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Your schools do not have computers for kids and do not focus on "technology curriculum." Aren't you worried about teaching these kids 21st century skills?
If you survey the students of Oakland, and I don't just mean in the hills schools, you'll find a vast majority know their way around a computer. They know how to use Myspace, and Facebook, and Twitter. If you look at test scores in academic areas like reading, writing, and mathematics, you'll find these same kids are below grade level. We'd love to offer advanced level technology classes, like computer science and programming, but first we need to make sure that all of our kids have the strongest possible foundation in core academic areas. There isn't a computer science section on the SAT, and we want to get our kids into college, so we worry first about this. Once our kids reach the junior and senior year high school, they have the opportunity to take a digital arts class. They also get a class that ensures they understand how to use the basic programs they will use in college. Think of it this way - it is great if the kids can create a web page withe a copies of their resumes, but if those resumes are riddled with misspellings, or if those resumes don't indicate that they went to great colleges, they'll never get the jobs they want.
Your Physical Education is limited to stretching and running. Shouldn't kids be exposed to hockey, golf, and more advanced sports?
We're very careful about making sure that academics come first at our school. Every dollar we spend on sports equipment is a dollar we can't spend on textbooks or teachers. We spend our money on what we value most. Additionally, when it comes to sports, we're concerned about the health and well being of our kids. In the same way we want to strengthen their academic foundations, we want to strengthen their athletic foundations. You can't be a productive member of a sports team without working on your athletic ability. Strength, endurance, and flexibility are important aspects of athleticism. It is also important to understand the importance of dedication, hard work, and discipline. Our physical education program focuses on this. As they get older, they get more opportunities to try additional activities. For example, our seniors took a golf class this year, not only for the physical activity, but also to prepare them to succeed in the business world.
We recognize that there are countless organizations in Oakland to provide kids the chance to play basketball and football. How many other organizations are going to make sure they get a great education?
We've heard that American Indian disciplines students by shaving their heads. Isn't that wrong?
If our founder had known how much press this story would generate, I think he would have shaved the heads of everyone at the school.... There was a student at American Indian who stole and was caught. The founder of the school talked to the students father, and together they decided to take from the student what he valued most (to teach him a meaningful lesson about why one shouldn't steal). This young man loved his hair. This is what they took from him. The parent encouraged this, and it served as a valuable lesson for the student (and for every other student at the school). In this context, I think it was entirely appropriate. Stealing is wrong, and there are consequences for this behavior. Would it have been better to call the police and turn him into the juvenile detention center so that they could have pulled him out of school and locked him up?
The California Teachers Association strongly opposes George Bush's "No Child Left Behind" policy, why does American Indian support it?
NCLB is the greatest education legislation that has ever been passed for the sake of minorities in public schools. Brown Vs. the Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed racial segregation in public schools, let kids of all races sit in the same classroom, but their was no accountability confirming minorities were getting an education. NCLB ensures black, American Indian, Hispanic, handicapped, and special education students are provided the opportunity to compete with everybody else. If public schools don't provide that education, the state can close them down. Before, they would stop a school's federal funding if they didn't let minorities in the schoolhouse. It took fifty years for public education to do something more. Blacks, Amercian Indians, and Hispanics have been standing around in public schools being dumbed down for fifty long years. NCLB says all students will get an education, or we'll let another organization take over. We need true equality in our schools. NCLB is getting us there.
According to the California Teachers Association standardized tests are not "proof of comprehension", put minority students and poor students at a natural disadvantage, and they do not reflect the "myriad of strengths that each child brings to the classroom." How do you view standardized tests? (this question can be phrased in an even more leading way)
What the CTA and others like them are actually saying is, minority students should be held to a lower standard than everyone else. Why are poor, minority students less capable of working hard, learning concepts, and remembering important facts? Racism like this doesn't fly at our schools. California STAR tests are fact based tests that cover the material that is outlined in the California Standards. These standards clearly identify the concepts and facts that students are expected to master at each grade level. Do they test a student's ability to critically analyze a complex topic? No, that is not their intent, and to my knowledge, no one is claiming otherwise. People always say that we teach to the test. What we do is teach the standards - which is precisely what the law requires every school in the state to do.
If students succeed on these state tests, will the automatically be prepared for college? Of course not. This is why we work so hard to improve the writing and critical thinking skills of all of our students. But we do not adjust teaching styles to "meet the needs" of each individual student. My college professors never did this. To my knowledge, college students are still expected to adjust to their professors' teaching styles. Different students have different strengths, and they should have the opportunity to showcase these strengths, but this can only occur once a they master the basic concepts and develop a strong foundation of the basic study and organizational skills needed to be a successful student in any classroom.
It's easy to do well on standardized exams if you teach to the test, isn't that what you do?
If you know how to teach to the test, please share that information with me. If I knew how to do this, I would. We teach the standards that are covered on the exams. This is what is required by law. It is the job we are entrusted to complete.
I also hope that everyone who believes direct-teaching basic test-taking strategies, like the process of elimination, understands that students are not accepted into college without doing well on the SAT or ACT. If you are a poor test taker, you will not get into the nation's top universities.
We want to give our kids every advantage as they apply to college. Why other schools and other teachers refuse to do this basic work for their kids has never made much sense to me. How does shouting about the bias they claim is inherent in the tests better for the kids than working hard to prepare students to do a better job? Having theoretical arguments about bias certainly is easier than the hard work that goes into test preparation. Maybe that has something to do with it....
There is very little oversight at charter schools. How can anyone know that you aren't misspending public money or allowing your kids to cheat on their tests?
I can't speak to what it is like across the country, but in Oakland, charter schools are more strictly controlled than any other type of school. David Montes, the coordinator of the Office of Charter Schools is a serious guy, and he does not fool around when it comes to holding charters accountable.
All charter schools must have an independent, annual audit of their finances. In addition, the district requires financial reports throughout the year to monitor cash flow and ensure that schools have enough operating capital to keep the doors open. The charter school office completes two official visits annually to ensure that teachers are properly credentialed, review school policies and procedures (including admissions, suspension, and expulsion procedures), and to visit classrooms and review teacher performance. They also attend, at a minimum, one governance board meeting per year. They complete annual reviews of testing data and discuss each school's progress towards meeting measurable pupil outcomes, the goals that students have for their students.
Charter schools are subject to the same review of testing administration as traditional public schools. Our staff receive training on test administration through the district. We are subject to unannounced, independent visits during testing. The state reviews our tests for inconsistencies that would indicate cheating.
All of that notwithstanding, testing is sacred at our schools. It is how we measure our success. It is how we measure student progress. We want to do well on state tests, but more than that we want our kids to master the material that is covered throughout the year. We are motivated by the possibility of success, but even more so by our failings. We get progressively better because we are perpetually hungry for improvement. To work hard and to do better than year is what drives us all. There is no place for cheating in that equation - it would take all the fun out of the work we do.
Do you "cherry pick" kids with the most potential to join your schools?
We can't even get in the front door at most of the public elementary schools in Oakland, just to hand out applications and talk about our programs. How could we cherry pick? We only have very basic information about applicants before holding our lottery. We don't know their grades. We don't know their test scores. We've likely never even seen them.
If anything, in recent years, our reputation for providing additional resources to students who exhibit the most academic need has led some in the Oakland special education system to begin referring students to our sites, despite the high expectations we have for all students.
Our story is exciting not because we take in a bunch of smart kids and keep them learning. Our story is great because we take anyone who comes in the door, and we teach them to work hard. They begin to believe in themselves because we help them set challenging goals and then support them as they work to attain those goals.
Why are you called the "American Indian Public Charter School" when you have so few American Indians? Why don't you have more?
The American Indian Public Charter School was founded in 1996 with the goal of promoting American Indian culture while improving the academic performance of American Indians in Oakland, who, as a whole, were doing terribly in school. AIPCS was supposed to provide choice for Indians and others seeking an alternative to the larger pulbic middle schools in Oakland. Unfortunately, the students who decided to attend the school did not receive the academics and structure they so direly needed. The original founders decided to focus on bead making, drumming, and self-esteem classes. Classes started later than the other district public schools because it was believed that American Indians couldn't get up early in the morning. They called it "Indian time."
This is our history and we do not run from it. Instead, we hold it up as a glaring example of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions. None of the adults cared enough to make sure that the kids were developing the academic skills to become successful adults.
Most folks who suggest we change our name don't realize that we serve a far higher percentage of American Indian students than district schools. For example, in 2007-2008, the percent of American Indian students at our school was over six times higher than the District's, 5 times higher than the county's, and 3 times higher than the state's.
You have more Chinese students and fewer black and Latino students than many Oakland schools. Isn't that why your test scores are better?
Do you realize how racist this claim is? It suggests that Chinese students get high test scores because they are Chinese, not because they work hard. It also suggests that blacks and Latinos cannot achieve the same results because of their race, regardless of their efforts to improve. Those who demand tolerance and political correctness from others are always the first to make these claims.
This is a common misconception. First, the test scores didn't follow the Chinese students, the Chinese students followed the test scores. Their families began to seek out our schools once they saw how successful we were. It is this fact that makes the Chinese families smart - they see successful schools and they want their kids to be a part of them.
Additionally, even a cursory review of our testing data will reveal that in many grade levels, at all of our sites, the Chinese students are not the top performing subgroup. In many cases, they are holding our test scores down. Their parents don't like to hear this, but it is true.
The bottom line is this, we'll work with whoever comes to our schools. We don't care what you look like as long as you're ready to work.
Why don't you encourage more parent involvement at the school/have a PTA?
At our school's, we have a culture that honors the importance of families. A lot of these kids come from single-parent homes. It might be Auntie, or Grandpa that spends the most time with the kids. There is too much focus on Mom and Dad at many schools, which doesn't match up with the reality of home life for the kids we serve.
We work with anyone who has the best interests of our students at heart. If you are coming in to complain about a detention your kid received because he didn't complete his homework, it is going to be a very brief conversation. Actions have consequences, that is what we teach at our schools. If you are coming in because you see your child's failure to do his homework as a problem, and you'd like to work together to solve that problem, we'll be able to work together.
Too many parents perpetuate the culture of victimhood in their children. We foster a culture of accountability. The two are incompatible. I don't have enough time in my day to explain that to a parent more than once.
Why don't you have a music or arts program at your school?
Our focus is on academics. Our kids can get music, arts, and sports at any one of a hundred organizations throughout the city. No one else is teaching them math, English, history, and science. With few exceptions, their SAT scores and high school transcripts are going to be more important than their artistic talents when college applications come due. We have limited resources and our kids have limited time to learn. We focus on what is most important for their futures.
That said, we do incorporate arts into our core curriculum. Our kids do posters, projects and presentations. We also hire music teachers to do violin and flute after school for those students who are interested and who are passing all of their classes.
I look forward to hearing about all the art and music classes our kids decide to take in college, because it will mean that they're in college. That is my primary goal.
You have such high expectations, both academically and behaviorally. Don't you think you should let kids be kids?
Those are middle-class values. You're imagining kids going home from school and running around the neighborhood with other kids, playing hide and seek. This is not the reality for our students. If they aren't working hard and learning how to behave appropriately, they are getting swallowed up by the streets.
Our model would not work in middle-class, white America. And we've never said that it would. Our model works for poor, urban minorities. And those who believe that poor minorities should be treated the same as middle class whites are fools. They have to work harder because they have farther to climb. They aren't starting out with the same advantages. They don't have family connections. They aren't going to have parents who can help them with their calculus homework. If they are going to have a better life, they are going to have to work hard for it - harder than those in the suburbs - and not just when they feel like it, but every day.
Those who feel sorry for them, and want to "just give them a break" are dooming these kids to lives of poverty, crime, and incarceration.
Do you really think it is appropriate to embarrass kids in front of their peers? Isn't that cruel?
I'm reminded of two quotes by the founder of the American Indian Model, Ben Chavis. He said, "There is no such thing as a complete failure at American Indian; you can always serve as a bad example," and "If you act like a fool, you'll be treated like a fool."
The ultimate cruelty in most schools today is that they have allowed the lunatics to take over the asylum. All across the country, kids are learning that they can behave however they want. They are not learning the importance of acting with dignity and respect. And the adults are letting it happen. At American Indian, we don't embarrass our students... but we sure do point it out when they act like fools and embarrass themselves. If we simply tolerated bad behavior, we would be abdicating our responsibility to those kids.
Aside from the fact that many minority kids from urban schools won't have the academic chops to succeed in college or the working world, they also don't understand how to behave in public, how to respect authority, or how to carry themselves in a professional setting. This is not true of our kids. Is this what you mean by cruelty?
Is it true that you've fired teachers for things as simple as being out of dress code or showing the presidential inauguration to their classes? Don't you think that is a bit extreme?
We hire smart people to be good leaders. Our teachers do a great job and have a tremendous impact in the lives of our kids, but not every teacher is a success at American Indian. When a teacher or administrator doesn't do a good job of representing our kids, they have to go. The kids come first. It only makes sense, if the adults are not held accountable for their actions, how can we fairly hold students accountable for their actions?
Isn't it true that you expel underperforming kids or encourage them to leave before testing so your scores will be high?
We have never expelled a student from American Indian.
Isn't it cruel to retain kids when they fail? Isn't it bad for their self-esteem?
Not nearly as cruel as promoting kids who have not mastered grade-level material. How does it help kids to move them forward when they don't have the skills they need to succeed. When did a child's self-esteem become more important than their education and their ability to take care of themselves in this world?
This country is full of kids who are very proud of themselves with no good reason. Self-esteem should come from excelling at something. It should come from achievement. At American Indian, there is no participation trophy. We don't believe in giving awards to everyone who shows up. We don't believe in the entitlement mentality. We believe in hard work, perseverance, and discipline. If you have these values you will be a success. Only then should you feel good about yourself.
Not everyone can be an NBA star. Not everyone can be an astronaut. But everyone can be successful if they work hard.
We've heard that teachers have been discouraged from doing community service events with their students. Is this true?
In her recent keynote address at our high school's graduation, Michelle Bernard, President and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum, told graduates to ignore the standard advice to do public service. Get your education. Make a good living. Take care of yourself and your family. Then go out and help others. This is good advice!
Consider the combined philanthropy of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Think of all the potential good they will do with the money they have earned over the course of their lives. What if they had decided to join the peace corps instead of going into business.
Our kids are poor minorities. They have their own troubles, and they need to first learn to save themselves. They can save others once they educate themselves out of poverty.
Your website says that 95% of your students qualify for free of reduced lunch, yet you require your students to bring lunches from home. This seems unethical. What's your rationale?
The larger ethical question, it seems to me, is one of providing extra food to a generation of kids who are largely overweight at the expense of textbooks and quality teachers when so many students are undereducated. No one at our school is starving, but there are plenty of kids who need an extra helping of English and math.
Is Dr. Chavis still involved in running the school?
Chavis is still around, but not in any official capacity. He cares about these schools, and he cares about the kids who go here. That will always be true. He's a huge advocate for us, and is always willing to help us when we need him. I'm very grateful for that.
You spend less money per student than surrounding schools in Oakland but achieve better results, how is that possible?
One of the greatest lies in education is that if schools had more money students would achieve more academically. Schools don't need more money. They need better money managers. The problem is most school administrators operate their schools with no business sense and therefore end up in debt.
At American Indian, we always allocate funding to what is most important: academics. We are happy to spend money on new textbooks and hardworking teachers. We keep our administrative overhead low. We don't hire consultants.
Where finances are concerned, we keep it simple. Will these dollars improve student improvement or ensure student safety? If the answer is no, the money does not get spent. You'd be hard pressed to find a District school with the same philosophy.
What's the secret to the success of the American Indian Model?
Hard work and discipline.
It seems like every year District schools are rolling out a new program to improve student achievement. They spend millions of dollars to have other people tell their teachers how to teach and their administrators how to lead. Why don't they just fire the teachers and administrators and hire the consultants?
These schools are looking for short cuts. They are afraid to tell students and parents that it takes hard work to succeed in school. They are too scared to enforce their own rules.
Everyone knows that the only way to lose weight is through changes in diet and exercise. Still, people around the world spend billions of dollars each year on weight loss pills and junk, exercise contraptions.
At American Indian, we know that hard work and discipline is the answer. And we can't help but laugh at all the other things folks are willing to try instead.
Where do you see American Indian 5 years from now?
American Indian Model Schools are among the best in the state. Currently, all three schools are located in Oakland, but we are committed to bringing or program to more students.
Public schools in California, and across the nation, aren't doing enough to educate our kids. There is too much emphasis on self-esteem building. There are more conversations about raising teacher salaries than there are about raising student achievement.
In the next five years, you will see more American Indian Model schools, and more kids succeeding in school as a result.
What can other schools learn from your schools?
If you keep it simple, emphasize the basics, and commit to hard work, it is easy to educate children.
There is zero accountability in education. Everyone blames everybody else. The kids are lazy, the teachers don't do their jobs, and the parents don't take an interest. When students don't learn, no one is responsible. Schools need to take responsibility for educating kids, regardless of what else is going on. This means holding the students and teachers accountable for their own actions.
But in order to learn any of this, folks need to reach out to us. Though our school was the first in Oakland ever to win a Blue Ribbon Award, and we have the highest test scores in the county, very few teachers, principals, or district leaders ever come to see how we are successful. We get better by working hard, but also by visiting other successful schools. If someone else is doing something that is getting results, we want to learn about it and steal it for ourselves! We can't figure out why failing schools don't look to successful schools for advice.
What do you think about teachers unions?
Teachers unions have done more to ensure the success of charter schools than any other organization I can think of. Because they work so hard to protect the worst teachers and fight so vigorously against rewarding high-quality teachers with extra money, they have driven parents and the best teachers into charter schools.
I think teachers unions do a great job of representing their constituents. I also think it is detrimental to student achievement that the unions' constituents are teachers, not kids.
Too often, what is in the best interest of teachers is not in the best interest of students. For example, unions often fight the hardest to protect their laziest members. This is good for the teachers' job security, but it is dreadful for the kids who are stuck in classes with ineffective teachers.
Unions are fighting against many of the things that would ensure higher quality instruction in every classroom, like merit pay, the use of test data to measure teacher performance, and the protection of its best teachers instead of those with the most seniority. They have been very effective in fighting these battles.
So again, I think teachers unions are highly effective at meeting the needs of their members, but are also destroying public education.
What would you say to naysayers of school choice?
School choice encourages innovation and competition, both of which ultimately benefit students.
As a parent, I want the best education I can afford for my kids. Frankly, I don't care about the politics of education. I care about the quality of instruction in the classroom and the level of safety at the school.
If a charter school provides the best opportunity, that is where my kids will go to school. If it is a traditional public school, that is OK to.
For too long, traditional public schools were the only game in town. Whether they succeeded or failed, it didn't really matter. There was no other option. This caused complacency within the system. If there is no reason to work hard and get better, it is easy to get lazy.
Charter schools are the kick in the tail that is needed to ensure that all schools work hard to serve students. If traditional public schools fail to respond, then parents will continue to vote with their feet.
I would love to see traditional public schools put us out of business. It would mean that traditional public schools were working hard to serve students and families. It would mean that all kids were getting the very best education possible. Until then, school choice allows for a level of accountability that is absent when traditional public schools have a monopoly.
What is the American Indian Model of Education?
FAMILY CULTURE
1.Families are guaranteed if they follow and support our model, their children will be prepared to graduate from college.
2.We create an extended family with administration, teachers, staff, students, family, and selected community. Students and staff are expected to clean and take care of the school property.
3.Teachers spend three years with their students in 6th through 8th grade teaching all core academic subjects, which creates an environment of strong academics and family culture.
4.When a 6th grade student is acting up in class, he or she will be sent to sit on the floor in a 7th or 8th grade class.
5.All students are provided free tutoring in any subject before school, after school, or on Saturday. Students are employed as tutors to work with other students who need academic support in core academic subjects.
6.Former AIPCS students enrolled in college are hired to work with our current students.
7.No student has been expelled since the American Indian Model was implemented in 2000.
ACCOUNTABILITY/STRUCTURE
1. We analyze all student test results to ability group for mathematics and sports. A student's state and national test results are used to gauge the accuracy of achievement in the classroom.
2.State testing is held one week after staff and students return from Easter Break. There are no field trips until after California Standards testing. Only students who have worked hard and followed the rules may attend field trips.
3.Progress reports are sent home every three weeks for students who are failing. A C is a failing grade. Report cards are distributed every nine weeks. Administrators must sign off on all student progress reports and report cards before they are sent home.
4.We retain those students not willing to work toward improving their academic or social skills to advance to the next grade level.
5.Students are informed of their academic progress and the school's academic progress continuously. Students are expected to set academic goals and work toward them.
6.We demand hard work and high academic expectations from all students and staff.
7.We hire smart administrators and teachers based on their high academic achievement and ability to follow the American Indian Model. We fire administrators and teachers who do not meet those expectations. We reward all employees who adhere to the model.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
1.Teachers provide students with 90 instructional minutes in language arts and 90 instructional minutes in mathematics each day. Teachers assign a minimum of two hours of homework each night.
2.We implement professional development where administrators and teachers train their colleagues, while students train incoming students on the culture and expectations of the American Indian Model.
3.We set forth a rigorous academic program aligned with standards-based textbooks and a uniform grading scale that all administrators and teachers must follow.
4.After-school detention and Saturday school serve as consequences for students who broke school rules.
5.We celebrate Christopher Columbus Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and other various holidays by attending school. This attendance policy was created by students and staff.
6.We follow an extended school year with an average of 200 instructional school days with mandatory summer programs that include: AIM summer school, Stanford Academic Institute of Learning (SAIL), Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY), and University of California at Berkeley’s Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP).
7.Teachers finish core academic curriculum textbooks by April 5th each year. After state testing, teachers begin the next grade level's core curriculum of mathematics and language arts.
FREE MARKET CAPITALISM
1.There are clear, consistent, and high expectations in the student contract that are enforced by all employees. Student consequences (detention, Saturday School, embarrassment, cleaning, etc.) are given for not following school rules.
2.Families choose to enroll their children in an American Indian modeled public school. State and federal funding follows the student to the family’s school of choice. This is the same funding model of vocational schools, community colleges, and universities in The United States.
3.We focus on excellent student attendance (99.5%). Students and staff are given cash awards for perfect attendance, hard work, and for reinforcing the school's mission statement and credo.
4.Job descriptions are posted that cause administrator or teacher applicants to self-select out from applying for a job with our school.
5.Financial rewards are given to all employees for increased student achievement on the California Standards Tests.
6.We encourage classes to compete with each other and instill in students the values of a free market capitalistic society.
7.The administrative leadership focuses on fiscal responsibility and a superior business model. There is no fundraising by families. The school pays for student trips, the SAT, the PSAT, and other costs related to students.
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