
398
Tribal
Choctaw Central High School
131
51
NM 7th-12
th
596 Tribal Santa Fe Indian School 205 63
AZ 9th-12
th
304 Tribal Greyhills Academy High School 114 38
AZ 9th-12
th
408 BIE Many Farms High School 80 28
CA
9th-12
th
328
BIE
Sherman Indian High School
111
25
NM 9th-12
th
246 Tribal Navajo Preparatory School 101 25
NM 9th-12
th
454 BIE Wingate High School 134 43
OK 9th-12
th
365 Tribal Sequoyah High School 117 40
OR
9th-12
th
343
BIE
Chemawa Indian School
136
31
SD 9th-12
th
238 BIE Flandreau Indian Boarding School 87 20
AZ K-12
th
152 Tribal Leupp School, Inc. 59 17
AZ
K-12
th
329
Tribal
Rough Rock Community School
111
40
NM
K-12
th
270
Tribal
Pine Hill Schools
111
27
SD K-12
th
838 BIE Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School 132 74
SD K-12
th
850 BIE Pine Ridge School 154 80
SD K-12
th
249 Tribal Marty Indian School 109 33
AZ
K-5
th
170
Tribal
Hunters Point Boarding School
45
11
60
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
AZ K-5
th
139 BIE Jeehdeez'a Academy, Inc. 32 11
AZ K-6
th
111 Tribal Wide Ruins Community School 36 10
AZ
K-6
th
105
Tribal
Nazlini Community School
36
9
NM K-6
th
189 BIE Mariano Lake Community School 39 19
NM K-6
th
158 BIE Crystal Boarding School 35 13
NM
K-6
th
158
BIE
Nenahnezad Community School
44
23
UT K-6
th
162 BIE Aneth Community School 40 16
AZ K-8
th
278 Tribal Many Farms Community School 80 28
AZ K-8
th
170 BIE Dennehotso Boarding School 36 15
AZ
K-8
th
260
BIE
Kaibeto Boarding School
50
21
AZ
K-8
th
121
BIE
Rocky Ridge Boarding School
28
14
AZ K-8
th
1276 BIE Tuba City Boarding School 232 114
AZ K-8
th
159 BIE T'iis Nazbas Community School 49 17
AZ K-8
th
179 Tribal Dilcon Community School 46 14
AZ
K-8
th
189
Tribal
Greasewood Springs Community School, Inc.
64
19
AZ K-8
th
363 Tribal Shonto Preparatory School 123 44
AZ K-8
th
356 BIE Kayenta Community School 87 37
AZ
K-8
th
106
Tribal
Naa Tsis'aan
32
11
AZ
K-8
th
388
Tribal
Lukachukai Community School
89
32
NM K-8
th
253 BIE Pueblo Pintado Community School 70 38
NM K-8
th
48 BIE Lake Valley Navajo School 18 8
NM
K-8
th
373
BIE
T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' (Crownpoint)
82
37
61
State
Grade
Range
Students
Enrolled
Tribal
or BIE
School Name
Employees
(All Staff)
Certified
Educators
NM K-8
th
110 BIE Chi Chil'tah Community School 34 16
NM K-8
th
396 Tribal Ch'ooshgai Community School 121 44
NM
K-8
th
169
BIE
Tohaali' Community School
43
18
NM K-8
th
446 BIE Wingate Elementary School 122 46
NM K-8
th
181 Tribal Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Community School 69.5 16.5
AZ
K-9
th
113
BIE
Seba Dalkai Boarding School
33
12
WA K-9
th
147 Tribal Paschal Sherman Indian School 50 16
14731 TOTALS 4185.5 1489.5
62
3. Number of FTEs at BIE Colleges
State
Student
Enrollment
Name of Postsecondary
Institution
Employees
Instructors
(subset of
employees)
Annual Base Funding
KS 846 Haskell Indian Nations University 201 (154) 38 $11,500,000
NM 488
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic
Institute
103 (101) 22 $8,378,541
Totals
1,334
304 60 $19,878,541
63
4. Numbers of FTEs at BIE Dormitories
State Grades Students Operation Name of School Employees Annual Base Funding
MT 1-12 115 BIE Blackfeet Dormitory 18 $1,787,243
NM
1-12
10
Tribal
Jicarilla Dormitory
14
$475,792
OK 1-12 60 Tribal Eufaula Dormitory 24 $1,078,210
SD 1-12 123 Tribal
Sicangu Owayawa Oti
(Rosebud Dormitory) 22 $1,325,029
OK
1-12
56
Tribal
Chickasaw Children's
Village
40
$1,010,903
OK
1-12
(K-6)
159
Tribal
Jones Academy
77
$3,141,835
NM K-12 60 Tribal
Hanaa'dli Community
School/Dormitory, Inc. 29 $1,280,416
AZ
K-12
83
Tribal
Pinon Community School
37
$2,350,602
AZ 7-12 138 Tribal Winslow Residential Hall 28 $1,480,313
AZ 9-12 113 Tribal
T'iisyaakin Residential
Hall (Holbrook) 32.5 $1,448,170
AZ
9-12
137
Tribal
KinLani Bordertown
Dormitory
35.5
$1,441,936
UT
9-12
78
Tribal
Richfield Residential Hall
20
$4,528,518
NM
9-12
71
Tribal
Shiprock Reservation
Dormitory
11
$2,098,769
NM
99
Tribal
Kinteel Residential
Academy (Aztec Dorm)
15
$974,309
1302
TOTAL
403
$24,422,045
64
APPENDIX E
Current Bandwidth at BIE-Funded Schools
School Name
Current
Configuration
Recommended
Configuration
SEDTA
Recommended
Configuration
User Count
Aztec High School Dormitory
1XT1
2XT1
5Mbps
89
Duckwater Shoshone School 1XT1 2XT1 1Mbps 9
Jeehdeez'a Elementary School, Inc.
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
295
Jones Academy
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
230
Nazlini Boarding School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
136
Richfield Residential Hall 1XT1 3XT1 10Mbps 114
Theodore Roosevelt School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
115
Tiisyaatin Residential Hall (Holbrook) 1XT1 3XT1 10Mbps 135
Wide Ruins Community School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
155
Turtle Mountain Community Elementary
School
No Circuit 2XT1 N/A 0
Turtle Mountain Community Middle
School
No Circuit 2XT1 N/A 0
Turtle Mountain High School
1XT1
6XT1
60Mbps
659
First Mesa Day (Polacca)
3XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
194
Tuba City Boarding School
6XT1
6XT1
100Mbps
1234
Flandreau Indian School
5XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
365
Marty Indian School
4XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
338
Pierre Indian Learning Center
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
254
Sicangu Owayawa Oti (Rosebud Dorm)
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
112
Wa He Lut Indian School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
128
White Shield School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
157
Tiospaye Topa School
3XT1
2XT1
10Mbps
193
65
Dunseith Day School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
187
Blackwater Community School
1XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
332
Lac Coute Oreilles Ojibwa School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
297
San Simon School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
253
Santa Rosa Boarding School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
250
Sky City Community School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
225
Baca/Dlo’ay Azhi Community School
1XT1
6XT1
40Mbps
411
Keams Canyon Elementary School
1XT1
2XT1
5Mbps
92
Chinle Boarding School
1XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
333
Rocky Ridge Boarding School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
154
Greyhills Academy High School
2XT1
6XT1
40Mbps
454
Ahfachkee Indian School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
219
Coeur d'Alene Tribal School
1XT1
2XT1
10Mbps
100
Leupp Schools, Inc
No Circuit
4XT1
20Mbps
270
Rough Rock Community School
2XT1
6XT1
40Mbps
479
Santa Fe Indian School Inc
1XT1
6XT1
80Mbps
814
Second Mesa Day School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
262
Shonto Preparatory School
2XT1
6XT1
40Mbps
465
Tiospa Zina Tribal School
2XT1
6XT1
50Mbps
566
Moencopi Day School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
208
Choctaw Central High School
1XT1
6XT1
50Mbps
544
Alamo Day School
1XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
305
Twin Buttes Day School
1XT1
2XT1
5Mbps
60
Wounded Knee District School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
133
Casa Blanca Community School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
269
Cherokee Central High School
2XT1
6XT1
50Mbps
533
Fond du Lac Ojibwe School
1XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
316
Loneman Day School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
253
Navajo Preparatory School Inc
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
237
Nay-Ah-Shing School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
236
66
St. Francis Indian School
1XT1
6XT1
60Mbps
656
Crow Creek Reservation High School
1XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
314
Gila Crossing Day School
1XT1
6XT1
50Mbps
529
Menominee Tribal School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
231
Circle of Nations-Wahpeton Indian School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
185
Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Elementary
School
1XT1 3XT1 10Mbps 153
Gila Crossing Day School North Campus
1XT1
2XT1
N/A
Lower Brule Tribal School
2XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
316
Lummi Tribal School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
133
Chitimacha Day School
1XT1
2XT1
5Mbps
99
Indian Island School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
153
Rock Point Community School
1XT1
6XT1
40Mbps
446
Hopi Day School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
144
New Paschal Sherman Indian School
1XT1
3XT1
20Mbps
200
Ohkay Owingeh Community School (San
Juan)
1XT1 2XT1 5Mbps 85
Greasewood Springs Boarding School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
172
Pine Hill Schools
1XT1
4XT1
30Mbps
360
Beatrice Rafferty School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
126
Shoshone Bannock School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
148
St. Stephens Indian School
1XT1
4XT1
20Mbps
248
Hanaa’dli Community School
1XT1
2XT1
5Mbps
90
Pyramid Lake High School
1XT1
3XT1
10Mbps
122
Residential Internet Broadband Comparisons:
ADSL (Phone Company): 1.5 Mbps – 20 Mbps
Cable Internet: 12 Mbps – 40 Mbps
Fiber Optic (Internet, or combined with television): 40 Mbps
APPENDIX F
Acronyms
Acronym Definition Acronym Definition
ADD Associate Deputy Director MOA Memorandum of Agreement
AS-IA Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs MOU Memorandum of Understanding
AYP Adequate Yearly Progress NAEP National Assessment for Educational Progress
BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs NASIS Native American Student Information System
BIE Bureau of Indian Education NCLB No Child Left Behind
CCRS College and Career Ready Standards NCAI National Congress of American Indians
DAS-M Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management NIEA National Indian Education Association
DoDEA Department of Defense Education Activity OFECR Office of Facilities and Environmental and Cultural
Resources
DOI Department of the Interior OFMC Office of Facilities Management & Construction
DPA Division of Performance and Accountability OIG Office of Inspector General
ED Department of Education OMB Office of Management and Budget
ELO Education Line Officer PARCC Partnership for Assessment Readiness for College and Careers
ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act PIAP Program Improvement and Accountability Plan
FACE Family and Child Education SEA State Education Agency
FBMS Financial and Business Management System SIPI Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
FI&R Facilities Improvement and Repair SMARTER BALANCED Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
FTE Full Time Employee STEM Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
GAO General Accounting Office TCSA Tribally Controlled Schools Act
GPRA Government Performance and Results Act TCU Tribal Colleges and Universities
HR Human Resources TEA Tribal Education Agency
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act USDA United States Department of Agriculture
IEP Individual Education Plan
ISEP Individual Student Equalization Program
IT Information Technology
LEA Local Education Agency
MI&R Maintenance Improvement and Repair
