From what I have gathered from Idaho’s Department of Education’s Education Flexibility Guide, Idaho aims to incorporate a student-centered Education system into the classroom so they can seemingly bring every individual student to where they need to be by the time they are finished with certain grades. It says in the handbook that, “mastery-based approach will allow for more personalized and differentiated learning; create a focus on explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students; and emphasize competencies that include application and knowledge along with skill development,” compared to time-based system that has been prevalent in most Idaho classrooms.

What programs are available to support diverse learners?

Well, I don’t want to get into every individual diversity a student may have, the Idaho Department of Education page goes into most of the issues that would arise in a classroom. They go over rural schooling, monetary issues a student may face, ethnic diversity, etc. Every issue has a dedicated webpage for each of its own issues, and goes into details.

Brief overview of district demographics (how many students are served, how many staff members employed, federal reporting data such as race/ethnicity, standardized test scores, Free/reduced lunch, Federal Title funding, Impact Aid received, and any other relevant information)

From a collection of Google searches Sho-Ban high school serves about 136 students, and they have about 30 staff members listed on their website. They are composed completely of Native American students, and according to the website Niche, about 10% of the student’s are both proficient in math and reading, so not amazing. Student’s do receive free food and federal title funding, since most of the student’s in the area are mainly poor.

What is the school or district's vision and mission?

The mission of Shoshone Bannock Jr/Sr High School is to, “The mission of the Shoshone-Bannock Jr./Sr. High School is to educate Native American students in their heritage, their rights and responsibilities, and to prepare them for a lifetime of learning and achievement.” Sho-Ban Jr/Sr High School’s vision, “The vision of Shoshone-Bannock Jr./Sr. High School is to inspire the learner to travel through the circle of life productively and proudly, with respect and humility, in light of the blessings that the Creator has given to all Native people.”

How does the school/district appear to meet the needs of diverse learners?

I am not going to lie, this school district doesn’t seem to focus on the diverse learners as its main goal is to inspire and bring up good Native American citizens. From what I gathered from speaking of students who have attended this school, they typically go to surrounding schools in Pocatello or Blackfoot for a more holistic high school experience.

From your perspective and based on your review of the school/district, what appear to be the strengths of the school/district? What appear to be the areas in need of improvement?

It doesn’t seem to be the best school in the world, mainly based on previous student attitudes, and the proficiency, I can greatly admire the push for Native education for Native students. It strikes me as a “don’t forget your roots” kind of school, and while this is an environment I would like to work in, I do think there needs to be some teacher reform in a sense. I would like to teach in Urban schools before coming back home, and bringing a seemingly more refined understanding back to the reservation could only benefit it.