Volume 35 Number 1
October 1995

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), is an ongoing national survey of districts, schools, and personnel sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. In 1990-91, a unique window of opportunity opened when SASS included a supplemental sample of schools that serve large percentages of American Indian and Alaska Native students (see Note 1). This article constitutes a summary of selected sections within the NCES published report, "Characteristics of American Indian and Alaska Native Education" drawing upon SASS 1990-91 (Pavel, Curtin, Christenson & Rudes, 1995). Below, Table I presents the representation of various sample populations featured in this discussion. Areas of discussion include the enrollment status and qualifications of principals and teachers, compensation, school problems, and teacher staffing.

Principals
Only 47 percent of the 141 principals at BIA/tribal schools were American Indian or Alaska Native, of whom 97 percent were enrolled tribal members. Among the 1,201 principals in public schools with 25 percent or more Indian student enrollment, 15 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native, 93 percent of whom were enrolled tribal members. Only one percent of the 77,577 principals in public schools with low Indian student enrollment were American Indian/Alaska Native, with only 38 percent identifying themselves as being tribally enrolled.

Overall, approximately 60 percent of principals have master's degrees; one quarter of the BIA/tribal schools and public schools serving large numbers of American Indian/Alaska Native students are headed by principals with more than a master's degree. A higher proportion of principals at BIA/tribal schools reported that they had received inservice training in Indian education administration than principals at high and low Indian enrollment public schools (66 percent compared to 22 percent and 3 percent, respectively).

Teachers
The approximately 947 American Indian/Alaska Native teachers in BIA/tribal schools constitute 38 percent of the teaching staff; 98 percent report enrollment in a state or federally recognized tribe. There are a reported 3,427 American Indian/Alaska Native teachers in high Indian enrollment public schools, and 90 percent were enrolled. The one percent of the teachers in public schools with low Indian student enrollment represents approximately 17,775 American Indian/Alaska Native teachers and just 38 percent identify as being recognized tribal members.

A very small percentage of teachers in both BIA/tribal schools (3 percent) and public schools (one percent of the teachers in public schools with high Indian enrollment, and almost none of the teachers in public schools with low Indian enrollment) reported receiving a major or minor in Indian education. Overall, teachers in BIA/tribal schools reported an average of 10 years experience, while teachers in public schools with high Indian enrollment reported an average of 13 years experience and teachers in public schools with low Indian student enrollment reported an average of 15 years experience. Approximately 21 percent of the BIA and Tribal schools made available formal mentoring to assist in the professional development of teachers compared to 66 percent of the public schools with high and low Indian student enrollment.

Mean salaries are about the same across the school types for principals who have "less than a master's" degree (around $37,000). However, principals with master's degrees in public schools with few Indian students have a larger annual salary ($49,141) than principals with master's degrees in either BIA/tribal schools ($40,776) or in public schools with high Indian student enrollment ($42,945). BIA/tribal school principals with "more than a master's degree" report an average salary that is nearly $10,000 less than their colleagues at public schools with few Indian students.

Ninety percent or more of BIA/tribal schools, districts with high Indian student enrollment, and districts with low Indian student enrollment used schedules to determine teachers' salaries. The average scheduled salary for teachers with a bachelor's degree and no experience is similar in BIA/tribal schools and districts with high Indian student enrollment at $19,141 and $19,399, respectively. The average salary for teachers with a master's degree and 20 years of experience reaches $31,381 in BIA/tribal schools and $30,303 for similarly qualified individuals in districts with high Indian student enrollment. At the maximum of the salary schedule, BIA/tribal school teachers achieved an average earnings of $35,881; teachers in districts with 25 percent or more Indian student enrollment were paid $32,718 per year. Nationally, the salary schedules for teachers in districts with less than 25 percent Indian student enrollment are comparable to the schedules for teachers in the other types of districts.

The availability of insurance benefits for BIA/tribal school teachers was particularly high, with 100 percent of schools offering medical insurance, 84 percent offering dental insurance, and 92 percent offering life insurance. Teachers in BIA/tribal schools were more likely to receive medical, dental, and life insurance benefits than teachers from public districts with either small or large Indian student enrollments. School districts with low Indian student enrollment were more likely than BIA/tribal schools to offer some type of in-kind benefits that could include housing, meals, tuition, child care, or transportation. Seventy-four percent of BIA/tribal schools offered retirement plans to their teachers. In contrast, retirement plans in public schools with large and small Indian student enrollments were almost universal.

Principals from BIA/tribal schools and public schools with high and low Indian student enrollment see a variety of serious problems in their schools. There are remarkable similarities in the primary problems identified by the principals in BIA/tribal and public schools; each agree that poverty, parental alcohol/drug abuse, and lack of parental involvement are serious problems. However, a larger proportion of principals in BIA/tribal schools see poverty (63 percent) and parental substance abuse (55 percent) as serious problems in their schools than principals in either type of public school. In public schools with high Indian student enrollment, 31 percent of the principals identified poverty and parental alcohol and drug abuse as serious problems in their schools. In contrast, 14 and 6 percent of principals at public schools with low Indian student enrollment encounter poverty and parental substance abuse as serious problems, respectively.

The three issues most frequently reported by teachers in BIA/tribal schools as posing serious problems were parental alcohol and drug abuse (65 percent), poverty (58 percent), and lack of parental involvement (58 percent). These same three issues were the ones most frequently cited as posing serious problems by teachers in public schools with high Indian student enrollment: lack of parental involvement (43 percent), parental alcohol and drug abuse (41 percent), and poverty (40 percent). In public schools with low Indian student enrollment, lack of parental involvement (25 percent), poverty (17 percent), and parental alcohol and drug abuse (12 percent) were also among the most frequently reported serious problems by teachers, though by a smaller proportion of teachers than at BIA/tribal schools.

One indicator of the adequacy of the supply of teachers is whether schools and districts are able to fill their teaching positions with qualified instructors. In 1990-91, BIA/tribal schools were able to fill 94 percent of their approved positions, compared with virtually all positions in districts with low Indian enrollment. Of the positions that were filled, newly hired teachers were required for 17 percent of the positions in BIA/tribal schools and 18 percent in districts with high Indian student enrollment as compared to 10 percent of the positions in districts with low Indian student enrollment.

One of every 18 approved positions in BIA/tribal schools remained vacant or were filled by substitute teachers while approximately one of every 250 positions in districts with low Indian student were left vacant or were filled by substitute teacher. Moreover, 59 percent of BIA/tribal schools had one or more vacancies that could not be filled with a teacher qualified in the course or grade to be taught, compared with about 15 percent of public schools.

Administrators who cannot find qualified teachers for courses use a variety of methods to cover vacancies, such as hiring substitute, part-time, or less qualified teachers, assigning other teachers to the courses, increasing teaching loads or class sizes, and canceling courses. Almost one-half of the school administrators in BIA/tribal schools with vacancies (47 percent) reported that they used substitute teachers to cover vacancies. Administrators at all schools were most likely to report that they hired a substitute teacher. Assigning other teachers or hiring a less qualified teacher were the next most frequently used methods by administrators.

The teaching staff of 96 percent of BIA/tribal schools included one or more American Indian or Alaska Native teachers, compared to only two-thirds of the public schools in which 25 percent or more of the students were American Indian or Alaska Natives. Only five percent of the public schools in which less than 25 percent of the students were American Indian or Alaska Native included at least one American Indian or Alaska Native educator on the teaching staff.

A better understanding of the nature of the teacher shortage in BIA/tribal schools as compared to public schools is obtained by considering the teaching fields in which vacancies are most difficult to fill. The percentage of schools reporting vacancies in various fields depends to some extent on the proportion of schools with programs in those fields and the size of those programs. Finding special education teachers is a problem for all three types of schools. Over one-half of BIA/tribal schools and approximately one-third of public schools reported vacancies in special education. Sixty two percent of BIA/tribal schools reported vacancies in the general elementary field. Approximately one quarter of BIA/tribal schools had vacancies in the core curriculum areas of English, physical science, and math.

On the reverse side of teaching shortages, the extent to which school districts have laid off employees because of budget limitations, declining enrollments, or elimination of courses is an indicator of changes in the demand for teachers. Sixteen percent of BIA/tribal schools laid off part of their teaching staff at the end of the 1989-90 school year, a comparable proportion of layoffs to districts with low and high Indian student enrollment.

The findings presented here and reported elsewhere lead us to ponder a variety of questions. Foremost is whether or not we have had the time since the 1990-91 school year to increase the number of American Indian/Alaska Native administrators and teachers who are recognized citizens of their tribal community. Probably not measurably or proportionately. There were just too many BIA/tribal and public schools with high Indian student enrollment that did not have enough Indian principals and Native teachers from the start. Various tribal colleges and universities have responded by developing Indian education programs (Pavel, Swisher & Ward, 1995). However, we are still in need of a widespread grassroots encouragement movement among tribal members to be educators. Moreover, tribal government and community members need to keep voicing their concern and demanding a solution to the problem of not having enough American Indian/Alaska Native people who are running the schools and managing the classrooms of our children. We need to ask ourselves, "What have we done since 1990? What are we going to do for the next five years?"

There is the need to know if there has been any progress in the areas of having the very best principals and teachers to educate our children while attracting and keeping the very best educators in schools serving American Indian/Alaska Native students. BIA/tribal school and public schools with high Indian enrollment should lead the nation in qualified administrators and expert teachers who have prior knowledge, experience, and training in the idiosyncratic practice of educating Indian children. Colleges of Education on or near tribal lands should be vocal and active in pursuing agendas that recruit and retain Native people, place undergraduate and graduate students in school internships, provide in-service training to school staff, offer the professional service of faculty to schools and tribal communities, and sponsor annual meetings to discuss critical issues affecting the quality of schooling American Indians/Alaska Natives experience in the area and throughout the state. We need to ask ourselves, "What have we done since 1990? What are we going to do for the next five years?"

How can we expect to improve the schooling of our children without the necessary compensation to serve as a reward for the quality of individual to whom we want to ensure that sacred trust? We can't. A critical and unwavering position is that salary levels for principals of BIA/tribal schools and public schools with high Indian student enrollment must be competitive; particularly if we succeed in our vision to substantially increase the number of Indian administrators and teachers. The compensation issue for teachers is more promising. However, there must be additional security in the form of in-kind services and retirement plans that encourage local tribal citizens to experience and see the value of becoming longtime Indian educators. We need to ask ourselves, "What have we done since 1990? What are we going to do for the next five years?"

Can we expect that our children will receive the highest quality education when there are so many serious problems to contend with in our schools and communities? No. It is clear that we need to address the systemic and chilling grip of poverty, parental substance abuse, and lack of parental involvement in schools serving our children. Schools at all levels need to embrace the necessary curriculum to teach our children about the economic realities of living in America as an American Indian/Alaska Native, and tribes should endorse and develop entrepreneurship curriculum in the K-12 grades that is compatible with the cultural mores of the community. Substance abuse treatment and prevention will require the traditional will and contemporary savvy of all tribal members to realize; every family member has a stake in seeing their family gain the necessary control to ward off dependencies of all sorts (Pavel & Timmons, 1995). Parents are not the only ones not involved. More creative and appealing strategies need to be tried and perfected by tribes, schools, and community groups to blend schools and parents. We need to ask ourselves, "What have we done since 1990? What are we going to do for the next five years?"

It is clear from the road already traveled that we have done much in the area of Indian education in the last five years. It is apparent from the quality of leadership and current programming that we hope to accomplish much more in the next five years. When all is said and done, we will have won the respect and admiration of the American public and international community by overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to improve the quality of education our children receive. Make it a good day to live.

1. SASS 1993-94 also includes an American Indian and Alaska Native sample and a report is slated for publication in the Spring of 1996. For more information, please contact Summer Whitner, Special Surveys and Analysis Branch, Elementary and Secondary Education Statistics Division, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20208-5651.