GAINSGraduation and Academic Improvement for Native

Students

National Forum on At-Risk YouthMyrtle Beach, South Carolina

GAINS

Presentation Team:

Kelly Tonsmeire, DirectorAlaska Staff Development Network

Carl White, Assistant to the SuperintendentBering Strait School District

Mission of the Bering Strait School District:

The Bering Strait School District will educate our children to become self-sufficient and contributing citizens through quality programs that reflect our children’s heritage.

The Bering Strait School District, in northwest Alaska, serves

fifteen isolated villages on the Seward Peninsula, on the eastern end of Norton Sound and on two

islands in the Bering Sea. Current enrollment is approximately 1800

students and is almost 100% Alaskan Native Inupiat, Yu'pik or

Siberian Yu'pik Eskimo.

Although the number of students served is relatively small, the area served covers approximately 80,000 square miles. Most of the schools are accessible only by small bush aircraft.

BSSD School Board Goals

1. Increase Parent Involvement

• Increase Graduation Rate

2. Decrease Dropout Rate

• Emphasize Health and WellnessRemoved inaccurate image.

Open for new image!

Removed inaccurate image.

Open for new image!

Alaska Basics - The Great LandAlaska Basics - The Great Land

Alaska’s size is misleading

• Most areas are roadless• Only “highway” is two lane blacktop road• 656,424 square miles

School Districts the Size of StatesSchool Districts the Size of States

Bering Strait School District• Roughly the size of Great Britain

Definitions of Isolated Frontier AreaDefinitions of Isolated Frontier Area

Most use “6 persons per square mile”

ISER Report: Alaska under 1 per square mile

Census Bureau: 1.1 person per square mile

We’re Called the Bering Strait School District...We’re Called the Bering Strait School District...

Diomede - Now THIS is Rural...Diomede - Now THIS is Rural...

You CAN See Russia - Click for Panorama!You CAN See Russia - Click for Panorama!

http://go.bssd.org/russia

Ski Racing on the International DatelineSki Racing on the International Dateline

School & Teacher HousingSchool & Teacher Housing

GAINS - Dropout Prevention Strategies

The Problem:•Students don’t feel enthusiastic about school

•Students are bored at school

•Our Alaska Native Students are disengaged

GAINS - Dropout Prevention StrategiesWhy are students

disengaged?• Learning lacks meaning and purpose

• Students don’t see the value in school learning

• The belief that school is not providing them with skills for adult life

• A school climate that is not inviting

We need to start having a dialog about:

What defines success in our villages?

Bering Strait School DistrictHigh School Graduation

Paths10 + 2

The vision of John Apangalook School is to create successful life-long learners who contribute to their community and culture. Gambell

10% - 15% of BSSD graduates go to college

Less than 5% of the UA system graduates are Alaska Native

70% students say they are going to college after graduating

Disconnect

Community Leadership & Participation

Career/Technical

College

BSSD High School Diploma

Relevance

Rigor Choices

Pathways

10 2

High School Graduation Qualifying Exam

Majority of Core Requirements Complete

Increased Advising

Community Leadership & Participation

Career/Technical Path

College Path

+

Qu

alify

ing

Even

t

Community Leadership & Participation

210 +

Community Leadership & Participation ElectivesFirst Aid

Cultural ClassesArt/BusinessNACTEC SessionsAdvanced ExcelAdvanced MicrosoftHospitality IndustryArctic SurvivalLocal EnergyWater TreatmentCommunity LeadershipClassified Education AideBuilding MaintenanceSchool EmployeePersonal FinanceHousing MaintenanceHunter SafetyAviation ground schoolFisheries; USCG six-pack licenseFood HandlerHELP Test (School Parapros)

Small EngineGrant WritersHead StartFisheriesBoiler Repair

Dropout Early Warning Intervention System:

dewisResearch says that the students have a higher chance of dropping out of school if they meet two of the following criteria...

The student is behind in READING

The student is behind in MATH

The student has poor ATTENDANCE

The student has been SUSPENDED

SO... the question is:

If we know this information, why don’t we identify these students early and then formulate a plan of support for these students?

The Keys are:• Early Identification• Assessing where the student is academically and behaviorally • Coming up with a plan that addresses the deficit • Monitoring the plan

• Redefining the plan

DEWIS is helping us take a deeper look at our students!

GAINS Cultural Competency Plan

The Problem:

The lack of teaching experience combined with the unfamiliarity of our Alaska Native cultures is adversely impacting student learning.

The Facts:• Our teacher turnover rate is around 35% every year• Most schools have new teachers, but the same high need students remain

• New teachers have limited experience and knowledge of the local Alaska Native Cultures

• New teachers to Alaska are unaware of the Alaska Native learning styles and the cultural dynamics of teaching in our small villages • Students are unable to establish lasting relationships with teachers, who could become mentors and role models• 48% of our teachers have less than 2 years of teaching experience

• 15% of our teachers have 3-5 years experience

• 63% of our teachers have less than 5 years of teaching experience

• Most teachers come from outside Alaska

Building Instructional Capacity through

professional learning

In ProgressIn Progress

GAINSU.S. Department of Education Alaska Native Education Grant

3-Year Project

15 Small, Remote, Rural Schools in the Bering Strait School District (BSSD)

Carl - Logos?Carl - Logos?

GAINSIndividualized Dropout Intervention Strategies

Dropout Early Warning Intervention System (DEWIS)

Enhancing Cultural Competency

Building Instructional Capacity:Response to InterventionPositive Behavior ManagementExplicit InstructionAssessment

Teacher’s Years of

Experience

building District office capacity

Instructional Leadership

Implementing a Comprehensive Assessment System

Understanding how to use data to make instructional decisions

Coordination between district initiatives for coherence

building District office capacity

District Office trainings - On-site (4 days)

Co-training with District Office staff - On-site, regional building trainings (four, two-day sessions per region)

Supported the development of an RTI Manual, Problem Solving Model and AIMSweb Resource Guide

Resource

building staff instructional capacityDelivering explicit, systematic instruction

Implementing a Comprehensive Assessment System

Understanding how to use data to make instructional decisions

Delivering rigorous reading instruction that encompasses all 5 essential components of reading

building staff instructional capacity

Explicit Instruction

Behavioral Response to Intervention

Alaska RTI Conference

Literacy professional development for para-educators and teachers

RTI training for all staff

comprehensive assessment system

Regional professional development for all staff:

AIMsweb Administration

AIMsweb Data Management System

Using AIMsweb data to impact instruction

Data Analysis and Data driven meetings

Using Technology to enhance professional

learning

28 Webinar Series

119 Webinar Sessions

training of trainers

Explicit Instruction (Anita Archer)CHAMPS Behavior Management (Randy Sprick)

In ProgressIn Progress

Festival Of Ideas Best Practices

Alignment of instructional practices with Explicit InstructionDevelopment of early warning dropout prevention system (DEWIS)Integrating Native art and cultureDeep curriculum alignment processCareer pathways

In ProgressIn Progress

questions?

Keep?Keep?