Tutoring & Mentoring Native American Youth

According to the most recent census, Native American students have the highest school drop-out rate--19.6 percent each year as compared with the general population of 6.3 percent. To help address this issue, the Native American Youth Association (NAYA), http://www.nayapdx.org/, provides culturally-specific programming and education resources for Native American youth and families in the Portland Metro area.

This Capstone gives PSU students the opportunity to learn and practice tutoring and mentoring to middle school and high school students in various academic disciplines and in diverse programs with the aim of helping NAYA fulfill its mission of empowering youth via education, community involvement, and cultural programming by creating positive learning experiences.

PSU students participate in a number of NAYA programs, primarily as tutors and mentors at the NAYA Learning Center, a stable drop-in program staffed with tutors trained in cultural issues and peer tutoring. PSU students also participate in after-school sports and cultural programs, and even as teacher aids at NAYA's High School Academy. This Capstone experience give NAYA students an opportunity to develop relationship with educational role models, and PSU students a chance to build strong tutoring relationships with middle-school and high-school students who often receive little one-on-one support from teachers or parents. According to NAYA, many Native students struggle in traditional American academic settings because Native American culture strongly emphasizes one-on-one experiential learning. NAYA's tutoring center aims to bridge the cultural gap between their institutional and cultural learning environments.