“We AIM to Educate”

The American Indian Model of Education

(AIM to Educate/AIM-Ed) 

 

FAMILY CULTURE

 

1. 1.Families are guaranteed if they follow and support our model, their children will be prepared to graduate from college.
   

2. 2.We create an extended family with administration, teachers, staff, students, family, and selected community. Students and staff are expected to clean and take care of the school property.
   

3. 3.Teachers spend three years with their students in 6th – 8th grade teaching all core academic subjects, which creates an environment of strong academics and family culture.
   

4. 4.When a 6th grade student is acting up in class, he or she will be sent to sit on the floor in a 7th or 8th grade class.
   

5. 5.All students are provided free tutoring in any subject before school, after school, or on Saturday. Students are employed as tutors to work with other students who need academic support in core academic subjects.
   

6. 6.Former AIPCS students enrolled in college are hired to work with our current students.
   

7. 7.No student has been expelled since the American Indian Model was implemented in 2000.
   

 

ACCOUNTABILITY/STRUCTURE

 

1. 1. We analyze all student test results to ability group for mathematics and sports. A student’s state and national test results are used to gauge the accuracy of achievement in the classroom.
   

2. 2.State testing is held one week after staff and students return from Easter Break. There are no field trips until after California Standards testing. Only students who have worked hard and followed the rules may attend field trips.
   

3. 3.Progress reports are sent home every three weeks for students who are failing. A “C-” is a failing grade. Report cards are distributed every nine weeks. Administrators must sign off on all student progress reports and report cards before they are sent home. 
   

4. 4.We retain those students not willing to work toward improving their academic or social skills to advance to the next grade level.
   

5. 5.Students are informed of their academic progress and the school’s academic progress continuously. Students are expected to set academic goals and work toward them.
   

6. 6.We demand hard work and high academic expectations from all students and staff.
   

7. 7.We hire smart administrators and teachers based on their high academic achievement and ability to follow the American Indian Model. We fire administrators and teachers who do not meet those expectations. We reward all employees who adhere to the model.
   

  

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

 

1. 1.Teachers provide students with 90 instructional minutes in language arts and 90 instructional minutes in mathematics each day. Teachers assign a minimum of two hours of homework each night.
   

2. 2.We implement professional development where administrators and teachers train their colleagues, while students train incoming students on the culture and expectations of the American Indian Model.
   

3. 3.We set forth a rigorous academic program aligned with standards-based textbooks and a uniform grading scale that all administrators and teachers must follow.
   

4. 4.After-school detention and Saturday school serve as consequences for students who broke school rules.
   

5. 5.We celebrate Christopher Columbus Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and other various holidays by attending school. This attendance policy was created by students and staff.
   

6. 6.We follow an extended school year with an average of 200 instructional school days with mandatory summer programs that include: AIM summer school, Stanford Academic Institute of Learning (SAIL), Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY), and University of California at Berkeley’s Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP).
   

7. 7.Teachers finish core academic curriculum textbooks by April 5th each year. After state testing, teachers begin the next grade level’s core curriculum of mathematics and language arts.
   

 

  

FREE MARKET CAPITALISM

 

1. 1.There are clear, consistent, and high expectations in the student contract that are enforced by all employees. Student consequences (detention, Saturday School, embarrassment, cleaning, etc.) are given for not following school rules.
   

2. 2.Families choose to enroll their children in an American Indian modeled public school. State and federal funding follows the student to the family’s school of choice. This is the same funding model of vocational schools, community colleges, and universities in The United States.
   

3. 3.We focus on excellent student attendance (99.5%).  Students and staff are given cash awards for perfect attendance, hard work, and for reinforcing the school’s mission statement and credo.
   

4. 4.Job descriptions are posted that cause administrator or teacher applicants to self-select out from applying for a job with our school.
   

5. 5.Financial rewards are given to all employees for increased student achievement on the California Standards Tests.
   

6. 6.We encourage classes to compete with each other and instill in students the values of a free market capitalistic society.
   

7. 7.The administrative leadership focuses on fiscal responsibility and a superior business model. There is no fundraising by families. The school pays for student trips, the SAT, the PSAT, and other costs related to students.

Excerpt from: Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal’s Triumph in the Inner City by Ben Chavis and Carey Blakely