Ateyapi students celebrate at Central High School in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Richie Richards
Ateyapi Program’s positive impact
Dropout rate falls dramatically under program
By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Staff Writer RAPID CITY –– The Ateyapi program is making a huge impact on Native American student graduation rates in Rapid City. According to research documents presented to the Rapid City Public School Board on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Ateyapi program has helped to bring Native American drop-out rates from 63 percent in 2012 down to 41 percent in 2015. The five year program study served as a progress report. The presentation was prepared with a grant from the Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The research was conducted by John J. Usera, Ph.D., Bruce Long Fox, M.B.A., Whitney Rencountre and Scott Means and was prepared into a formal document on Sept. 17, 2015. Native Sun News interviewed Executive Director of Rural America Initiatives, Bruce Long Fox to discuss the five-year progress report presented to the school board on Tuesday.
Staff of Ateyapi program in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Richie Richards / Native Sun News
Ateyapi began as a program intended to address the Native American teen pregnancy issue in high schools relevant to high school completion and continuance, according to Long Fox. When grants were being sought to support the Ateyapi program, Project AIM, a career oriented program was an ideal direction to go with Native American students. AIM is an after-school program at Central High School serving a targeted population. The school provides a classroom space for the program. Traditional Lakota practices and teachings are woven into the class curriculum, says Long Fox. The idea of getting students into a career-minded mentality and thinking of their future after high school is the drive and intent of Ateyapi, Long Fox discussed with NSN. Although this most recent student confirms the positive impact of Ateyapi in the three high schools (Central High School, Stevens High School, Rapid City High School) and five middle schools (Southwest, South, West, East, North), Long Fox conceded it is not solely because of Ateyapi which keeps students in schools.
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Long Fox credits the addition and support of Rapid City Central High School Principal, Mike Talley as a major influence and staff support. The Ateyapi program can be found in eight schools in the school district and will serve 725 students per year. This is done through the assistance of nine mentors working with students in the schools. These mentors are often culture-bearers, live sober lifestyles, and bring Lakota culture into the program. Many of them are, or have been, students at Oglala Lakota College. Long Fox is proud of his mentors and puts their educational requirements and needs before the Ateyapi program; he works around their college courses when scheduling events and after-school programming. A large part of the success of Ateyapi is from the Summer Credit Recovery Program. This summer school program allows students to attend classes for several weeks during the summer to catch up on their graduation requirements in math, science and other classes, according to Long Fox. The Ateyapi program provides transportation to and from classes during the week. And on Fridays, the students who are actively participating, doing their homework assignments, and maintaining good grades are taken on field trips for “Fun Friday”. Over the past few years, attendance for elementary students is up 94 percent and this is due to extra resources at the disposal of Ateyapi. According to Long Fox, a majority of Ateyapi students are “pow wow families”. These are the students who grew up with parents and families who have had dancing and drumming ingrained in their lives through family ties to traditional cultural practices. One of the difficulties Long Fox and the Ateyapi program deal with on a yearly basis, is the “transient family” population. These are the families who live both on and off the reservations in South Dakota. Many families move in and out of Rapid City for work, opportunities, and educational needs. Sometimes, students attend area schools and eventually decide to attend boarding schools like Flandreau Indian School, Crow Creek, and others, says Long Fox. Although the program at the beginning of the year will begin with a certain amount of students, by the end of the year, up to one-third of the families and kids move out of town, Long Fox told NSN. There is a targeted population that Ateyapi focuses their resources on. These are the students directly in the center of the academic and social stratus. “These are not the ‘A’ students we are trying to recruit. They are going to make it. They usually have parents who are supportive and responsible, always checking on them. And the students who have criminal records or are in and out of trouble with the law are hard to keep in the program,” said Long Fox. The five-year progress report presented to the Rapid City Public School Board on Tuesday indicates the program served an average of 120 students per year in middle school with an average age of 12. The high school program served an average of 120 students with an average age of 16. 80 percent of those students were in the 9th and 10th grades. Medically accurate information, developing a healthy Lakota identity, adult models and mentors, sustaining Lakota traditions and practices, acquisition of coping skills, impact of substance abuse, academic support and tutoring as well as personal short and long term goals are the program protective factors. These are the goals of Ateyapi. “These students are thirsty for identity, thirsty for traditional knowledge,” Long Fox explained. The Ateyapi mentors are chosen specifically based on their culture-bearing and Lakota values. In the report, nearly all students surveyed in 2015 said they would recommend the program to friends, mentors were very helpful, like the activities, learned a lot about self, and enjoyed the Ateyapi program. Although, not technically a scientific survey, the study has proven that students are looking towards their future more, have slowed substance abuse, smoke cigarettes less frequently, and enjoy learning and practicing their traditions more. When dealing with federal grants and funding, there is a fine line when teaching culture and religion during curriculum programming. After a 15-week curriculum period year, the Ateyapi students were able to go on a vision quest. This vision quest followed a week-long curriculum on the vision quest ceremony. Students were taken into the Black Hills, to a chosen spot, and asked to go and “meditate” for a full day. During this meditation period, students were encouraged to envision their futures and what they wanted to become as a professional adult. As a reward for the cultural experience, the Ateyapi program gave the participants star quilt blankets. These blankets serve as a reminder of their future and their experience, according to Long Fox. The vision that is Ateyapi will continue in Rapid City schools for another five years and much longer into the future if the positive impact continues. If you would like more information regarding Ateyapi or Rural America Initiatives, please visit www.ruralamericainitiatives.org or visit them at their office located at 618½ 6th Street, Rapid City. (Contact Richie Richards at staffwriter@nsweekly.com)
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