A group working to narrow the learning gap between American Indian and white students in Bismarck has come up with a framework, but not all members support it.

The American Indian Students Special Issues Strategic Team was formed in June 2003 after parent Cheryl Longfeather came before the Bismarck School Board with concerns about an achievement gap between Indian and white students. They have met sporadically since then to work on a proposal to take back to the school board.

This week Longfeather presented the group with a framework for the proposal focusing on four areas - curriculum and instruction, testing to measure Indian achievement, school climate and culture and funding. But some of her proposals left the committee divided and some members saying said they could not support the plan because it created a separate educational system for American Indians.

"We need to treat them as individuals instead of treating them by race," said committee member Nick Archuleta, a middle and high school Spanish teacher. "Not all Indian students learn in the same way - kids in general don't learn in the same way."

Instead of developing the framework together, the group delegated the responsibility to Longfeather. She used discussion from months of ASSIST meetings and information from focus groups with parents, teachers and administrators to create a flexible plan, she said. Now, a number of subcommittees will review her proposals and will bring a more specific plan to ASSIST.

Longfeather said disagreement is part of the group process and she didn't expect everyone to support her plan.

"It didn't go as well as I would have liked it to go," Longfeather said. "Whenever you come up with a plan like that it's difficult because people put their own interpretations and spin on it."

Some committee members said they felt the plan implied all American Indian students were underachieving and learned the same way. They said race has nothing to do with how students do in the classroom. Instead, achievement is linked to a student's socio-economic status, they said.

"Carrying these characteristics over every Native American student concerned me," said committee member Kristine BlackCloud, who teaches at Simle Middle School. "I don't want anyone to assume all Native American students learn the same way. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses."

Longfeather's proposal requires schools to submit plans to address the "unique needs" of American Indian students and find proven ways to help them succeed in the classroom. She proposes a committee to assess improvement in Indian students and address ongoing issues in schools. And the plan called for more interaction between Indian students and bringing Indian parents and teachers together.

BlackCloud told committee members she would not stand behind the proposal. She said the district needs to focus on providing tutoring services to all students who are struggling instead of zeroing in on Indian students. Longfeather responded by saying BlackCloud didn't represent all Indian parents.

"That would be the case - we are all individual people with our own views," BlackCloud said. "I may not speak for everyone, but there are families I do speak for."

Archuleta agreed with BlackCloud and said an individual plan should be developed to help every student who isn't proficient in reading and math. Getting all students proficient should be the district's priority, he said.

Archuleta said he agreed with parts of Longfeather's proposal, especially regarding school culture and teachers' awareness of cultural backgrounds.

"Ultimately our community is going to judge us on whether we have accomplished the goal of making all of our students proficient," Archuleta said. "We need to focus on that. We have a responsibility to do the best we can under the circumstances."

Assistant Bismarck Superintendent Rick Buresh called the plan "a good starting point" that needed more input. There is enough flexibility in it to accommodate those who want culturally sensitive programming and those focused on student achievement, he said.

"This is one person's interpretation of what she's heard so far," Buresh said. "No one intended it to be the finished product."

Buresh plans to meet with some group members individually to try to resolve differences.

Subcommittees are expected to bring proposals back to the group before Nov. 12, when the district's program improvement plan is due to the state. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction labeled Bismarck as underperforming for two consecutive years and put the district on "program improvement" because American Indian and special needs children failed to make enough progress.

The district must submit a plan to the state showing how it will improve student performance, and recommendations from ASSIST will be included in that plan.

Longfeather stepped down from her leadership role with the group after completing the plan, saying it needed to become a district-driven initiative.

"As a non-teacher and non-administrator I was very aware of the fact I can only do so much as a parent," she said. "I can research and meet with the group and try to make a consensus and bring people together. I did a lot of that on my own time for the sake of what we are doing. I can no longer drive the process."

(Reach reporter Sheena Dooley at 250-8225 or sheenadooley@ndonline.com.)