America’s first students get a second look

US schools strive to close the learning gap for native American students – who often struggle to straddle two worlds.

On a snowy December night, nine teenage girls sit shoulder to shoulder around the kitchenette table, telling stories. Not dorm gossip, mind you, but stories that have been passed down for generations in their native cultures.

That edgy pride can be an important form of protection. When they leave their dorm, where everyone is Indian, they are "minorities" here in Flagstaff, Ariz., still battling prejudices – both silent and spoken.

Many of the students drive hours from remote reservation towns to live at the Kinlani Bordertown Dormitory and attend nearby Flagstaff High School. For some, the quest for more-challenging coursework and better extracurricular choices will lead to college – and to becoming the most educated person in their family.

But for others, the transition is just too hard, despite special activities – like the storytelling session – designed to teach or reaffirm the value of their traditional culture. For a whole host of reasons, nearly half who come in as freshmen don’t make it to senior year here, and much of that loss happens by sophomore year. Some transfer back home, while others drop out of high school altogether.

By Stacy A. Teicher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0322/p11s01-legn.html?s=hns