Dawn Smith on Student Success (Native Voices) | Native Students

The key to our success is that we have an extremely dedicated staff. The average number of years our teachers have been in the building is 12. We only have staff that really wants to be here and make a difference, because we've made that a hiring priority: Don't come here if you just want to be a teacher, come here if you want to make a difference for us and you're willing to give us the years. That's been the best thing to happen to this school.

It used to be that teachers came and left. There was no consistency for students, parents, or staff. Now, many of us at the school have been here for so long that a lot of the parents have grown up knowing us. Over the past several years that's made a tremendous difference. We're right here in the community, so they get to know us very well.

That consistency has also allowed us to move forward much more effectively with reform. Our staff has aligned the entire curriculum to the state standards—everyone knows what they're teaching and when it needs to be taught in order for the kids to hit the benchmarks. We've also developed a lot of in-building assessments. We're continually tracking the kids. We know where every kid is, in every subject, all of the time—who needs assistance, who needs supplemental programs, or who needs to be pushed because they're exceeding all of our expectations.

Our biggest problem is attendance, and we've addressed that by going directly to the parents. We enlist them as partners in what we're doing, rather than just getting information from them and not using it. And we're always open and honest with them. We surveyed them, then we sent out the results of the survey so they could see what the other parents were saying, and (finally) we implemented a lot of their ideas. That helps build trust and it gives them a sense of ownership in the school.

Dawn Smith, an enrolled member of the Klamath Tribes in Oregon, has been at Warm Springs Elementary since 1975, serving as principal since 1994. Located on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in central Oregon, the rural K–4 school serves more than 300 students, 98 percent of whom are Native American. In 2003, Smith was recognized as a National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.