Population to be served: Female Native American Students in Grades 9-10.

Four weeks of intensive work on the part of 20 to 22 Native American females with a teacher and two Native American college women will provide the stills to be successful in a same-sex Algebra I class. Families of the girls will be involved in their mathematics education. Technology, relevance, spatial visual activities, mentoring, and computer generated practice and simulations will be used both in the summer session and the Algebra I classroom.

Objectives: 1) support Native American girls mathematics content knowledge while increasing their levels of perseverance and decreasing their levels of frustration; 2) providing Native American girls opportunities to create or refine a vision of their successful work career; 3) creating a community of learners and supporters including mentors, teachers, and families which will provide an emotional and academic safety net for the girls in the cadre; and 4) providing culturally relevant mathematics in a “hands-on”environment.

Expected Outcomes: 1) girls that participate in the project will successfully complete and Algebra I course with grades significantly higher than girls who do not participate; 2) girls that participate in the project will demonstrate a positive disposition in mathematics; 3) there will be a need for a college advance placement mathematics course in four years; and 4) the graduation rate for the girls who participate in the project will be 90%.