Alaskan Native Early School Leavers : A Study with Recommendations / Jeanmarie Crumb.

In response to a request by the Anchorage Native Caucus and the Anchorage Native Education Coalition, this study by the Anchorage School District Community Relations Department focuses on the Alaskan Native dropout problem. The study indicates that between September 1976 and March 1981, Native Alaskans, who compose approximately 4% of the total secondary student population of approximately 12,000, accounted for over 20% of the dropouts. Findings of interviews with 29 Alaska Native dropouts indicate the most common reasons for leaving school were grades, credits, boredom, personal problems, pregnancy, and difficulty with arranging child care. Suggestions for improving school holding power from 20 Native students attending a 2-day workshop are summarized. The report offers eight recommendations for improving the success rate of Alaskan Native students: provide new student orientation, allow alternate credit granting options, increase career education, offer culturally relevant courses, expand teacher in-service training, provide routine counseling, and explain attendance and suspension policies and procedures to both students and parents. Appendices contain an Anchorage Native Caucus and Native Education Coalition position paper, the survey questionnaire for native students, listings of Alaskan Native and American Indian enrollments in Anchorage schools, secondary school attendance policies, test score summaries, discipline report summaries and student enrollment tables. (NEC)

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