The Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD)(Arizona) transition program helps prepare Dine (Navajo) special education students for postsecondary opportunities within their own communities and outside the Navajo Reservation. The senior transition class entails a year-long course that focuses on the application process for tribal and federal…

Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) is located in the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. In addition to serving over 2,600 K-12 students, KUSD collaborates with the Navajo Nation and the Kayenta community to provide three early childhood education programs: Acceptance Belonging Caring (ABC) preschool, Navajo Nation Head Start, and Child Care…

A study examined the challenges faced by Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) and outlying communities on the Navajo Reservation in their efforts to adequately provide educational opportunities for their transfer students with special needs. Interviews were conducted with six students from 4th grade through high school; seven parents; special…

This paper examines perceptions of Native American students regarding effective practices of non-Native teachers. A survey of students in grades 3-12 in 3 rural school districts on the Navajo Reservation (Arizona) questioned 148 Navajo students and 10 non-Native students. The sample included 28 special needs students (17.7 percent). The survey…

This paper describes two exemplary school-based Native teacher education programs offered by Northern Arizona University (NAU) to serve Navajo students and by Lakehead University (Ontario) to serve members of the Nishnabe Nation of northern Ontario. The Reaching American Indian Special/Elementary Educators (RAISE) program is located in Kayenta,…

In Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) on the Navajo Reservation, 92 percent of students come from homes where Navajo is the primary language, but many students entering school are not fluent in either English or Navajo. A survey of 23 educators examined the effects of language and culture on the likelihood that a student would be placed in…

A study in the Kayenta Unified School District (Arizona) on the Navajo Nation--the largest reservation in the United States--examined cultural and language barriers in teaching Navajo special education students. Questionnaires were returned from 26 teachers at all grade levels, and interviews were conducted with 5 teachers and the district…

Twelve Navajo preservice teachers in the Navajo Nation shared their perceptions of factors that enabled and constrained their completion of a special education teacher preparation program: cultural teachings, family support, language, finances, cultural responsibilities, and lack of educational opportunities on the reservation. Recommendations for…

This paper discusses the impact that participating in a teacher preparation program has had on Navajo mothers. Mothers play a very central role in Navajo culture, and such impacts, both positive and negative, are important not only to program participants, but also to those working in Indian communities. Informal surveys were conducted with 20…

Native American students are often placed in special education programs because their English is poor, they are unprepared for an unfamiliar environment, and traditional classrooms do not accommodate their strengths and needs. The lack of Native American special education teachers at reservation schools compounds these difficulties. Three…

To address the need for special education teachers trained in rural and culturally diverse settings, a field-based special education program was implemented in Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. KUSD provided teacher housing, classroom space, sites for practicum coursework, and some student teaching placements.…

In response to a problem in recruiting and retaining special education teachers on the Navajo Reservation, the Rural Special Education Project (RSEP) was designed to prepare special education teachers to deliver quality services to Navajo children with handicapping conditions. The RSEP is a partnership between Northern Arizona University and the…

The Rural Special Education Program (RSEP), a partnership between Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), provides training for preservice special education teachers to work with Native American students and their families. To date, the program has provided training for 63 preservice special education…

This paper examines the experiences of Navajo college students participating in a site-based teacher preparation program in a remote community on a Navajo Reservation. The 10 students (9 women and 1 man) work as teaching assistants in the Pinon Unified School District (Arizona). Having previously completed required Liberal Studies courses, the…

A Northern Arizona University program prepares preservice special education teachers to work with Native American children and families. University students live on the Navajo reservation and receive practical classroom experience at Kayenta Unified School District (Arizona). Anglo students are paired with Navajo students who act as "cultural…