About the Program

In order for the Din4 child to be successful in all aspects of life it is essential for the child to be well rooted in his culture. Culture by definition, according to the Din4 Philosophy of Education is “a way of life”. This is nurtured and guided according to specific teachings and beliefs. A culturally based curriculum builds on the world of the child. The child identifies himself through culturally relevant activities and personally meaningful intellectual experiences based on his culture. The cognitive thinking processes of a child influences developmental growth and establish a basis for holistic learning creating stability and giving the child a foundation to grow and develop a positive self-identity.

This reveals a greater urgency to maintain the Native Language and Culture for our students. It is a major concern that needs to continue to be addressed in the classroom, as well as at home. It is especially important for a school district, which has a predominantly Native American student enrollment, to support and maintain.

 Based on the need for improvement in reading and writing skills for Native American students, there is equal justification for the needto maintain learning, daily application, and ensuring the retention of Navajo language and Native cultural values to have direct implication on academic success. Native American students will improve achievement scores by incorporating Navajo language and Native cultural values through classroom enrichment activities.

Navajo Literacy and Culture instruction is being provided to all kindergarten through eighth grade students 30 to 45 minutes daily. The High School offers Navajo language as an elective and for fulfilling requirements for students who wish to aspire for the Navajo Nation’s Chief Manuelito Scholarship.

Navajo language instructors/teachers organize, plan and teach lessons in the Navajo language using literacy and oral language development skills. They provide instructional enrichment activities to reinforce and provide opportunities for student growth in the acquisition of Navajo language. Reading and writing is focused from which students will learn to speak, read, and write. These activities provide skills in pronunciation, phonemic awareness, word definition, vocabulary development, word attack skills, reading and sentence fluency and comprehension.

The instructors teach and reinforce the multi-cultural aspects of our world and society and provide opportunities for students to build upon knowledge of their own culture so that they can understand the importance of maintaining their identity through language, culture, and the Din4 Educational Philosophy (DEP) of Nits1h1kees, Nahat’1, Iin1, and Sihasin.

Students are measured by selected assessments aligned with the Arizona State Academic Standards in the areas of Reading and Writing, using the Navajo Literacy Program. These are scheduled to be given on a quarterly basis throughout the school year. As part of evaluation and accountability component, the cut scores from these assessments are reported to our office at midyear and at the end of the school year and reported back to our funding sources.

The program enables the school district to plan the service delivery and implement objectives that build on student progress from one year to the next. As well as analyzing progress over a longer period of time to provide longitudinal data to determine the effectiveness for the overall efforts of school improvement and localizing the District Achievement Plan (DAP).

The District’s school-wide effort focus on the students’ language and cultural needs which includes district and community Clan Day during the Native American Indian Awareness Week in the fall and inclusion of the Navajo Spelling Bee and Navajo Language Fair in the spring, as well as Culture Day every Friday enhancing native language and cultural activities.

As always, one of our goals is to continue developing and improving the Navajo Literacy and Cultural Enrichment Program, as we want the students to become well versed enabling them to communicate in the language of their indigenous homes and communities.