U.S. Department of Education

Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development

Policy and Program Studies Service

Results in Brief:

Study of Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program:

FY 2011 and FY 2013 Cohorts

June 2018

The Native American and Alaska Native Children in School (NAM) discretionary grants program aims to reduce the persistent 

achievement gap between Native American and Alaska Native (NA/AN) youth and their peers in reading and English language arts 

(ELA) and college readiness in reading. NA/AN students enter school with varying levels of skill in the English used in classrooom 

instruction. The purpose of the NAM program is to build or improve NA/AN English learners’ (ELs’) English language proficiency (ELP) 

skills to promote their overall academic success, while simultaneously honoring and promoting NA/AN languages and cultures. 

Program priority areas for funding for the FY 2011 and FY 2013 competitions included NA/AN languages and cultural revitalization, 

parent and family engagement, postsecondary preparation and success, early childhood development, data-based decision making, 

and civic learning and engagement. This qualitative study examined the types of activities grantees funded, and the perceived 

benefits, challenges, and lessons learned that they experienced in implementing these activities. 

Study Questions

1. How do NAM grantees use NAM funding to support 

activities intended to increase NA/AN EL student academic 

achievement? 

2. How do grantees work with partners to provide funded 

services?

3. How do grantees measure progress and outcomes of 

funded services?

4. What benefits do grantees perceive as resulting from the 

grant? 

5. What challenges do grantees experience in implementing 

grant-funded activities?

Study Design

The study included case studies of 19 grantee sites, 

representing a total of 22 FY 2011 and FY 2013 grant awards 

(two of the sites were awarded both FY 2011 and FY 2013 

grants, and one site was awarded both an elementary school 

and a high school grant in FY 2013). The study team collected 

data through telephone interviews with grant coordinators and 

visits to sites across 10 states in fall 2016 and spring 2017: 

Alaska, Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North 

Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. 

The site visits consisted of interviews and focus groups with 

individuals involved in implementing NAM-funded activities

and their partners. The study team analyzed data to examine 

grantees’ funded activities; the benefits, challenges, and 

lessons learned experienced by grantees; and differences 

between tribal and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) grantees 

and public school system grantees. 

 

Highlights

• Ninety-five percent of grantees identified improving 

students’ ELP as a primary focus area of their grants, 

followed by revitalizing NA/AN languages and cultures

(68 percent).

• Grantees most commonly used NAM funds for instructional

personnel salaries and instructional materials or services 

(95 percent each); grantees also used funds for 

professional development, curriculum development, and 

technology resources. 

• All of the grantees reported working with at least one partner 

particularly to gain professional or cultural expertise to 

support funded activities; the most common types of partners 

across all grantees were tribes, nontribal colleges and 

universities, and community-based organizations. 

• Grantees’ most frequently reported data to monitor 

progress were state ELP assessment results (74 percent) 

and state ELA assessments results (58 percent). Grantees 

reported Native language proficiency data less frequently

(32 percent). 

• Grantees’ most commonly reported benefits were gains in 

revitalization of NA/AN languages and cultures and 

increases in students’ English language proficiency. 

• Grantees’ most frequently reported challenges were 

limited staff capacity, low parent and family engagement, 

and lack of adequate assessment data. 
NAM-Funded Activities

Grantees most frequently supported English language 

development (ELD) and NA/AN languages and cultural

activities; many also directed resources to parent and family 

engagement, postsecondary preparation and success, and 

early childhood development.

One of the most commonly funded resources to support the 

program’s purpose and priorities across the 19 grantees was 

instructional personnel, including teachers who provided ELD 

instruction and teachers and tribal elders who provided NA/AN 

languages and cultural instruction. Grantees also commonly 

purchased supplemental materials to provide culturally 

responsive content instruction in English, and augment

instruction in NA/AN languages and cultures. Some grantees 

dedicated funds to developing their own NA/AN languages 

and cultural curriculum or instructional materials in English 

specific to the needs and languages of NA/AN students. 

Some funded technology resources and equipment to better 

engage or assess students in English language or NA/AN 

language content. 

The majority of grantees also funded professional 

development, mostly to support their teachers’ abilities to 

better meet the unique needs of NA/AN ELs. Grant-funded 

supports varied, but included literacy coaches, professional 

learning communities, and formal training institutes on 

teaching second languages.

Nearly two-thirds of the grantees directed resources to

activities supporting postsecondary success, including credit 

recovery and dual-credit programs; and most reported funding

parent and family engagement activities. Nearly half funded

early childhood development services. Some of these types of 

activities included home visits and resources to help parents 

develop their children’s school readiness and potential for longterm academic success.

Grant Partners and Their Roles

Tribes were the most common type of partner across all 

grantees but were particularly common among the public 

school system grantees.

All of the grantees worked with at least one type of partner to 

support or provide grant-funded services and activities, most 

frequently with tribes, nontribal colleges and universities, and 

community-based organizations. All of the public school system 

grantees described partnering with tribes to help ensure that 

grant activities reflected and honored tribal values and cultural 

knowledge. Many of the tribal and BIE grantees partnered with 

school districts to gain resources, professional development, or 

technical assistance related to assessing students’ ELP, using 

technology, and supporting English and Native language and 

literacy instruction. 

Measures and Uses of Data

All grantees reported collecting data to monitor progress and 

inform grant activities for ELP, as required, including data 

from state ELP assessments, state ELA assessments, and 

English benchmark and progress monitoring assessments. 

To a lesser extent, grantees reported collecting Native language 

oral proficiency assessment data, with many indicating the 

limited availability of NA/AN language assessments as a 

challenge. Some grantees collected data on student 

attendance, high school graduation, and postsecondary 

enrollment to monitor student engagement and progress of 

funded services. 

Benefits, Challenges, and Lessons 

Learned

Grantees reported experiencing gains in the revitalization of 

NA/AN languages and cultures and increases in students’ ELP, 

the former measured through the greater presence and 

integration of NA/AN languages, cultures, and heritage in the 

schools, and the latter through improved scores on ELP and 

ELA assessments. 

Seventy-four percent of the grantees indicated that their NAMfunded activities had resulted in positive changes in the 

revitalization of NA/AN languages and cultures. Grantees 

reported greater tribal community engagement in the school 

and an increased use of Native languages among school staff 

and students. They also perceived an increased sense of pride 

among students. Nearly two-thirds reported that they had 

observed performance gains in ELP assessment scores, which 

they attributed at least in part to NAM-funded services. 

Although the majority of grantees cited some implementation 

challenges, they also described learning important lessons 

based on these challenges. 

Sixty-eight percent of grantees indicated limited staff capacity

to provide the tailored instruction and learning experiences 

NA/AN ELs needed. Many also reported low engagement of 

parents and families as a challenge (63 percent). At the same 

time, grantees described learning important lessons from their 

challenges, including the importance of identifying alternate 

sources of data to track student and grant progress when 

standardized assessment data were limited; including families 

and tribal communities early in the grant process to encourage 

engagement in grant activities; and providing targeted 

professional development for teachers on meeting unique needs 

of NA/AN ELs. 

Although grantees reported challenges related to sustainability, 

several grantees reported strategies to continue the support of

ELD instruction, professional development for teachers, and 

NA/AN language and curriculum development beyond the end 

of the grant period.

Additional Information

The complete report is available at

www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html.