Yavapai Nation uses Renaissance myON Reader to boost literacy and preserve native language

The 900-member Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation tribe in Arizona is small, but thriving. However, their language is not. With just 30 fluent Yavapai speakers remaining, the tribe has been at risk of losing its native language. But Education Division Director Dr. Bill Myhr has an ambitious plan to preserve both the Yavapai language and culture for future generations. Working with the Fort McDowell Tribal Council, Myhr developed a multifaceted strategy that includes recording native speakers, expanding Yavapai language classes, creating a Yavapai language app for mobile access, and providing tribal students with a collection of Yavapai eBooks available via Renaissance myON^® Reader.

Myhr says that myON Reader helps expose students to the Yavapai language and at the same time, improve overall reading skills. “Using myON Reader, we can give students 24/7 access to a vast library of English titles, as well as our own expanding collection of Yavapai titles. Since we began using myON Reader, we’ve achieved higher literacy levels and are taking full advantage of the program’s audio and visual support—including complementary illustrations and photographs—to teach and showcase Yavapai cultural elements.”

Using myON Reader, we can give students 24/7 access to a vast library of English titles, as well as our own expanding collection of Yavapai titles.

Dr. Bill Myhr, Education Division Director, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

The challenge

Earlier literacy, fluency by third grade

The United States recognizes 566 Tribal entities, including 22 in Arizona. The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, one of four Pai tribes in the state, was created and its reservation was established by Executive Order in 1903. The reservation is in the upper Sonoran Desert, just east of North Scottsdale and about 20 miles northeast of Phoenix. Some 600 tribal members live on the 40-square-mile reservation, while another 300 members reside off the reservation.

The mission of the tribe’s Education Division is to provide services that support and enhance the development, educational, and cultural opportunities available to the tribe. In his role as director, Myhr manages a variety of cultural programs and oversees the education of all Fort McDowell students—currently about 400 tribal and related community members.

Education services begin on the reservation at the H’man ‘Shawa Early Development Center that serves tribal children from birth through kindergarten. The center is partially supported by an Arizona First Things First grant that offers an array of health- and learning-focused services. From the Early Development Center, students move on to attend grades 1–12 off the reservation, with an 80/20 split between the surrounding Fountain Hills and Mesa schools. Myhr serves as a liaison to these schools and his staff of academic strategies educators provide onsite support.

“One of our key objectives with the launch of the center and the introduction of myON Reader was to develop early learners,” Myhr notes. “Previously, students entered Fountain Hills and Mesa at grade three—and they were always behind. We knew we needed to make literacy investments earlier in our process, not in the higher grades when students struggle to catch up and interventions become expensive. Our goal was to develop beginning readers by the end of kindergarten and successful readers by third grade.”

The results

Active readers and language preservation

They learned to read, now they read to learn
Myhr explains the selection of myON Reader. “Most of the programs we evaluated presented obstacles to student access—one didn’t allow offsite access, others were too expensive or required a specific number of licenses, another did not allow simultaneous access. In contrast, we found myON Reader to be student-centered. The program gives students concurrent, anytime, anywhere access to a full library of diverse digital books.”

All K–8 tribal students now use myON Reader in reading improvement and enrichment programs. At the elementary level, students read books during teacher-led small-group sessions. By middle school, most students read independently, accessing books matched to their individual interests and reading levels. “In the past, when our students entered third grade outside the reservation, they were almost automatically enrolled in the lowest-level reading sections,” continues Myhr. “Today, they’re more likely enrolled in (honors) mid-level or higher classes. Students enter first grade at much higher literacy levels, and most will have already made that important shift from learning to read to reading to learn.”

“The tribe’s commitment and investment in literacy are also producing long-term success. Compared to the 62 percent high school graduation rate of other Arizona tribal communities, Fort McDowell averages 80 percent or higher. One third of our high school graduates go on to attend higher education,” notes Myhr. “Two brothers recently graduated from West Point and this year, we have our first student playing in the University of Oregon marching band!”

Students enter first grade at much higher literacy levels, and most will have already made that important shift from learning to read to reading to learn.

Dr. Bill Myhr, Education Division Director, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

Always someone to talk to now

Working together with the myON Reader team, Myhr led the tribe’s efforts to develop its initial collection of original Yavapai eBooks. Titles include stories about Yavapai culture and language—Being Yavapai, Life in the Desert that describes Yavapai life one hundred years ago, Counting, and Yavapai Colors—along with the classic Little Red Riding Hood, and Let’s Go about a day in the life of a modern family.

Myhr elaborates, “We created storyboards, helped a graphic designer select Yavapai-meaningful landmarks to photograph, and chose two tribal elders to record both the English and Yavapai versions of each book. The project was funded by federal Title VII Indian Education dollars and has been a tremendous success. The books are available on myON Reader for the Yavapai community 24/7, 365 days a year—not just the 180 school days—and they help engage our students with informative graphics, as well as beautiful photographs of the Verde River that runs through the reservation, our abundant cactus, the majestic 7,000-foot Four Peaks to the east, and much more.”

“A native speaker commented that if you lose your language, you’re no longer a member of your tribe, but rather a descendant of tribal members. Federal recognition also requires a tribal language for official designation. But language is much more than technical requirements. It’s an emotional, personal, and sustained connection to your heritage. Some years ago, I met a woman from an East Coast tribe. The last speaker of her tribal language, she asked ‘How can you have a language if you have no one to talk to?’ Her heavy-hearted words have stayed with me and helped me appreciate the urgent need for preservation. We have an ambitious strategy, but we have momentum and tools like myON Reader in place to support the tribe’s efforts to support fluent speakers, teach new generations, and ensure the Yavapai language endures.”

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