HIS Nation - MAPS Feature: Academics/Arts
Episode 3: A Unique Approach
If you were to visit our campus and sit in on the various class sessions for a day, you might notice a difference in how a school is conducted. You would likely see something different from what you have been used to while in grade school.
Yes, you would be witness to something unique, but while you would be wondering to yourself: “Is this the way school is done these days?” we would say, “no, not necessarily.” This is how we do school here at HIS.
In this episode of HIS Nation, we unpack the essence of what academics at HIS looks like.
In This Edition:
75th Anniversary Reflection Section
Video interview with Mrs. Anita Ojeda - Academics at HIS
Article on Academics at HIS
The Reflection Section - 75 years of stories like these
In celebration of our 75th year anniversary, we will dedicate a section of each HIS Nation feature to sharing moments and interesting facts in our history.
Today’s Reflection comes from our November/December 1993 newsletter.
“Mission kids...on a mission trip?
Who would ever think that would happen?”
How HIS Students Became Involved
Academics at HIS with Anita Ojeda
Watch to find out how Academics are conducted here at Holbrook Indian School (HIS).
Academics at HIS by Anita Ojeda
Academic Overview
At Holbrook Indian School, we want our students to find wholeness. We’ve created a unique delivery system for the two essential subjects--English Language Arts (ELA) and math. Our students experience a high level of trauma, which produces the phenomenon known as the affective filter. An affective filter makes it impossible for a student to learn and retain things. Each traumatic experience further prevents students from learning at the same rate as their peers.
When our students arrive at HIS, we immediately test them to discover their reading and math levels. We want to make sure we know at what level they need to start in order to meet their needs. The data from the test scores ensure we place students correctly.
ELA and Math Delivery Systems
In a conventional school setting, teachers teach students based on a students’ grade-level placement. Unfortunately, many of our students have fallen behind academically, and their needs don’t necessarily match up with the teachers’ areas of expertise.
For example, a high school English teacher won’t have expertise in helping students learn how to read. Therefore, we pair students who have trouble reading with the teacher who can best meet their needs. To do this, the entire school teaches ELA at the same time each morning. Students rotate between three different teachers, based on each student’s individual needs. We teach math to the entire school in one period also. This allows students to pair up with teachers who can best help them experience success.
As students accelerate their learning, our system allows the fluidity for them to move up to a higher level. This academic success boosts their confidence and enables them to experience success in other areas of their lives. Our data also shows how our system works to accelerate student learning. The longer a student stays at our school, the sharper the rise in their academic performance.
Arts
Art provides many benefits for mental health. Art also allows students to feel successful at something. A student might not read very well, but they might find success working with pottery. When our students find success at something, we try to nurture their talent. Their artistic achievements breed success in other areas of school. We want students to understand the value of creativity as a form of self-care.
Our indigenous arts class allows students to learn about indigenous art practices from various tribes. We emphasize the importance of learning about their heritage in order to build self-confidence.
Next Level Placement
Juniors and seniors take the next level placement class every other year. We’ve discovered our graduates have a very low success rate in college. Many factors influence these statistics, like poverty, family pressures, and lack of knowledge about how to take the next step. About 99% of our students come from families where no one attended college. When they don’t have that background or support, they start college at a disadvantage. We want to help students learn higher education vocabulary and feel comfortable applying for scholarships and financial aid.