"The Rapid City School District is making an extra effort this year to help American Indian students. The district has hired The Red Stone Education Group to help its Office of Indian Education and supervise the federal grant program, Title VII, that supports Indian education.

That's a good idea, because something more needs to be done to help Indian students in school.

Just look at the district's 2006 No Child Left Behind report card. The attendance rate for Indian students was 89.1 percent last year, not far behind the district's overall attendance rate of 93 percent. But the graduation rate for Indian students is appalling. In 2006, barely half of Indian students graduated from high school - 51.5 percent. The graduation rate for all students was 81.4 percent.

This year, Red Stone will work with each American Indian student to provide them with a lesson and learning plan, which will be checked monthly. The goal is to improve Indian students' reading and math skills, keep them in school and improve graduation rates."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Help Indian students (The Rapid City Journal 9/1)

National Indian Education Study:
Overview | Executive Summary | Full Report

Relevant Links:
National Center for Education Statistics - http://nces.ed.gov
Nation's Report Card - http://www.nationsreportcard.gov

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