Appendix A NIES Reports Focus Groups Recruitment Letter

Appendix A

RECRUITMENT LETTER

Dear National Indian Education Association Member,

As you may know, the National Indian Education Study (NIES) was created in a 2004 Executive Order to fulfill the United States’ responsibility to educate American Indian and Alaska Native children according to nationwide standards for academic achievement. The study contains two parts: the first part assesses fourth and eighth grade students in reading and mathematics, and the second part asks students, teachers, and principals about the integration of the students’ native cultures in their educational experience. The study is conducted biannually and the findings are summarized in two detailed reports. The reports for the 2009 National Indian Education Study were recently released in June 2010.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Kauffman & Associates, Inc. (KAI) will conduct two focus group sessions on the reports at the NIEA Annual Convention in San Diego, CA, on the evenings of October 8 and 9, 2010, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. KAI is an American Indian, woman-owned company based in Spokane, WA, specializing in the education, health, and wellbeing of Native communities.

The purpose of the focus groups is to provide feedback to NCES on the content, presentation, and usability of the NIES reports in order to improve future publications. The focus group sessions will give selected NIEA participants an opportunity to provide input on the National Indian Education Study. Should you choose to participate, and if selected, you will be randomly assigned to one of the focus group sessions and receive a $50 gift card for your time and effort.

This study is authorized by law under the Education Sciences Reform Act (Public Law 107-279). Your participation is voluntary. Your responses are protected from disclosure by federal statute (P.L. 107-279, Title 1, Part E, Sec. 183). All responses that relate to or describe identifiable characteristics of individuals may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose, unless otherwise compelled by law.

If you are willing to participate in these discussions and have your opinion heard, please respond by sending an email with your name, organization, position, and contact phone to Biva Ranjeet at biva.ranjeet@kauffmaninc.com. Feel free to call Ms. Ranjeet at (301) 588-6800 should you have any questions related to this project, the reports, or what your participation would entail. We hope that you will be able to join us for these important discussions and we appreciate your participation.

Sincerely,

Wanda Johnson