Parent and Community Engagement

Articles

An Indian Father's Plea

This article is a heartfelt letter from a father to his son’s teacher. It talks about his son being labeled a “slow” learner and facing discrimination at school. The father describes the rich cultural lineage and knowledge alongside the cultural activities his son participates in (which require complex thought processes and sequencing skills). The clash of two worlds affects his son in a way that could limit his success if teachers do not protect the sacred cultural aspects of Native American children in a Western education system. It highlights the reciprocal relationships educators need to build with parents to best understand and teach their Native students.

Home-School-Community Communication With Indigenous American Families

This article gives context for Indigenous-specific issues in home-school collaboration. It places context at the center of the conversation for school psychologists serving Native American parents and families (historical context and diversity among tribes). It addresses Indigenous healing and resilience, communication styles, help-seeking behaviors, attribution of disabilities, and concrete recommendations for school psychologists who are beginning advocacy and relationships with Indigenous families.

Parent Voices: American Indian Relationships with Schools

This article portrays an extensive narrative of Native American parents’ thoughts and perceptions about educational issues in tribally controlled schools, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and public schools. Parents answers are compared and patterns are examined across different educational settings. Many parents’ responses indicated concerns around culture, how school personnel are selected, lack of Native school faculty members, and concern about the use and reporting of allocated funds for Native students.

Revealing Culturally Embedded Knowledge in the Practice of School Psychology: A Personal Perspective on the Navajo Way of Life

This article is a personal story from a Native School Psychologist and SDSU Native Scholars program graduate She illustrates the strong impact her Navajo identity has had on her critical thinking, communication, and cognitive skills. She experienced a disconnect between her cultural skills and school-based academic skills when teachers failed to consider the fact that cognition is rooted in culture. Her story makes a poignant case for culturally and cognitively mediated learning instead of an explicitly academic, Western view of these skills. Parent relationships and community knowledge are deeply linked to critical thinking skills in her story. Scholars have made connections with her perspectives and the practice of bridging cultural skills with the school curriculum through family collaboration.

Significant Partnerships with Native American Students, Parents, and Schools: A Sweetgrass Method

The Sweetgrass method of developing strong school partnerships includes several functions of introspection, family collaboration, and continuity. It is conceptualized as braids, similar to braiding of sweetgrass before the powerful ritual of smudging (burning of sweetgrass to cleanse and heal). The author touches on all components of this competency area through his descriptions of Sweetgrass parent engagement, considerations for Native American families, and unique cultural components of the method. He outlines the many benefits of multiple methods of parent outreach, culturally responsive accommodations, and honoring community and ceremonies for Native American families in schools and interventions.

Using the NASP Framework for Effective Practice With Indigenous Youth, Families, and Communities

This article addresses the National School Psychologist Association's (NASP) Framework for effective practice within school psychology when working with Native American youth. It provides an in-depth commentary on Indigenous worldview represented in the non-linear graphic NASP uses to portray essential components of culturally responsive service for Indigenous communities. It offers multiple examples for each component with critical questions for school psychologists to further their personal and professional development in each area.

Webinars

Historical Perspectives for Working with Native American Parents

This webinar focuses on professional development for school staff and community when working with Native American parents. It goes over pre-contact tribal education, histories of NA education before and after colonization, boarding schools, and key historical reports that began change and federal funds specifically for Indigenous youth. The presenter offers recommendations for staff training on this issue and shares personal stories from Winnebago and Seven Drums religion.