Culturally knowledgeable students are well grounded in the cultural heritage and traditions of their community. Culturally knowledgeable students are able to build on the knowledge and skills of the local cultural community as a foundation from which to achieve personal and academic success throughout life. Culturally knowledgeable students are able to actively participate in various cultural environments. Culturally knowledgeable students are able to engage effectively in learning activities that are based on traditional ways of knowing and leaming. Culturally knowledgeable students demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the relationships and processes of interaction of all elements in the world around them.
Parent involvement needs to be treated as a partnership with more shared decision making.
Parent involvement has been a consistent theme throughout the AOTE case studies. Too often, however, it is viewed as a one-way street whereby parents are expected to be the passive supporters of the school's agenda. The lesson from the AOTE experience in rural Alaska is that parent involvement must be seen as a two-way partnership in which parents and teachers work hand in hand to make what students experience in school and the life they lead outside the school complementary. This is especially crucial in Native communities where the language and culture of the community should provide the foundation for the school curriculum and teaching practices. The Quinhagak case study illustrates the benefits when a true partnership is established between the school and community.