Havasupai Elementary School

Havasupai Elementary School is a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-operated K–6 school in Supai, Arizona.[1] It serves the Havasupai Indian Reservation.

Havasupai Elementary School in 2012
For the school in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, see Lake Havasu Unified School District.

It was formerly a K-8 school.[2][3]

History

In 2017 Alden Woods of the Arizona Republic wrote that it "stands out as the worst school" in the BIE.[4] Woods cited "a rotation of principals and a regular teacher shortage", the latter which resulted in sporadic weeklong closures,[4] or as the janitor being a substitute teacher, according to a lawsuit filed against the BIE that year.[5] According to the lawsuit, teachers often did not finish the academic year.[6] Woods also cited a lack of a school library, no after-school activities, and the lowest scores in mathematics and English among BIE schools despite only teaching those subjects.[4] The school was intended to also teach the Havasupai language and the culture of the Havasupai tribe, but it did not, according to the lawsuit.[5]

The lawsuit was filed in January 2017.[7] Steven P. Logan, a U.S. district judge, allowed the lawsuit to proceed in March.[8] A settlement was agreed upon in October 2020.[9]

Student body

In 2011 it, then still a K-8, had 94 students.[10]

As of 2017 the school had 70 students, with around 35 classified as having special needs. Despite the high number of special needs students, the school offered no special needs services.[5]

As of 2017 about 20% of the students eventually get high school diplomas.[4]

Facility

The building has one story.[2]

In 2011, to alleviate overpopulation, the BIE arranged to have a modular classroom airlifted into sections to Havasupai Elementary, where it would be assembled.[10]

Academic performance

The students were in the third percentile for mathematics and the first percentile for reading during the 2012–2013 school year.[7]

Student discipline

In 2017 Alia Wong of The Atlantic wrote "Students are repeatedly suspended or referred to law enforcement".[5]

References
  1. "Havasupai Elementary School". Bureau of Indian Education. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  2. Woods, Alden (2018-05-24). "A year after parents sue over Havasupai school, little has changed for Grand Canyon tribe". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  3. "Havasupai Elementary School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  4. Woods, Alden (2017-03-14). "A hidden tribe, a disastrous school and finally, a cry for help". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  5. Wong, Alia (2017-01-12). "The Longstanding Crisis Facing Tribal Schools". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  6. Fonseca, Felicia (2018-04-05). "Tribe: Ruling could reform US agency for Native education". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-07-10. – Alternate link at KSL.com. Alternate link at The Miner.
  7. Cano, Ricardo (2017-01-18). "Havasupai students sue federal government for better teachers". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  8. Woods, Alden (2018-04-02). "Lawsuit against feds over 'dismal' Havasupai school can continue, judge rules". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  9. Woods, Alden (2020-10-02). "Havasupai students who sued for better education reach settlement with federal government". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  10. "Modular Classroom to be Helicoptered into Grand Canyon" (PDF). Indian Affairs. Bureau of Indian Affairs. April 2011. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

Further reading

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