The San Juan School District educates 1,643 American Indian students, the overwhelming majority of them Navajo. San Juan is unique in Utah, in that more than half of the district's 2,921 students are American Indian. There are Navajo students in 11 of 12 schools, some of which are adjacent to or on the reservation.

"Their role is to support public education," Turk said. "They were emphatic about the fact this is not intended as a takeover of public education, nor is it a raid on the resources.

"To some degree this is going to impact most of the schools in the district," he said. For some schools, in which nearly all students are Navajo, "they are going to have much bigger involvement."

Turk said San Juan is already doing some things that would fall under the new accountability standards, such as teaching the Navajo language in grades K-12 and incorporating cultural instruction.

"In Navajo language and culture instruction, they see us as a partner. They would like to have other districts emulate the San Juan District."

Cameron Cuch, former Ute education director, said that tribe's charter high school is in its seventh year of opening doors for youth achievement.

Cuch said the reservation's dropout rate has ranged from 60 percent to 80 percent since the 1960s, and the charter school is helping reduce that rate. More American Indian students graduate from the school than from both off-reservation public high schools in the area, he said.

"It's within our own community, and kids are getting a lot more opportunities than they are in other high schools," he said. Youths have more opportunities to participate in sports or take field trips, such as last year's trip to the Sundance Film Festival, he said.

There's also the matter of being able to teach tribal priorities, such as caring for people and protecting lands, wildlife and water rights.

"When we operate our own schools, we can instill that sense of responsibility into young people," he said. Leaders hope they'll continue their education and return to serve as teachers, lawyers, doctors, or in whatever profession they choose, he said.

Research into tribal education has found that students who have support from traditional families and communities have a more positive educational experience, said Carol Ward, associate sociology professor at Brigham Young University and author of "Native Americans in the School System: Family, Community and Academic Achievement."

"Many tribes have responded to the complexity of schooling for Native American students," she said. "They have responded by saying 'I think we can do schooling better.' "

That happens by integrating culture and language into the curriculum in a way that makes education more relevant, she said.