Editor’s note: The Associated Press and ICT, a news organization that reports on Indigenous issues, collaborated on this story about frequent absence among Native American children.
WATONGA, Okla. (AP) Hollie Youngbear, the Indian education director for the Watonga school district, starts his work by ensuring that Native American pupils arrive to school.
She ensures that pupils have school supplies and clothing. She puts them in touch with tribal and federal services. Additionally, she and a coworker drive out to collect up pupils who fail to show up for class.
At Watonga High School, Native kids do not skip school as much as their counterparts do nationwide. Youngbear and her coworkers strive to establish a connection with families that respects Native communities’ needs and heritage.
“A cycle of skipping school goes back to the abuse generations of Native students suffered at U.S. government boarding schools,” Youngbear said as she flipped through binders in her office that had information of every Native student in the school.
“It can create a generational cycle if grandma didn’t go to school, and her grandma didn’t, and her mother didn’t,” said Youngbear, an Arapaho tribe member who spent 25 years teaching the Arapaho and Cheyenne languages at the school.
In order to reduce the absence of Native students, Watonga schools work with a number of Cheyenne and Arapaho initiatives. One supports conferences for native youngsters and assists students with their educational costs. To deter underage drinking and drug usage, another meets monthly during lunch with Watonga’s Native high school students.
There are 38 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma; several of them have their own education departments, and their assistance helps students succeed. According to statistics gathered by The Associated Press, Oklahoma was the only state with data available for the 2022–2023 school year where Native pupils missed school at lower rates than the state average.
According to state data, less than 4% of Native students at Watonga High experienced chronic absences in 2022–2023, which is consistent with the school average. For both excused and unexcused causes, students who miss 10% or more of the school year are considered chronically absent, which hinders their learning and increases their likelihood of dropping out.
Native American pupils make up about 14% of the Watonga school on the Cheyenne-Arapaho reserve. The high school is like many others in rural Oklahoma, with Bible scriptures in black lettering on the walls of the hallways. However, the classroom designated for Eagle Academy, the school’s alternative education program, is decorated with Native artwork created by students.
The majority of the students are Native American, and they are placed in the program when they are having trouble maintaining their attendance or grades, according to classroom teacher Carrie Compton. Field trips are among the incentives used to encourage students for attending class.
According to Compton, she achieves results. During his second year of high school, a Native lad who missed 38 days of class briefly attended Eagle Academy before graduating last year, she added.
“He felt like he was getting something from school, which is why he had perfect attendance for the first time ever,” Compton explained.
When pupils fail to attend class, Compton and Youngbear alternately go to their houses.
“One year, I think I picked up five kids every morning because they had no rides,” Compton recalled. I simply begin my small route and make my circle at seven in the morning, and once they get used to it, they will attend school.
Native students are frequently overrepresented in alternative education programs across the nation, which can exacerbate segregation. However, the Eagle Academy teacher’s acceptance of Native kids creates a different tone than what other children encounter in other parts of the school.
According to Compton, one of the most common complaints she receives from Native students in her class is, “The teachers just don’t like me.”
According to Watonga senior Happy Belle Shortman, who is Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, bullying of Native kids by non-Native students is another issue. According to her, elements of Cheyenne students’ traditional ceremonies and powwow music have been made fun of.
“People here have their opinions, but they’re not very open,” Shortman remarked. Individuals from other cultures don’t comprehend our culture, our customs, or the fact that we live different lives than they do.
She stated poverty may also contribute to bullying. “You’re kind of just outcasted if you’re not in the latest trends,” she remarked.
Despite the difficulties, Watonga employees attribute the low absenteeism rates to their efforts in fostering relationships with kids.
According to Dallas Pettigrew, director of Oklahoma University’s Center for Tribal Social Work and a member of the Cherokee Nation, unless non-Native faculty members make a special effort to ensure that Native students feel welcomed, they will never truly feel accepted.
IT News’s FELIX CLARY. This article was written by Sharon Lurye of the Associated Press in New Orleans.
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