Most Head Start employees are reasonably fluent Navajo speakers. Selected by the parents from among qualified applicants, they are expected to be Navajo, and most Navajo adults still speak Navajo. In time, Navajo language ability may become an explicit requirement. Teachers are expected to hold bilingual endorsement, passing both oral and writing tests. Some of these programs accept students who are not Navajo or American Indian.
Instruction is oral, but computer software is used to develop curriculum and materials.
NNLP was funded by the Administration for Native Americans. Other programs have received funding from Title VII, the BIA, JOM, the Annenberg Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. Nonmonetary support came from tribal government leaders, fluent native speakers, and the prior work of fluent speakers, linguists, and literacy experts.