Victor L. Dupuis and Margery W, Walker

The Kickapoo Nation School, located in Powhattan, Kansas, began as a contract operation school in 1981. The physical plant is a former public school facility which was abandoned and given to the Kickapoo community when the non-Indian student population, because of declining enrollments, became a minority in the school. Since that time, the Kickapoo have operated the school and it serves approximately 75% of the reservation students. The school is located five miles north of the Kickapoo Reservation, the second largest reservation in the state of Kansas.

When the school opened as an all-Indian school in 1981, it attempted to mirror the typical non-Indian curricular program found in the regular public schools of Kansas. That is to say, there was little attention given to Indian culture, learning and language needs of the students. The initial curriculum that was in place when the school was a public school was continued. This type of program, not addressing the needs of the Kickapoo children, did not meet with any degree of success and the planned-for enrollment of Indian students began to dwindle as student apathy and high rates of absenteeism set in.

Under the leadership of a new school administrator in 1985, the school sought and received additional Federal funds under Title IV, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, to enrich the school program. The funded project is titled ‘A Curriculum Development Project Utilizing the Open System Approach." The operating plan for this grant has led to a significant modification of the curriculum, the retraining and sensitizing of the teaching staff, and provision for greater attention to the cultural needs of the student body. The description of these changes follows in the discussion of the program.

After consultation with the Kickapoo community and with the support of the Kickapoo Nation School Board, the school began its move to the new program. Community leaders, parents, and school board members attended discussion sessions at the Kickapoo School prior to the inception of the program and reached consensus on the philosophy and objectives for the school. Specifically, the following general goals have become the operating philosophy of the school:

Specific objectives for the Kickapoo Nation School are:

With the adoption of these objectives for the Kickapoo Nation School, an open education concept was adapted for grades 7 to 12 with the Circle of learning as a central theme for all learning environments. For the Kansas Kickapoo, an open education concept has become a viable alternative to the usual practices found in the vast majority of the nation’s schools. Coupled with the physical arrangements of the classroom, open education fosters flexibility, small group work, and a true sharing of materials and self. As indicated by Forester and Little Soldier (1974):

The use of this concept builds and maintains a strong personalized student centered curriculum as opposed to the impersonal subject-centered curriculum. The Circle of Learning at Kickapoo (see Figure 1) is adapted from the Circle of learning philosophy operating at the Red School House in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Circle of learning philosophy at the Red School stresses the development of the student." . . . as a whole and complete person, to help him bridge the chasm between functioning in a modern and complex world and keeping his cultural traditions secure" (Benton, 1979). It stresses the importance of student and instructor communication. Whenever possible, the learning environment is arranged in a circle and all students participate in cooperative learning ventures.

The merger of an open education concept and the Circle of Learning assists in providing programs which address the Indian child’s values in today’s schools (see Figure 2). These Indian values are shown as contrasts to the values associated with the dominant Anglo educational system. The stress on these values may vary among the numerous Indian communities but most tend to remain generic among Indian people. The values that are being given attention are the importance of present time, non-materialistic giving, importance of the extended family, respect for age, and independence in lifestyle. All too often, these Indian values are assigned a low or no priority, even in some Indian schools. This is usually the case because many Indian schools, staffed mainly by non-Indians, are not sensitive or trained in understanding Indian culture and traditions, tend to reflect the majority culture. The significant contrasts in the two cultures are ignored. Kickapoo is attempting to bridge these contrasts shown in Figure 2. The values contrasts to which this program is addressed are adapted from those enumerated by Davis and Pyatskowit (1976), and adapted by Shortman, Walker, and Whirlwind Soldier (1985) in Figure 2.

Many of the practices that exist in the open school are shared by Indian students in terms of Indian value systems. Personal concepts such as cooperation, sharing, and time consciousness can be directed by the teacher and be used as tools which will make the educational process more meaningful to the Indian student. Sharing, an Indian value, is promoted in the open school while discouraged in the traditional classroom. Emphasis is on small group work and the organization of students in short-term task forces to accomplish specific objectives. Children are naturally encouraged to do a great deal of sharing not only of materials but of themselves. It is very common to observe older students helping younger students in the learning environment. Students engaged in crafts construction share materials in helping others with their creations. Additionally, students are encouraged to be free in their expression of ideas and concerns. Every comment or question has worth.

The following constitute some of the basic practices of the open concept as it is combined with the Circle of Learning

Since numbers at Kickapoo for grades 7 to 12 are very small and ideally heterogeneous (60 students), a mastery learning model with individualized education plans (IEPs) has also been instituted (Johnson, et al., 1985). All students are pretested with the California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) and the Diagnostic Achievement Battery (DAB). All testing is individually administered by the guidance counsellor and the data obtained from the tests are used to establish IEPs for each student for each class they attend.

In addition to special offerings of Indian Studies, the Kickapoo culture is woven into the total fabric of the curriculum. Examples of specific learning activities that students encounter in all of the regular classes are:

In an initial outreach to the Kickapoo community, the school identified and secured the participatory interest of more than 40 community members. They are providing enrichment support to the teaching staff in the areas of business, computers, science, nursing, government, industrial arts, language study, clothing, foods, and arts and crafts. These community members are called upon regularly to visit the school and participate with the regular teacher in enriching the cultural attention to the learning environment.

Kickapoo students are also learning their native language. A member of the Kickapoo community has been hired as a teacher to instruct the students in both oral and written Kickapoo. Evidence of beginning success in this venture is cited by a Kickapoo school board member who reports students coming home and teaching their parents (many of whom have lost their language as a result of conditions in their non-Indian schools), and talking Kickapoo with their grandparents. Most of the parents, many of whom attended Anglo schools where there Kickapoo language was totally neglected, have virtually lost their language. The Kickapoo language teacher, as an adult learner was taught the oral language by one of the elders and attended workshops in language training to prepare himself to teach Kickapoo.

During the 1986-87 school year the program director surveyed student attitudes toward the Circle of Learning concept. On an 11 item questionnaire, all items indicated favorable support for the program. In particular, the items which overwhelmingly indicated support of the program were: "I feel the Circle of Learning makes the classroom more interesting." . . . "helps me to understand that learning, like life, is a continuous non-ending cycle." . . . "helps me to recognize the importance of learning my own cultural heritage" . . . "has introduced me to the importance of caring for others in learning." "allows my teachers to work closely with individual learners." "provides for sharing, an Indian value."

The remaining items which received positive support from the students were: "The Circle of Learning has taught me the importance of cooperation in learning with others." . . . "provides greater freedom in choosing what to learn in the classroom." . . . "has my teacher helping me to learn rather than telling me to learn." . . . "has helped me to become more confident in myself." . . . "has helped me to become more confident in my dealing with the non-Indian world."

The program emphasis at Kickapoo, regardless of program area, is to improve academic performance of the students. Initial achievement records had shown severe deficiencies in language arts, mathematics and science learning. In fact, it was obvious that the further the student progressed through the 7-through-12 program, the greater the deficiency became. After almost two years since the program was implemented, these deficiencies have been reversed. There has been a gradual turn around in student performance. The key to this continued success of the program is the continued cooperative efforts of community, staff, and students. This Indian schoolhouse in Kansas is carving an educational niche for itself in Indian education.

Benton, E.B. (1979). How we achieve native cultural values, leadership. The Red School House, St. Paul, MN: Indian Country Press, Inc., pg. 7.

Davis, T. & Pyatskowit, A. (1976). Bicognitive Education: A new future for the Indian Child? Journal of American Indian Education, 15, 14-15.

Forester, L.M. & Little Soldier, D. (1974). Open education and Native American values. Educational Leadership, 32 (1), 42.

Johnson, J.A., Collins, H.W., Dupuis, V.L. & Johansen, J.H. (1985). Introduction to the Foundations of American Education (pp. 450-45 1). Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.

Shortman, P., Walker, M. & Whirlwind Soldier, L. (1985). An Effective Curriculum Design for American Indian Children. Unpublished manuscript. The Pennsylvania State University, 28-30.