Journal of American Indian Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of culturally appropriate English, mathematics, and career development curriculum on American Indian sophomore and junior high school students ' academic achievement in a five-week summer program called Nizhoni Academy. The sample for this study consisted of 135 high school students: 39 males and 96 females. The sample included 103 Navajos, 24 Hopis, and 8 students who represented other American Indian Nations. The purpose of the Nizhoni Academy was to provide academic support services and direct instruction to educationally disadvantaged secondary students attending rural high schools on or near the Navajo and Hopi reservations in northeastern Arizona and New Mexico. The goals of the program were threefold: (a) to acquaint the American Indian sophomore and junior students to the rigors of college/university life, (b) to prepare students for continued academic success in high school, and (c) to provide an academic “bridge ” that would better prepare Native secondary students in becoming academically successful in either the college or university. Background The majority of American Indian/Alaska Native children experience inferior elementary and secondary education due to limited academic resources in remote rura