American Indian Public High School

THE MODEL

The American Indian Model of Education focuses on the four tenets of Family, Accountability, High Expectations, and Free-Market Capitalism.
A Culture of Family

1. We are a family at AIM Schools.

2. When families follow and support the American Indian Model, their children are guaranteed to be prepared to graduate from college.

3. We create an extended family with administration, teachers, staff, students, family, and selected community. Students and staff are expected to clean and take care of the school property.

4. Teachers spend three years with their students in either K – 2nd, 3rd – 5th, or 6th – 8th grades teaching all core academic subjects, which creates an environment of strong academics and family culture.

5. Former AIM School students enrolled in college are paid to work with our current students.

6. No student has been expelled since the American Indian Model was implemented in July 2000.

7. All current and former students are encouraged to sign up on the AIM Schools Alumni website.



A Culture of Accountability



1. We analyze all student test results to ability group for mathematics. A student’s state and national test results are used to gauge the accuracy of achievement in the classroom.



2. State testing is held one week after staff and students return from Easter Break. There are no field trips until after California Standards testing. Only students who have worked hard and followed the rules may attend field trips.



3. Progress reports are sent home every three weeks for ONLY students who are failing. A “C-” or lower is a failing grade. Report cards are distributed every nine weeks for all grades. Administrators must sign off on all student progress reports and report cards before they are sent home.



4. We retain those students not willing to work toward improving their academic or social skills to advance to the next grade level.



5. Students are informed of their academic progress and the school’s academic progress continuously. Students are expected to set academic goals and work toward them.



6. We demand hard work and high academic expectations from all employees and students.



7. We hire smart administrators, teachers and staff based on their high academic achievement and ability to follow the American Indian Model. We fire administrators, teachers and staff who do not meet those expectations. We reward employees who adhere to the model.



A Culture of High Expectations



1. Teachers provide students with a minimum of 90 instructional minutes in language arts and 90 instructional minutes in mathematics each day. Teachers at American Indian Model Schools assign homework on a daily basis. The following is an average amount of time for daily homework at each grade level: 30 minutes for K – 2nd grade, 45 minutes for 3rd, 1 hour for 4th and 5th, 1 hour and 15 minutes for 6th, 1 hour and 30 minutes for 7th, 1 hour and 45 minutes for 8th, and 2 hours for 9th grade, 2 hours and 30 minutes for 10th, 11th, and 12th grade.



2. We implement professional development in which administrators and teachers train their colleagues, while students train incoming students on the culture and expectations of the American Indian Model Schools.

3. We set forth a rigorous academic program aligned with standards-based textbooks and a uniform grading scale that all administrators and teachers must follow.



4. After-school detention and Saturday school serve as consequences for students who break school rules.



5. We observe Christopher Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Day, and other various holidays by attending school. This attendance policy was created by students and staff.



6. We follow an extended school year with 195 instructional school days with summer programs that include: AIM summer school, Stanford Academic Institute of Learning (SAIL), Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY), and University of California at Berkeley’s Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP).



7. Teachers finish core academic curriculum textbooks before spring break each year. After state testing and AP testing, teachers begin working with their students on the next grade level’s core curriculum of mathematics and language arts.



A Culture of Free-Market Capitalism



1. There are clear, consistent, and high expectations in the student contract that are enforced by all employees. Student consequences (detention, Saturday School, embarrassment, cleaning, etc.) are given for not following school rules.



2. Families choose to enroll their children in an American Indian Model public school. State and federal funding follow the student to the family’s school of choice. This is the same funding model of vocational schools, community colleges, and universities in the United States.



3. We focus on excellent student attendance ( ). Students and staff are given cash rewards for hard work, academic performance, and reinforcing the school’s mission statement and credo.



4. Job descriptions are posted that cause administrator or teacher applicants to self-select out or in when applying for a job with American Indian Model Schools.



5. Financial rewards are given to employees and students for increased student achievement on standardized tests combined with maintaining high levels of student enrollment from the beginning of the year until the end. (See page 65 for more details.)



6. We encourage all classes and American Indian Model school sites to compete with each other and instill in students the values of a free-market capitalistic society.



7. The administrative leadership focuses on fiscal responsibility and a superior business model. The school pays for student trips, the SAT, the PSAT, and other costs related to students.