Ward looked at three schools on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana in the late 1980s and early '90s — a public school and a Catholic school, both off the reservation, and a community tribal school. Her research found that students who went to their local tribal school did better, in large part because of increased parental involvement.

"The interaction between parents and kids and the school . . . the relationships they have can create a really positive environment," she said. "When the parents are involved, that tells the kids, 'This is important.' "

She said parents also help to bridge the cultural gap at schools where most teachers aren't American Indians. At schools where students were bused from their community, it was more difficult to establish that relationship. She said the tribal school's dropout rate was just over half, but for just the students from the town where it was located, it was only about 10 percent.

"What the Navajo Nation is also trying to address, is more people be involved in schooling and their own work," she said, "more of a partnership between the community and the school."

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com