Since 2017, districts and school sites participating in the Tribal Attendance Promising Practices (TAPP) program have been deeply committed to supporting American Indian and Alaska Native+ (AI/AN+) students with positive attendance in school. TAPP sites create positive conditions for learning, while also introducing the concept of “indigenizing” to the four components of conditions for learning:
- Physical and emotional health and safety
- Belonging, connectedness and support
- Academic challenge and engagement
- Adult and student social and emotional competence
To indigenize means to root out biased systems and structures by becoming aware of, respecting, and incorporating indigenous perspectives and practices into these westernized systems, institutions, and structures. A TAPP Family Advocate is then positioned to provide immediate and consistent support to the student and family, and most importantly, to elevate the needs of the AI/AN+ population to ensure the entire ecosystem of a school is empathetic and responsive to these needs. The importance of the TAPP Family Advocate has been found to be the most critical protective factor present to ensure a student’s early and lasting engagement in school.